"Sluttish" Annie: Ernaux's Mémoire de fille, Female Agency, and Empowerment

Abstract:One year before the Time's Up and #balancetonporc movements, in Mémoire de fille Annie Ernaux broke the silence over her traumatic first sexual experience (already transposed in the 1977 Ce qu'ils disent ou rien) and minutely detailed the slut-shaming campaign (and its aftermath) she was subjected to as a 17-yearold summer camp counselor. This article exposes the gender roles and double standards in 1958 France and shows how Ernaux's "pig-outing" and embrace of the slur sluttish "enabled" her (in Judith Butler's terms) to rescue her young self from sexual victimization. With its affirmation of women's and girls' right to sexual agency, this disclosure narrative can be viewed as a tool for empowerment and contributes to bringing forth a culture shift.