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Dans les vestiaires
Les vestiaires constituent un endroit clos, dépourvu de toute figure d'autorité, où les élèves sont livrés à eux-mêmes. Les mots sont durs, les violences récurrentes. La moindre différence suffit à déclencher moqueries et harcèlement.
Loin du feuilleton adolescent, Dans les vestiaires se révèle tout à la fois un huis-clos haletant et un documentaire sur la puberté et sur ses excès...
Les blessures du corps guérissent, mais pas celles de l'esprit.
Loin du feuilleton adolescent, Dans les vestiaires se révèle tout à la fois un huis-clos haletant et un documentaire sur la puberté et sur ses excès...
Les blessures du corps guérissent, mais pas celles de l'esprit.
128 pages, Hardcover
First published May 2, 2014
3 people are currently reading
184 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
February 9, 2023
Français ci-dessous
I didn't particularly care for the illustrations, but that's just my taste and expectation about his work (Le Boucher is able to create artistic work even with unlikeable characters).
I can't say that i "liked" the story but that's pretty much the point - showing the dark side of adolescence.
Je n'ai pas trop apprécié les illustrations mais question de goût et mes attentes (Le Boucher est capable de faire un œuvre très beau, même sur des personnages pas très sympathiques).
Je ne peux pas dire que j'ai aimé l'histoire mais c'est évidemment le but - de nous montrer le "dark side" des ados.
I didn't particularly care for the illustrations, but that's just my taste and expectation about his work (Le Boucher is able to create artistic work even with unlikeable characters).
I can't say that i "liked" the story but that's pretty much the point - showing the dark side of adolescence.
Je n'ai pas trop apprécié les illustrations mais question de goût et mes attentes (Le Boucher est capable de faire un œuvre très beau, même sur des personnages pas très sympathiques).
Je ne peux pas dire que j'ai aimé l'histoire mais c'est évidemment le but - de nous montrer le "dark side" des ados.
March 10, 2021
I read an English translation, obviously, because I don't speak French. I think a lot of this is culturally specific. Clearly, the U.S. has a problem with misogyny and bullying; homophobia to such a degree that even heterosexual males are victim to it. So in that regard this little slice-of-life PSA about locker room bullying is completely accurate and applies equally to U.S. culture.
But, I dunno. Depending on what state you're in and whether the high school is public or private, some of the early incidents of bullying in this graphic novel would already have gotten kids expelled. I have heard of many schools where if students threw a single punch, that would be enough to get the kid expelled. Taking photos of a classmate in the locker room and sharing it? At least in the U.S., that's a felony (sharing child pornography).
Also, the question of nudity is problematic depending on what country you're in. This graphic novel opened with what would be pretty standard in the U.S.-- high school boys disliking the idea of group showers and reluctant to be naked around each other. But different European countries have more relaxed rules about nudity, to the point that they allow full-frontal nudity on television. I feel like this was a fairly accurate portrayal of how the nudity taboos would play out in U.S. culture, except perhaps it was weird how much the students talked to each other in the shower. At my old high school most of the guys simply wouldn't talk at all.
Meh.
But, I dunno. Depending on what state you're in and whether the high school is public or private, some of the early incidents of bullying in this graphic novel would already have gotten kids expelled. I have heard of many schools where if students threw a single punch, that would be enough to get the kid expelled. Taking photos of a classmate in the locker room and sharing it? At least in the U.S., that's a felony (sharing child pornography).
Also, the question of nudity is problematic depending on what country you're in. This graphic novel opened with what would be pretty standard in the U.S.-- high school boys disliking the idea of group showers and reluctant to be naked around each other. But different European countries have more relaxed rules about nudity, to the point that they allow full-frontal nudity on television. I feel like this was a fairly accurate portrayal of how the nudity taboos would play out in U.S. culture, except perhaps it was weird how much the students talked to each other in the shower. At my old high school most of the guys simply wouldn't talk at all.
Meh.
October 28, 2022
C'est la rentrée des classes et au collège on inaugure un nouveau vestiaire masculin pour le cours de sport...
