The Mental Load: A Feminist Comic
- Downloads：3984
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-01-01 08:51:37
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Emma
- ISBN：1609809181
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
In her first book of comic strips， Emma reflects on social and feminist issues by means of simple line drawings， dissecting the mental load （i。e。， all that invisible and unpaid organizing， list-making， and planning women do to manage their lives and the lives of their family members）。 Most women carry some form of mental load--about their work， household responsibilities， financial obligations， and personal life， but what makes up that burden and how it's distributed within households and understood in offices is not always equal or fair。
In her strips， Emma deals with themes ranging from maternity leave （it is not a vacation！）， domestic violence， the clitoris， the violence of the medical world on women during childbirth， and other feminist issues， and she does so in a straightforward way that is both hilarious and deadly serious。 Her comics also address the everyday outrages and absurdities of immigrant rights， income equality， and police violence。
In her strips， Emma deals with themes ranging from maternity leave （it is not a vacation！）， domestic violence， the clitoris， the violence of the medical world on women during childbirth， and other feminist issues， and she does so in a straightforward way that is both hilarious and deadly serious。 Her comics also address the everyday outrages and absurdities of immigrant rights， income equality， and police violence。
Reviews
Molly Newton
，
DNF。 It does have decent points and observations that I agree with， but it's just such an absolute downer。 And this just isn't a very pretty graphic novel - the artwork is not at all to my taste and the font is difficult。 Would have been better as a collection of essays。 DNF。 It does have decent points and observations that I agree with， but it's just such an absolute downer。 And this just isn't a very pretty graphic novel - the artwork is not at all to my taste and the font is difficult。 Would have been better as a collection of essays。 。。。more
Jennifer
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If you're trying to explain mental load to someone （a man） who doesn't understand it， the comics here will help。 If you're trying to explain mental load to someone （a man） who doesn't understand it， the comics here will help。 。。。more
Pamela
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This is a comic book that could have been an essay， an article or anything else。 The author clearly has strong ideas but appears to have chosen their medium without much visual or artistic consideration。 I found the chapter on the topless girl misleading and ill conceived。
Lauren Schnoebelen
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The differences of responsibility between women and men can be invisible at times and unevenly dispersed。 The mental load addresses many of these thoughts and the questions that come with them through the eyes of the author who is a woman in France fighting for a more just future through different ways of activism。 I was really interested in this comic when I picked it up from the library and though there were some good discussions， I feel a bit let down and wanting more。 I think the concepts ar The differences of responsibility between women and men can be invisible at times and unevenly dispersed。 The mental load addresses many of these thoughts and the questions that come with them through the eyes of the author who is a woman in France fighting for a more just future through different ways of activism。 I was really interested in this comic when I picked it up from the library and though there were some good discussions， I feel a bit let down and wanting more。 I think the concepts are great and discussions that can be had from this will be beneficial but I think they could have dived further into the main points or even included some additional topics since some of them felt out of place and not fully in line with the theme of the book。 I like what the author did and I think it can possibly be a good starting point for individuals who are not familiar with the difference in family and household work between women and men but for me it’s not something I find myself remembering in a month or even a couple of weeks。 。。。more
Kactus
，
Not anything too groundbreaking， but still nice。 I really， really like the artstyle， even though it isn’t super refined。
Molly
，
I especially found valuable her exploration of the "mental load"， inclusion of immigrant experiences and critique of capitalism。 Interesting to read the perspective of a French woman。 A worthwhile read even if I felt a little disconnected from how very straight the whole thing was， without a drop of queerness。 I especially found valuable her exploration of the "mental load"， inclusion of immigrant experiences and critique of capitalism。 Interesting to read the perspective of a French woman。 A worthwhile read even if I felt a little disconnected from how very straight the whole thing was， without a drop of queerness。 。。。more
