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French Artist Creates Illustrations That Challenge Society’s Standards For Women (30 New Pics)
Interview With Artist
In today’s world, most women feel like they are surrounded on all sides by the obligation to be beautiful, 24 hours a day 365 days a year. Strict societal rules and high expectations for women, unfortunately, have become the norm, and even young girls are feeling the impact. Of course, I think most of us can agree that such human behavior is not always a choice. Human behavior is often automatic and unintentional and rooted in the belief that others expect us to behave in a certain way, particularly when upholding traditions and culture. Even in situations where gender does not appear to be an issue, it has the potential to be so and must be considered.
French artist and illustrator Cécile Dormeau is using her art to confront and hopefully make a change in stereotypes that are central to evolving how both women and men should be able to perceive one another without judgment.
Cécile's works have been previously featured on Bored Panda and you can find them by clicking here, and here.
More info: Instagram | cecile-dormeau.tumblr.com
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Kimberley Broyles 4 years ago
You know, this is deep on a lot of levels. For those of us who live with depression, it can become a friend. Well, if not a friend, a frenemy. We know it as intimately as we know a best friend. It isn't something we can just break up with or get over. It's part of us and part of living with it is realizing the ups and downs and reminding yourself that things won't always seem as bad as they do at the moment.
Bored Panda reached out to Cécile with some questions! First, we asked the artist if she had any major influences in her life that might've helped her to develop and refine her style.
"About my style influences, I've always been influenced by comics, it went to Claire Brétécher to Riad Sattouf, Marjane Satrapi, but also illustrators like Tomi Ungerer, Sempé... I've always been inspired by artists who were able to catch the little details of everyday life with humor. Claire Brétécher in particular always had a way to represent women as they are and I've been very influenced by her comic Agrippine. I also always loved how Nikki de Saint Phalle celebrated femininity in such a joyful and colorful way."
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#2
Christina Uhlir 4 years ago
Good idea. "Tell me what you read, and I tell you what kind of human being you are."
#3
beastmachine. 4 years ago
Remember to use the N95 mask tho, it won't get as soggy as a cloth one
LesAnimaux 4 years ago
I like wearing a mask. I have RBF and people constantly tell me to smile more
Laugh or not 4 years ago
I like wearing a mask, it warms my nose when it is cold, and I have been a lot less sick (common cold, etc.) since I started.
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Art, in any kind of form, takes a lot of time not only to practice but also to produce, therefore we asked Dormeau how long it takes her to fully finish her illustrations.
"It takes me a few hours, sometimes less, but much more for my gifs as I'm not a professional animator! The process of finding the right idea takes me a bit more time, I'm writing everything I have on my mind when an idea comes, and sometimes I have to sort them to see which ones seem more interesting."
#4
Ozacoter 4 years ago
I am afraid that we will see the opposite. So many people eager to go out and be back to normal that will dress fancier (and expect that from others). It happened like that in the 20s after the flu pandemic. Its one of the reasons why the 20s were so fashionable and outgoing.
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Stephanie Keith 4 years ago
Of course we are allowed to do that. But unfortunately people judge constantly and make others feel uncomfortable and disgusting about themselves. People saying who wears pajamas to the store. That person's lazy and trashy. For people saying you fake for social media and look all dressed up but in real life you look like s h i t. Looking like you need a bath or something. I don't know why people do this but that is exactly what they do and it makes others very uncomfortable and it makes people feel bad about themselves. When it shouldn't matter how we dress or how we look we're just out here trying to exist and people think they have a right to say mean things about it. It's not okay and it definitely needs to stop.
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Jarrod Nichols 4 years ago
Not what self acceptance means. Self acceptance means being happy with who you are. If that person likes shaving their legs and wearing makeup, that's fine too. You are sending the wrong message!
Christina Uhlir 4 years ago
Always go out with common sense and make logical choices......not for judgmental, insensitive folks out there, but for yourself.