Chaque semaine après la leçon d'éducation physique et sportive, on retrouvera les murs carrelés, les douches, les bancs et l'ambiance moite, chargée de testostérone. Chaque semaine on suivra les amitiés qui se forment ou se brisent, les taquineries immatures et le harcèlement scolaire le plus triste et le plus violent.
Dernier Timothé Le Boucher qu'il me restait à découvrir, Dans les Vestiaire est un huis clos glaçant qui retourne le coeur et révolte. Évidemment c'est le but recherché, et la bande dessinée remplit pleinement sa mission. On a envie de la glisser d'urgence dans tous les CDI et les bibliothèques...
Et visuellement l'illustrateur ne déçoit jamais. C'est beau. C'est propre. Même quand le sujet est douloureux.
Chaque semaine après la leçon d'éducation physique et sportive, on retrouvera les murs carrelés, les douches, les bancs et l'ambiance moite, chargée de testostérone. Chaque semaine on suivra les amitiés qui se forment ou se brisent, les taquineries immatures et le harcèlement scolaire le plus triste et le plus violent.
Dernier Timothé Le Boucher qu'il me restait à découvrir, Dans les Vestiaire est un huis clos glaçant qui retourne le coeur et révolte. Évidemment c'est le but recherché, et la bande dessinée remplit pleinement sa mission. On a envie de la glisser d'urgence dans tous les CDI et les bibliothèques...
Et visuellement l'illustrateur ne déçoit jamais. C'est beau. C'est propre. Même quand le sujet est douloureux.
April 5, 2022
Figurati lo spazio sociale più terrificante che la tua mente possa immaginare.
Probabilmente penserai all’ufficio del responsabile quando hai sbagliato qualcosa di importante al lavoro, o la sala operatoria verdastra in cui aspetti d’addormentarti per risolvere quel brutto problema di salute.
Nella testa di ogni giovane uomo, presto, compare anche il protagonista di questa breve graphic novel: lo spogliatoio maschile delle superiori.
Faccio fatica, davvero, a pensare ad un luogo in cui mi sono sentito più indifeso e braccato e spaventato di questo. Era una realtà a sé stante che chiudeva fuori la sicurezza esterna – concetto reso benissimo con i vetri offuscati in questo fumetto. Ricordo come mi ci infilavo dentro veloce, dirigendomi al solito posto sulla panca, vicino agli amici fidati; ricordo lo sguardo basso, per non inciampare sui corpi degli altri e non attirare attenzioni sgradevoli; ricordo la fretta di infilarmi i pantaloni della tuta, dopo il sospiro con cui mi ero tolto i jeans; ricordo la sospensione del pensiero, causata dall’ansia, nella preghiera muta di non essere io l’oggetto delle attenzioni sgradite.
Non lo ero quasi mai, lo ammetto. Dico “quasi”, perché non c’era modo di scamparvi: prima o poi tutti dovevano passare da quelle forche caudine, qualsiasi fosse la propria posizione nella scala gerarchica. La mia, però, mi preservava dal peggio: un po’ mi tutelava la stazza, un po’ l’autorità d’essere nelle grazie dei docenti, un po’ la lingua affilata come un rasoio. Un po’ il potenziale bisogno futuro che non andava compromesso – “cosa devo rispondere a questa domanda? Mi spieghi questo problema? Non è che vai volontario tu?” –, un po’ il mio distacco emotivo assoluto – arido alla vita, mi scivolava un po’ tutto addosso, senza dare alcuna soddisfazione, perché avevo altri mostri per la testa.
Poi io a quel gioco di sopravvivenza, sapevo giocare. Oggi direi che ero vile e omertoso, che avrei dovuto fare di più e mi sarei dovuto esporre, anche in luce della mia relativa “sicurezza sociale”, ma so anche che mi sarei scaraventato da solo nella merda. E so che il mondo degli adulti non mi avrebbe tutelato.
Ciò detto, a distanza di anni, lo spogliatoio rimane uno dei miei incubi. Ricordo l’invidia che provavo nei confronti delle ragazze, che dalla loro stanza uscivano ed entravano tranquille, mentre nella mia poteva verificarsi qualsiasi cosa. Un covo degli orrori, reso mefitico da quel puzzo di sudore ormonale misto deodorante axe.