Julie
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Series of comics on different social issues。 Some are better than others。 A few are about French-specific issues， but most are applicable to women more globally。 She mixes narrative and her commentary on the events （sometimes research too）。
Mandy
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4。5 stars。 I found myself nodding until my head wanted to snap off。 But I also learned some unpleasant things and now want to Burn the Patriarchy more than ever before。
Erin DeLaney
，
A collection of comics， featuring one that made a big splash online a few years ago "You Should Have Asked" about how women tend to end up doing way more emotional labor than men in heterosexual relationships。 That comic is still amazing but the rest were a bit underwhelming in comparison。 A collection of comics， featuring one that made a big splash online a few years ago "You Should Have Asked" about how women tend to end up doing way more emotional labor than men in heterosexual relationships。 That comic is still amazing but the rest were a bit underwhelming in comparison。 。。。more
ياسمين يوسف
，
I loved seeing what I previously and currently always thought and think about well drawn and well written
Bean
，
8。5
Kennedy Morin
，
This should just be a required text for life。
Charla
，
Down-to-earth， informative， relatable。 Great read！
Wednesday Redvers
，
This was so good！！ 100% reccomend it
Sonee
，
Should be called The mental load: An Egalitarian comic。 I started understanding the concept of mental load ever since I started living independently。 But it was never laid out so well considering gender roles。My key take away from this book was how the perspective around the work lives need to be changed。 Not only does she highlight the difference in expectations from men and women around work and family， she provides a good rationale over how our societies are designed to prioritise work over f Should be called The mental load: An Egalitarian comic。 I started understanding the concept of mental load ever since I started living independently。 But it was never laid out so well considering gender roles。My key take away from this book was how the perspective around the work lives need to be changed。 Not only does she highlight the difference in expectations from men and women around work and family， she provides a good rationale over how our societies are designed to prioritise work over family and make it more satisfying for men。She also proposes a solution， identifying and focusing on the important aspects like education， healthcare， child support， etc。 and eliminating unnecessary jobs that are designed to promote capitalism。 How all of us can work less and focus on the meaningful tasks now because the world has enough housing， food and clothing for all of us。 I've found socialism very fascinating since the very beginning， and have grown sceptical about it's implementation in practice， but somehow， I was convinced it might help solve the problem of gender roles at some level。 。。。more
Rachel
，
This book is so very French/European。 I mean， the feminist issues are the usual ones， but 。。。 the "only" one-hour lunch！ When you have a baby， you have three full days in the hospital - and then you shop for a nanny！ The tone of the demonstrations， the outrage that police kill a dozen or so people a year！ I am not criticizing; these are interesting cultural differences。 （And I checked; the US rate of police shootings is 7。5 times France's rate。）I agree with everything she says。 But it's basic fe This book is so very French/European。 I mean， the feminist issues are the usual ones， but 。。。 the "only" one-hour lunch！ When you have a baby， you have three full days in the hospital - and then you shop for a nanny！ The tone of the demonstrations， the outrage that police kill a dozen or so people a year！ I am not criticizing; these are interesting cultural differences。 （And I checked; the US rate of police shootings is 7。5 times France's rate。）I agree with everything she says。 But it's basic feminism。 It's almost like she's not aware that there have been books， seminars， manifestos， etc。 about the exact same issues for quite a few decades。 Then again， she is living these sexist experiences， so people must still need to read books like this。 Which I found a bit depressing。 I'd like to think it's better in the US， but I think it's more that I live in a somewhat-better bubble。 Oh， she also discovers that capitalism （though she doesn't use the word） isn't good。 She advocates abolishing unnecessary jobs and having universal minimum income。 Not for the environment or to spread the wealth， but so people don't have to do stultifying work。 And she's antiracist， but in a polite， oblique way。 All good。 A pretty easy read， and I liked the art。 。。。more
Peyton
，
A good book about the invisible struggles women face。 Informative， but since the author is from France the stats and information are based on France。
Hillary
