Deconstructing the Influences on a French-Moroccan Archive: Medium, Audience, and Self in Leïla Slimani's Sexe et mensonges and Paroles d'honneur

Abstract

In 2017 Leïla Slimani simultaneously published two books that catalogue interviews about sexual life in Morocco, Sexe et mensonges: La vie sexuelle au Maroc and Paroles d'honneur. This article examines these works through the framework of expanded conceptions of the archive, analyzing how these (non)fiction works archive stories and the powers behind their collection and dissemination. Sexe et mensonges is an essai and Paroles d'honneur is a bande dessinée, and the first section of this article compares how the two different formats of these works affect the archived testimonies. The second section deconstructs the choice of publishing these stories with a French publisher for a European audience, and how this choice does and does not align with Slimani's goals for these works. The third section focuses on Slimani's role in the works. In the essai, Slimani serves as narrator and commentator, sharing her own stories and interpreting the interviews for the reader. In the bande dessinée, Slimani is a character in the story, participating in conversations with her interviewees. Looking at the accessibility, power structures, and political intentions, while also taking into account Slimani's positionality, authorial posture, and privilege in the assemblage of these stories allows greater insight into their construction.