Our Global Partner in Québec Publishes a New Volume
Feminist groups from around the world have been translating and adapting "Our Bodies, Ourselves" for women in their own countries since the 1970s. Diana Lombardi, Nesrine Bessaïh, and La CORPS féministe recently wrote to our Global Projects Committee with exciting news about their French-language adaptations in Québec. They have followed an initial "Our Bodies, Ourselves" adaptation from 2019 with a second volume focused on birthing, fertility, and pregnancy. Information on both volumes is available at les Éditions du remue-ménage.
Diane Lombardi describes the new book and other work of La CORPS in more detail below, where you'll also find the press release in French and in English translation.
What has your organization been working on most recently?
Our latest publication, "Corps accord – Fertilité, grossesse et parentalité" (which translates to "Body Consent – Fertility, Pregnancy, and Parenthood") was released in March 2025. This is an adaptation of Chapters 14 to 19 of Our Bodies, Ourselves (2011).
The book launch was a huge success! We were so happy to see such a huge turnout of people from different ages, backgrounds, and experiences. We were particularly happy to witness how the evening brought together activists, community workers, professionals, and academics. We know how important the publication of this volume is for women and gender-diverse people.
Since the launch, different members of our collective have participated in varying events, like book fairs, podcasts, panels, and community gatherings. It is really important to us that we maintain, foster, and grow relationships with community groups and women’s groups in Québec. We are committed to working collectively with advocacy and grassroots organizations. We hope to not only share information with them, but to continuously learn, collect narratives, gather perspectives, and gain insight into what women and gender-diverse people have to say about sexual and reproductive health.
As of February 2026, we have started to plan an adaptation of yet another section of "Our Bodies, Ourselves" and publish a third book!
How do you use your Our Bodies Ourselves book (or website) content today?
We definitely still use the adaptation of Our Bodies, Ourselves that we published in 2019 in different settings (talks, sharing with community groups, etc). This publication has anatomical drawings annexed at the end of the book. These drawings have been printed in large poster format, and we still receive requests from college or university professors who wish to use them in an educational setting. That is just one example of how our work lives on.
What important health issues or topics in your country do you want other people to know about?
When we published of our first book in 2019, we were concerned about funding cuts to our healthcare system and how a lack of services disproportionately affects women, especially marginalized women, and gender-diverse people. In 2026, the situation has only gotten worse. Even though we have universal, free health care in Québec, the private sector is rapidly gaining ground. Long waitlists and the growing scarcity of services are forcing some to pay for healthcare – that is, those who can afford to. Of course, the rise – and the normalization – of right-wing discourse has its repercussions. Right-wing discourse can lead to right-wing policy, and that is never a good sign for protecting our right to accessible and comprehensive healthcare. Our hard-won gains are still fragile.