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One of those extremely good and extremely frustrating books that outlines really well why the patriarchy sucks。
Owen Cantrell
，
This was an interesting graphic novel。 The title made me think that the "mental load" would be the focus of the collection。 Instead， it's a collection of a variety of topics from a French and feminist perspective。 I'd love to read that imagined book focused exclusively on the mental load though。。。 This was an interesting graphic novel。 The title made me think that the "mental load" would be the focus of the collection。 Instead， it's a collection of a variety of topics from a French and feminist perspective。 I'd love to read that imagined book focused exclusively on the mental load though。。。 。。。more
Evan
，
Basic intro to some feminist ideas I'd consider this book a primer on the practical application of feminism。 It doesn't go deep into any of the theory and lays out examples and solutions for most of the illustrated scenarios。 I rated it so low because for me， none of the ideas were new。 I'm also not a fan of the art style。 But if you come across someone who doesn't understand why we need feminism， this may be a good place to start。 Basic intro to some feminist ideas I'd consider this book a primer on the practical application of feminism。 It doesn't go deep into any of the theory and lays out examples and solutions for most of the illustrated scenarios。 I rated it so low because for me， none of the ideas were new。 I'm also not a fan of the art style。 But if you come across someone who doesn't understand why we need feminism， this may be a good place to start。 。。。more
Marjolaine
，
Je connaissais Emma pour sa petite BD sur la charge mentale que j’avais trouvé très juste et drôle， je n’ai donc pas hésité en voyant ce titre à le parcourir entièrement。 Je me suis régalée ！ Avec beaucoup d’humour et de franchise， Emma met en lumière les inégalités hommes-femmes mais également les inégalités français-« étranger »。 J’ai trouvé ça vif， touchant， énervant et nécessaire ！ Je la mettrais dans les mains de tout le monde， si je le pouvais ！
Kat
，
read this。
Imah
，
Some topics really stand out and an eye opening for me。
Pat
，
4。5 for me。 Such an essential book for boys and girls alike， and as a refresher to adults。 TIL "hysterical" came from the uterus （I mean， duh， hysterectomy？）。 That's just vile。Just docking some points for the art。 I think since this is a comic， criticism on the art is valid。 The drawings are not great， honestly。 Also the layout is sparse in certain pages， and packed， paragraph-wise， in others。 4。5 for me。 Such an essential book for boys and girls alike， and as a refresher to adults。 TIL "hysterical" came from the uterus （I mean， duh， hysterectomy？）。 That's just vile。Just docking some points for the art。 I think since this is a comic， criticism on the art is valid。 The drawings are not great， honestly。 Also the layout is sparse in certain pages， and packed， paragraph-wise， in others。 。。。more
Lannie
，
I had seen the Mental Load comic online and it really resonated with me。 Seeing it in book form intrigued me， but I admit the rest of the comics weren’t as groundbreaking as the first one had been for me。 The topics she broaches are good ones， but for me they deserve a much deeper dive in a way that can still engage the reader without the pitfalls of a long-winded comic book storytelling。
Arya Samanta
，
Same old feminist content but in bite-sized easily digestible and rather refreshing non-didatic perspective。 A really good read for all to put our modern late capitalist lives into some lightweight context。
Georgie
，
Emma's comic is well written， persuasive and posits important perspectives on relationships， family life， shifting gender dynamics， race and culture。 An important book that everyone should read。I found this book so inspiring to keep working towards change even when the idea of change seems daunting or impossible。 Emma's comic is well written， persuasive and posits important perspectives on relationships， family life， shifting gender dynamics， race and culture。 An important book that everyone should read。I found this book so inspiring to keep working towards change even when the idea of change seems daunting or impossible。 。。。more
Rachel
，
This book was okay。 The author is really great at portraying her point through her graphic novel。 I'm not sure I fully enjoyed some of her stories but the mental load story is one that everyone should read。 I'm pretty sure I saw that cycle through the internet/facebook once。 Thought it was great then and it's still great now。 Some of the other ones I could give or take。 shrug。 This book was okay。 The author is really great at portraying her point through her graphic novel。 I'm not sure I fully enjoyed some of her stories but the mental load story is one that everyone should read。 I'm pretty sure I saw that cycle through the internet/facebook once。 Thought it was great then and it's still great now。 Some of the other ones I could give or take。 shrug。 。。。more
Lisa
，
A fantastic intro to quite a few social justice （primarily feminist， but others too） topics。
Molly
，