Linda Doucet 4 years ago
I have worked on all of that. Started no makeup, cause honestly I have no time to mess with that, im lucky to habe nice skin, then I just stopped messing with shaving legs, mine are soft and you can't see much of it. Ive gone in pubic with no bra, f*k it, and just recently wore a cute dress to school.
Robert Thompson 4 years ago
Every one of these is "Going out Honest" All that other stuff just fakes you into something/someone else. Impossible to find someone who is a good match for you if, when you are courting, you are someone else.
Ellen Ranks 4 years ago
I go without all of this except shaving my legs. I was bullied so much over my leg hair when I was young and my mom said I was too young to shave. I have hirsutism, so lots of long dark hair on my legs. Kudos to those women who dare go without shaving, wish I had the courage.
#5
Zara Shaine Azzam 4 years ago
"I'm anxious and my thoughts are racing" "Just stop thinking about it" oh. Cool. Never thought of that.
lazy panda 4 years ago
Right up there with "Just smile and exercise and you won't be depressed!"
Riley Quinn 4 years ago
To all those two-dimensional people who think up these "motivational" quotes: You're not human. You have no place in any society. You are too clueless to understand human behavior. I have a few motivational quotes for you, but they're way too offensive for this post.
Being an artist is not easy, one can easily encounter a lack of inspiration, burnout, etc, so we wanted to ask Cécile about her ideas for the illustrations.
"My ideas come mostly from my everyday life. It can be about my feelings, something I read or heard in the street, something stupid my sister said. Most of the time, I like to talk about hidden details, or things that are not often so shared, like b**b wrinkles or having massive anxiety. As people tend to show a perfect version of their life on Instagram, I like to show that it's completely normal to not feel great all the time, or to have body 'imperfections' (imperfection with quote marks of course). We all face problems, and sometimes our lives don't fit what society expects from us. There is not only one way to be or live your life. I like to celebrate imperfection and try to be as authentic as I can."
#6
Valisbourne Spiritforge 4 years ago
My first thought was that she was upset he didn't shave. (stubble face is like sandpaper)
Diana Murtaugh 4 years ago
I think more than his stubble, is that he chose going at it from the backside (or in the backside) after she paid to groom the front.
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Christina Uhlir 4 years ago
Caring about comfort of the person one loves ???? That is a very rare phenomenon.
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Devil's Advocate 4 years ago
Never spend money for other people to "enjoy" your body, only spend it if it helps you or makes you feel good. Anyone who demands you do something you don't normally do is not worth any effort
#7
Pearl 4 years ago
Don't be pressured, girl! Take that nap if you really need it. As long as you're getting some sunlight everyday, you do you!
Julie C Rose 4 years ago
As someone who’s a mix of both, I don’t keep score about this kind of thing and would prefer it if people just ditched any insecurity about it.
As we mentioned before, sometimes creative work can cause quite a burnout, therefore we asked the artist how she dealt with that as well.
"Actually, yes! I did a video that will go out in September to speak about creative block. After accumulating professional creative projects that weren't so stimulating, Instagram pressure (to post all the time and have likes all the time), I actually lost inspiration last year. You add it to the pandemic climate, and I was just unable to create anymore, I felt empty. But I realize now that this is how life works: in cycles. There will be a period of time where you will be super creative, and after a while not being able to create anything. You just have to embrace it, rest, take care of yourself and it will come back!"
#8
Ozacoter 4 years ago (edited)
Found the incels freaking out with the mere drawing of a short haired woman
DarkAngelNic 4 years ago
Fragile masculinity is so strong, they just can't help themselves.
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Miklós Nagy 4 years ago
Could you please tell this to hollywood producers who forces every women with short hair into lesbian role? Asking from a man who prefers women with short hair. T_T
Riley Quinn 4 years ago
This could easily be changed to Masculine. How many men are emasculated for their long hair? It's really long past the time women stopped fretting over this nonsense.
Ozacoter 4 years ago
It is not. There is nothing inherently feminine or masculine about hair style or clothes.