Trovo che Le Boucher sia stato in grado, con Lo spogliatoio, di raccontare alla perfezione questo ecosistema pieno di violenza fisica e psicologica. Non tutti ci si ritroveranno, per qualcuno gli eventi raccontati risulteranno eccessivi: per me no, io ho visto molto di ciò che è disegnato qui e spesso anche di decisamente peggio.
Pecca per l’immaturità del tratto, che ho trovato più fine e maturo ne I giorni che scompaiono, e per la scelta, discutibile certo, di non avere un approccio didascalico. Le Boucher non lancia palesi messaggi contro il bullismo, non inserisce la svolta cuore-amore per cui tutti diventano amici e fanno pace, non censura la brutalità a cui tutto ciò può arrivare.
Anzi, chiude senza alcuna speranza, con un finale aperto che lascia immaginare il peggio.
E, posso essere onesto? Mi sembra che questa sia la versione più vera che si possa raccontare del bullismo: insegnanti assenti – quando non parte del problema – e sopravvivenza ferina nella speranza che i mesi trascorrano in fretta e le superiori finiscano per non tornare mai più. Mors tua vita mea, homo homini lupus e tutta la compagnia danzante di frasi fatte con cui da secoli raccontiamo la mascolinità tossica.
Letto dopo l’entusiasmo per I giorni che scompaiono e acquistato in biblioteca per il tema trattato – anche se ora mi trovo un po’ in difficoltà sul come collocarlo -, vi ho ritrovato un giovane autore davvero capacissimo e con una sensibilità molto acuminata. Da tenere assolutamente d’occhio.
Probabilmente penserai all’ufficio del responsabile quando hai sbagliato qualcosa di importante al lavoro, o la sala operatoria verdastra in cui aspetti d’addormentarti per risolvere quel brutto problema di salute.
Nella testa di ogni giovane uomo, presto, compare anche il protagonista di questa breve graphic novel: lo spogliatoio maschile delle superiori.
Faccio fatica, davvero, a pensare ad un luogo in cui mi sono sentito più indifeso e braccato e spaventato di questo. Era una realtà a sé stante che chiudeva fuori la sicurezza esterna – concetto reso benissimo con i vetri offuscati in questo fumetto. Ricordo come mi ci infilavo dentro veloce, dirigendomi al solito posto sulla panca, vicino agli amici fidati; ricordo lo sguardo basso, per non inciampare sui corpi degli altri e non attirare attenzioni sgradevoli; ricordo la fretta di infilarmi i pantaloni della tuta, dopo il sospiro con cui mi ero tolto i jeans; ricordo la sospensione del pensiero, causata dall’ansia, nella preghiera muta di non essere io l’oggetto delle attenzioni sgradite.
Non lo ero quasi mai, lo ammetto. Dico “quasi”, perché non c’era modo di scamparvi: prima o poi tutti dovevano passare da quelle forche caudine, qualsiasi fosse la propria posizione nella scala gerarchica. La mia, però, mi preservava dal peggio: un po’ mi tutelava la stazza, un po’ l’autorità d’essere nelle grazie dei docenti, un po’ la lingua affilata come un rasoio. Un po’ il potenziale bisogno futuro che non andava compromesso – “cosa devo rispondere a questa domanda? Mi spieghi questo problema? Non è che vai volontario tu?” –, un po’ il mio distacco emotivo assoluto – arido alla vita, mi scivolava un po’ tutto addosso, senza dare alcuna soddisfazione, perché avevo altri mostri per la testa.
Poi io a quel gioco di sopravvivenza, sapevo giocare. Oggi direi che ero vile e omertoso, che avrei dovuto fare di più e mi sarei dovuto esporre, anche in luce della mia relativa “sicurezza sociale”, ma so anche che mi sarei scaraventato da solo nella merda. E so che il mondo degli adulti non mi avrebbe tutelato.
Ciò detto, a distanza di anni, lo spogliatoio rimane uno dei miei incubi. Ricordo l’invidia che provavo nei confronti delle ragazze, che dalla loro stanza uscivano ed entravano tranquille, mentre nella mia poteva verificarsi qualsiasi cosa. Un covo degli orrori, reso mefitico da quel puzzo di sudore ormonale misto deodorante axe.
