Low Battery: “Talking about mental load has freed a lot of mothers”

« I don’t know how to explain it to you, but I always feel like I have something to think about. When I’m at work or with friends, I think ‘hey, I have to add butter and flour on the shopping list to make Maxime’s birthday cake on Saturday’ or ‘I hope my reunion won’t be late because I have to go and pick it up at football in the afternoon ‘ This feeling that describes Lisa, many people feel it, especially mothers. Many mothers are indeed tired of having to think of everything, all the time, to keep the home running smoothly. And the health crisis has not contributed to a better balance of this mental load. This phenomenon, defined and made aware in the 1980s, has found a new generation of women to speak out loud and clear… and to attempt a better balance of this weight of thought.

The mental load explained by Emma

Among these women who are committed and free to speak, illustrator Emma has made a splash on the internet and in bookstores with her drawings crying out for truth. “You had to ask” sums up in one sentence this feeling, which is not always easy to describe, that beyond doing, you also have to think about doing. His comic strip, as well as accounts of testimonials such as “You thought of “ allowed many women to share their feelings and / or to feel understood. So we invited Emma testified in podcast for our new season dubbed Low battery who is dedicated to this topic of mental load.

Mental load, at the heart of gender inequalities

The illustrator, activist author, thus recalls what we mean by this term, but above all, all that it hides. Obviously, it is a question of an unequal distribution of tasks within the household, but it does not stop there and the phenomenon encompasses much broader societal issues: wages, paternity leave, expectations vis-à-vis mothers, patriarchy … A whole program, which she details with great simplicity.

Listen to our Low Battery podcast

With an accessible, engaged speech that concerns everyone, Emma deciphers a subject far from trivial. This episode can be found on all podcast platforms (Spotify, Deezer, Apple podcasts …) as well as on Magicmaman and our Dailymotion channel. We hope this episode helps you pinpoint this evil that drains your batteries!