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Sunny Topia 3 years ago
Yeshhh I also prefer short hair cuz I have problem with my scalp. Every shampoo that I tried doesn't work tho. I have oily and dandruff scalp ughh..
Burs 4 years ago
Having a preference =/= saying that short haired women aren’t valid or that only long hair is feminine
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Duten Pizdamtii 4 years ago
Or Maybe I'm just enjoying life and i don't need you to shame me for my hobbies or passions. Yes i love sitting at home all day doing nothing productive. It's my life.
We also asked Cécile about how people reacted to her work.
"I'm lucky because most of the time, people are lovely and laugh at my work, saying that they really feel identified and that it cheers them up to see that 'they're not alone.' I sometimes had people in the past saying that my women are disgusting and that I promote unhealthy standards, but it's really rare as people following me know that I just want to show body diversity and show women as they are. I will sometimes have negative comments, people criticizing my illustrations saying it's offensive, and I still have issues sometimes not letting it affect me, I recognize sometimes that maybe I've been clumsy! But I know that it seems normal at the end to receive more critics when you're making a drawing about street harassment than drawing flowers, for example."
#10
#11
Robert Thompson 4 years ago
Me Too! Her smile alone makes her amazing. And on top of that, she is not trying to be fake.
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Alphabet Soupy 4 years ago
Reminds me of the time I went tubing and ended up with this exact tan!!
The creative process is not easy, but there are many enjoyable parts to it.
"I guess it's all about finding the right idea! When I see that I've found an idea that I find funny (I'm laughing at my own jokes, don't judge me), and that I've found the easiest way to represent it: it has to be striking at a glance, this is the most satisfying part for me."
We also asked about the inspiration behind the artist's Instagram account.
"I was unemployed and struggling to find a job, so I started to do illustrations and shared it on Tumblr, then on an Instagram account. The Instagram account was a way for me to keep me productive. At the beginning, I was posting a drawing per day, no matter what and that really helped me to develop my style and ideas, and to keep it as a daily practice."
#12
John C 4 years ago
seriously! how is this "challenging society's standard for women"? I don't get it - dude is doing exactly what women say they want!
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#13
over it already 4 years ago
I'm a woman and I don't care either. Doesn't stop people from judging and sharing their opinions, but I still don't care. That's the difference - women will frequently have to be subjected to the stupid opinions of others where men won't be.
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IDGAFabtUrFeelings 4 years ago
I love men in shorts! I just don't like them in sandals... Most of the guys I have seen with sandals don't take care of their feet.
John C 4 years ago
oh, man - can you imagine somebody saying "I don't like it when women who don't take care of their feet wear sandals" ??? the double standard exists RIGHT HERE in the comments!
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Lisa Whipp Myhre 4 years ago
After I went through menopause, I have more hair on my face than I do on my legs.
Luigi Vitiello 4 years ago
I'm a man. Often people (exepecially my ex girlfriends) told me that i was hairy, maybe not on the legs but on shoulder, back,pube...
Celtic Pirate Queen 4 years ago
My husband. He's pretty furry, so I nicknamed him the "Domesticated North American Ginger House Bear". Every time I sweep the bathroom it looks like a Calico cat has been shedding. He wouldn't be caught dead in a tank top or shorts - and we live in Southern California!
Begone Fool 4 years ago
Well, it has begun: manscaping. No potential market niche goes unexploited.
C. D. McCullum 4 years ago
It grows out of the pore, it belongs! It grows out gray, it belongs! It grows out kinky/coily, it belongs!
Digital art and art, in general, is not easy and requires a lot of patience, time, resources, and in most cases even money, therefore we wanted to know how the talented illustrator started her own career in digital art.
"I was working in an advertising agency before, and my illustrations were more of a vector style, and I hated my job so I came back to a drawing with black outlines and less static. I guess as an artist you always explore different kind of forms in your art to keep yourself inspired and not go crazy from doing the same thing over and over. I sometimes give up my iPad to come back to painting or felt pens, or experiment with clay and writing."
