Voluble and colorful, the two puppets are the stars of the day in this nursery school in Saint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis) whose library has been transformed into a performance hall for the occasion.
Sitting on benches, around twenty students in the middle section – average age 4 – have their eyes glued to the theater set lit by two projectors.
Lasting 45 minutesthe show “the puppets of equality”, designed by the association Dans le Genre Egales, is available in four sketches.
They address with humor and in simple language the question of equality, gender stereotypes still attached to certain professions, the occupation of space and respect for the integrity of the body.
This show is part of the education sessions on emotional life, relationships and sexuality, obligatory in law since 2001 but rarely carried out in practice. Currently being finalized, the draft program has for several weeks been the subject of an offensive by conservative movements and elected officials who consider it “in unacceptable state”.
– “A little girl” –
– “Moussa, are you coming to play football with me?”
– “I can’t, Kevin, I’m in shock”
– “Have you seen a dinosaur? A whale, a tractor?”
– “Worse than that, I saw a little girl in the playground, on the football field,” the puppet overplays, triggering laughter from the young audience. “Hey guys, everyone’s in the yard, ding-dong, let’s wake up”replies Louise, who has just scored a goal.
“Girls have as much right as boys to come and play football in the middle of the field. Do you see a sign saying 'no girls in the yard'?”adds the puppet.
Another painting. David asks Natacha if he can do her braids. “No, you don't touch my hair”, replies the puppet.
– “What's wrong with my hands? They smell like smelly, runny Camembert? The soles of my shoes? Baby vomit?” David replies, offended.
– “On the contrary, they smell like flowers but it's just that right now, I don't want you to touch my hair. One day, someone explained something great to me , mega, giga, important, I was told that my body is my body.”
“I decide”
“And like my body, it's my body, it's me who decides if I want someone to touch my hair, to give me a hug, to give me a kiss, for example”, adds the puppet.
There is laughter in the audience. “A kiss”, a boy giggles in his hand.
At the end of the show, the two members of the association return to the themes discussed and ask a few questions.
“Is it true that the schoolyard only belongs to boys and that boys decide?” asks Jean-Michel Taliercio.
“Yes”, “no”, the children respond pell-mell. “Girls can't, because they are punished”, begins one. “By the boys”? “Yes”, replies another.
Quant “to your body”, “whose is it? It’s yours”, insists Berivan Vialle. “If there is someone who is forcing you, you can come and talk to an adult you trust, in your family, but it could also be someone at school.”
According to the Independent Commission on Incest and Sexual Violence Against Children (Ciivise), three children per class are victims of incest every year in France.
