Léa Clermont-Dion
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Léa Clermont-Dion (born 5 April 1991) is a Canadian author, feminist, television and radio host, and body image advocate. She was a co-facilitator, with Jacinthe Veillette, and spokesperson of the Québec Charter for a Healthy and Diverse Body Image. Clermont-Dion came to public attention during an appearance on the television programme ''Tout le monde en parle'' in October 2009. She is a doctoral student in political science at
Laval University Laval means ''The Valley'' in old French and is the name of: People * House of Laval, a French noble family originating from the town of Laval, Mayenne * Laval (surname) Places Belgium * Laval, a village in the municipality of Sainte-Ode, Luxe ...
and the author of ''La revanche des moches'' (2014) and ''Les Superbes'' (2016).


Biography

After experiencing a health problem related to
anorexia nervosa Anorexia nervosa (AN), often referred to simply as anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by Calorie restriction, food restriction, body image disturbance, fear of gaining weight, and an overpowering desire to be thin. Individuals wit ...
at age 12, Léa Clermont-Dion questioned the pressure put on women by the unachievable media ideal of thin models. In 2006, at age 14, she worked with Cathy Wong to organize a conference of leading feminists at the
Université du Québec à Montréal The (UQAM; ), is a French language, French-language public university, public research university based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest constituent element of the system. UQAM was founded on April 9, 1969, by the government o ...
(UQAM) which attracted more than 400 people. The same year she was recruited by the youth committee of the on which she served from 2006 to 2008. Clermont-Dion met Jacinthe Veillette, who had a similar body image struggle; together, they wrote a petition that was posted online. The petition was tabled in the National Assembly of Quebec and resulted in a bill: ''Charte québécoise pour une image corporelle saine et diversifiée'' (Quebec Charter for a Healthy and Diverse Body Image). It was drawn up by a working committee of about thirty people from the fashion, advertising, media, video, music and government sectors. A unique charter in North America, it was officially released in the fall of 2009. The next spring, an awareness campaign was launched at schools and colleges and on television, radio and the Internet. As a spokesperson for the charter, Clermont-Dion speaks several times a year at schools. Clermont-Dion was named 2011 Personnalité par Excellence by Forces Avenir, who awarded her a scholarship to aid her undergraduate studies in political science at UQAM. She spent a year at
Sciences Po Sciences Po () or Sciences Po Paris, also known as the Paris Institute of Political Studies (), is a public research university located in Paris, France, that holds the status of ''grande école'' and the legal status of . The university's unde ...
in Paris, earned a bachelor's degree in political science then in 2014 began a master's degree in political science and feminist studies at Laval University. Clermont-Dion has stated that the new generation of feminism is more individualistic than the movement of the past, and that she has a social democratic vision, that "the feminist struggle is part of a whole, an ideal of society." Not wanting to be associated with a single cause, she has been involved with famine relief, education and environmental movements, and took part in an
Oxfam Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent non-governmental organizations (NGOs), focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International. It began as the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief ...
– internship in
Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...
. Clermont-Dion has also tried to create dialog by bringing issues forward creatively, as in her short film ''Sandra'' about teenaged prostitution and the photo exhibit "Banfora en 30 visages" which showed empowering portraits of the Green Brigades. Her first book, ''La revanche des moches'' (), published in 2014, examines the collective obsession with appearance and beauty and brought confirming testimonial from music artist
Mitsou Mitsou Annie Marie Gélinas (born September 1, 1970, in Loretteville, Quebec) is a Canadian pop singer, businesswoman, television and radio host, and actress. She is credited as Mitsou Gélinas when acting, but records simply as Mitsou (the Fre ...
. The two joined as co-hosts of feminist documentary series ''Mitsou et Léa''. In 2017 she began working on her first feature-length documentary, ''Mysogynie 2.0'', about sexual harassment on the Internet.


Sexual assault allegation

On 25 October 2017 Clermont-Dion claimed on her Facebook page to have filed a sexual assault complaint against Michel Venne, journalist and founder of the Institut du Nouveau Monde, for an alleged incident that occurred when he was her boss in the summer of 2008. She was a minor at the time. During 2014–2015 she made a public release about the alleged incident without naming her attacker. Clermont-Dion claimed that
Lise Payette Lise Payette ( Ouimet; August 29, 1931 – September 5, 2018) was a Canadian politician, journalist, writer, and businesswoman. She was a Parti Québécois (PQ) minister under the leadership of Premier René Lévesque and National Assembly of ...
, a feminist and columnist, pressured her to sign a retraction as rumours spread, affecting Venne's opportunity to become an editor at ''Le Devoir''. Clermont-Dion claimed to have taken action in 2017 in support of the #MoiAussi movement. Venne denied the allegations on his Facebook page, and suspended his professional activities pending an investigation.


Works


Publications

* *


Documentaries

*''Sandra'' (short form) *''Beauté fatale'' *''Janette et filles'' - Director, co-writer -
La Ruelle Films
2022. (medium-length documentary) *'' Backlash: Misogyny in the Digital Age'' ''-'' Co-director with Guylaine Maroist
La Ruelle Films
2022. Je vous salue salope: la misogynie au temps du numérique] (French version). *2024 : ''La peur au ventre'' - Presenter, director, writer - Les Productions d’Octobre inc. 2024. (medium-length documentary)


Awards and distinctions

*Volunteer Award from Bénévolat Québec *Young Woman of Merit Award, YWCA of Montreal *College Award for Excellence in Communications *Millennium National Scholarship *Avenir Personnalité par Excellence, 2011, from Forces Avenir *Personality of the Week from '' La Presse (Canadian newspaper), La Presse'' and
Radio-Canada Radio-Canada may refer to: * CBC/Radio-Canada, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation *Ici Radio-Canada Télé, the CBC's main French-language television network *Ici Radio-Canada Première Ici Radio-Canada Première (formerly Première Chaîne) i ...


References


External links


La CHiC
– The Quebec charter for healthy and diverse body images
online petition
for the charter {{DEFAULTSORT:Clermont-Dion, Lea 1991 births Living people Canadian feminist writers Writers from Quebec Canadian documentary film directors Université Laval alumni Canadian women film directors Canadian women documentary filmmakers