Artists tend to get motivated by a lot of things such as curiosity, the search for beauty, or even meaning. Therefore, we asked Dormeau about that too.
"I guess I try to focus more on the meaning. I like my illustrations to be like a virtual hug, to say 'it's ok.' As I said before, I really value this idea of 'you're not alone,' and to me, if people can recognize themselves and laugh about it, I'm happy!"
#14
Augustus Fartington 4 years ago (edited)
Hmmm . . . none of these seem to be about changing society's standards for women, I wonder if it's because of the title is click-bait.
#15
Vicky Z 4 years ago
I don't know who you are but I'm the girl that is a few inches to the right sitting down and enjoying a hamburger! You cannot see me in the photo though
Ellen Ranks 4 years ago
10 minutes into any form of cardio excercise my face is red like this and people start asking me if I'm OK... Yes... it's my warmed up face.
shaneyah Crittendon 4 years ago
To look like I'm still doing pe I "take a break" to drink water...every .5 seconds
Duten Pizdamtii 4 years ago
Well judging by how lazy you seem, probably the one who never does any physical exercise.
#16
setsuriseikou 4 years ago
... but admitting that you need help doesn't make you weak in the slightest!
#17
Julie C Rose 4 years ago
New Zealanders in particular have no excuse - if you have the money and space in your house to panic-buy the moment a lockdown is declared, you have the money and space in your house to stock up during Level 1 when it won’t cause problems for others.
Celtic Pirate Queen 4 years ago
Greedy f*cks. I had to pay $54 online for a case of 24 toilet paper rolls (and not a brand I'd ever heard of, let alone used) because every single grocery store & Costco in the greater San Diego area was completely out. Hope you're all happy with your pallets of TP taking up space in your abodes.
Annie Kitson 4 years ago
Too true ... you ask 'why toilet paper ' and no one knows the answer. NZ makes their own toilet paper.
#18
Christina Uhlir 4 years ago
Good idea and ........ adopt a furry four-legged friend. You won't be disappointed.
Begone Fool 4 years ago
Sadly, THAT becomes a problem in time. Don't buy stuff when you're sad.
XSpooky_Mint 4 years ago
If I did that I'd run out of places to put them, and then I'd be sad bc I'd kill them
Olesja Lapteva 4 years ago (edited)
Ok but there's literally a second panel to this comic where she walks into a room full of plants? Dropped the ball there bp.
Olesja Lapteva 4 years ago
https://www.instagram.com/p/B42rQPQqiIv/?utm_medium=copy_link
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#20
XSpooky_Mint 4 years ago
At least trans people are just trying to be happy and not doing all the wretched things those politicians you so blindly trust do
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LesAnimaux 4 years ago
Thank you. 32 and single here, so sick of people telling me I haven't found "the one" yet
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Christina Uhlir 4 years ago
Why is it OK when men choose to be single and never marry? Why women are considered selfish and "impaired" when making the same choice?
Begone Fool 4 years ago
I LOVE being single! Wouldn't trade it for a billionaire who looked like Idris Elba.
#22
Sam Chilton 4 years ago
Or just do what you feel comfortable with. Personally, I don't like hair on or around my sensitive bits, but I understand the importance of it. So I shave about once a month just to maintain comfort.
Load More Replies... StrawberryParfait 4 years ago
A man who is afraid of body hair doesn't deserve to see your naked body. If he can't handle your pubes in his face, he ain't the one, ladies.
Corey Adams 4 years ago
Women with pubic hair are less likely to spread std's to me so ladies who are unshaven... thank you
Devil's Advocate 4 years ago
No, just men's penis size when everything in media is about how we're never big enough
Telmo Belo 4 years ago
tbh, we don't really care that much. Sex is like pizza. Even when it's bad, it's still pretty good.
#23
Queen Boudicca 4 years ago
And as of today...in Texas...property of anybody who wants to make $10k...
tuzdayschild 4 years ago
Every time I start to lose faith I meet someone who helps me find it again.
John C 4 years ago
right?!? i'll reluctantly give a pass to text messages or even social media comments, but how does an artist expect us to take their work seriously when they publish a piece with this in it?!!?
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Celtic Pirate Queen 4 years ago
I saw a girl on the back of a motorcycle driven by a Bandido in Leavenworth, WA. She had on a vest with the Bandido rockers and a "Property of" patch. She saw me looking at her in disgust and was all, "What's your problem". I told her I was just thinking how sad it was that she had absolutely no self respect (yeah, I'll fight a bitch - was not worried). That stopped her cold. I hope maybe it woke her up.
#24
Momma Jess 4 years ago
As a fat woman that usually has a cat following me around and harassing me I approve of this image
#25
Alphabet Soupy 4 years ago
Right?! Do not waste a good skin/makeup day!!!! Take a selfie when you feel good, and look at it often!
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Alphabet Soupy 4 years ago
I think it’s more of a “silver lining” situation. She did her makeup well for the date, since it was canceled so she’s not going out anymore, but the silver lining is that she’s going to get some fire selfies bc this guuuurl is looking good!! (As the comic itself says)
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Bobbie Meyers 4 years ago
Stop with the selfies (world's dumbest word). Why are people so vain?
#26
#27
Ryan Deschanel 4 years ago
Maybe he was not flirting and she just saw "hints" that actually did not exist.
#28
Pearl 4 years ago
Yeah.. there some people I'll want to keep distance with long after this ends!
over it already 4 years ago
ME! And I own multiple tape measures... this is a tempting thought...
Load More Replies... Teresa Spanics 4 years ago
I second that, agree with you 100%, and want it on a T-shirt!
Load More Replies... Riley Quinn 4 years ago
COVID's never gonna end for me. I'm wallowing in the social distancing, the masks, and really have no desire to return to pre-covid times.
XSpooky_Mint 4 years ago
I tried to stay six feet away from people before 2020, I'm already good at this ;)
#29
#30
Ксения Петровская 4 years ago
Not if they share custody or stayed friends.
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Dying Inside Rachel 4 years ago
I think aroace tiger means that we don’t need a month to celebrate pride
#33
#34
#35
#37
#38
Dina Simoné 4 years ago
How can you sit next to a crying person on a bus and ignore her like that?
#39
#40
#41
Julie C Rose 4 years ago
You can lead some people to advice on stopping self putdowns but you can’t make them take it.
Add New Image
What do you think ?
Daniel Marsh 4 years ago
Some were kinda funny, most weren't. OK, I'm not the target demographic, I suppose. But the title was "French Artist Creates Illustrations That Challenge Society’s Standards For Women." In most cases, I don't see how the cartoons live up to the headline. A couple of these have already been the titles of country-music records. Not exactly cutting edge. I mean, if anyone feels empowered to see a woman telling a guy she doesn't like him on her back, I suppose "You go girl! Learn the basics of human communication." But really?
pusheen buttercup 4 years ago
Sometimes you know how to communicate but experience much pressure from the world not to.
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Monica Pryts 3 years ago
If the news scares you that much, you are following the wrong media sources.
Daniel Marsh 4 years ago
Some were kinda funny, most weren't. OK, I'm not the target demographic, I suppose. But the title was "French Artist Creates Illustrations That Challenge Society’s Standards For Women." In most cases, I don't see how the cartoons live up to the headline. A couple of these have already been the titles of country-music records. Not exactly cutting edge. I mean, if anyone feels empowered to see a woman telling a guy she doesn't like him on her back, I suppose "You go girl! Learn the basics of human communication." But really?
pusheen buttercup 4 years ago
Sometimes you know how to communicate but experience much pressure from the world not to.
Load More Replies... Monica Pryts 3 years ago
If the news scares you that much, you are following the wrong media sources.
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