Trovo che Le Boucher sia stato in grado, con Lo spogliatoio, di raccontare alla perfezione questo ecosistema pieno di violenza fisica e psicologica. Non tutti ci si ritroveranno, per qualcuno gli eventi raccontati risulteranno eccessivi: per me no, io ho visto molto di ciò che è disegnato qui e spesso anche di decisamente peggio.
Pecca per l’immaturità del tratto, che ho trovato più fine e maturo ne I giorni che scompaiono, e per la scelta, discutibile certo, di non avere un approccio didascalico. Le Boucher non lancia palesi messaggi contro il bullismo, non inserisce la svolta cuore-amore per cui tutti diventano amici e fanno pace, non censura la brutalità a cui tutto ciò può arrivare.
Anzi, chiude senza alcuna speranza, con un finale aperto che lascia immaginare il peggio.
E, posso essere onesto? Mi sembra che questa sia la versione più vera che si possa raccontare del bullismo: insegnanti assenti – quando non parte del problema – e sopravvivenza ferina nella speranza che i mesi trascorrano in fretta e le superiori finiscano per non tornare mai più. Mors tua vita mea, homo homini lupus e tutta la compagnia danzante di frasi fatte con cui da secoli raccontiamo la mascolinità tossica.
Letto dopo l’entusiasmo per I giorni che scompaiono e acquistato in biblioteca per il tema trattato – anche se ora mi trovo un po’ in difficoltà sul come collocarlo -, vi ho ritrovato un giovane autore davvero capacissimo e con una sensibilità molto acuminata. Da tenere assolutamente d’occhio.
June 25, 2022
Duro ma vero. Affronta i tipici temi del bullismo, della pubertà, del clan... ma lo fa con una scelta molto particolare: ambientando la narrazione solo ed esclusivamente all'interno di uno spogliatoio. La trovo una strada originale e premiante.
Mi piace anche la mano del fumettista. Forse un po' "esagerato" il finale, anche se non impossibile.
Sarebbero state 3 stelline e mezzo.
Mi piace anche la mano del fumettista. Forse un po' "esagerato" il finale, anche se non impossibile.
Sarebbero state 3 stelline e mezzo.
December 9, 2025
Pas sûr d’être la cible mais le huis clos est grave bien géré et ça doit être un bon livre pour parler du sujet avec des ados!!
January 8, 2026
pas son meilleur parce que certains dialogues font vraiment pas ado mais le sujet est intéressant
October 11, 2022
Résumé : Nouvelle année scolaire, nouveaux vestiaires pour ce groupe de collégiens. Les murs ont été repeints, ils ont de nouveaux bancs et les douches ont été réaménagées. Mais ils font face à un problème majeur : leurs anciennes douches individuelles ont été remplacées par des douches communes. Quoi de pire à cet âge que de devoir se mettre nu face à ses pairs pour se doucher ? Après plusieurs semaines de refus, ils finissent peu à peu par braver leurs complexes et leur timidité. Mais les rivalités, elles, restent bien présentes, et empirent même. C'est tellement plus facile de s'attaquer aux autres pour éviter qu'on ne s'en prenne à toi. Mais attention, le vent de la popularité peut vite tourner.
Mon avis : Ce roman graphique est un huis clos sur l'adolescence, avec ses brimades, ses découvertes et ses injustices. Quoi de pire, en plein questionnement intérieur et avec le corps en perpétuel changement que de se retrouver confronté aux autres garçons, exposer ses complexes dans le plus simple appareil, d'être victime d'insultes et de moqueries ? Timothé Le Boucher nous offre ici un roman graphique percutant, en s'intéressant à ce microcosme étrange de la vie scolaire, les Vestiaires. Harcèlement, violence. Le pauvre Corentin, plus enrobé que les autres, en fait particulièrement les frais. J'ai eu beaucoup de peine pour lui, seul contre la meute, dans l'incapacité de se défendre. Du moins, au début, car la dynamique du groupe va changer au fil des semaines.
Je m'attendais à une histoire "classique", comme une sorte de journal de bord, de tranche de vie, mais c'est sans compter le talent de l'auteur qui, comme à chaque fois, me surprend avec un final auquel on ne s'attend pas, et qui laisse un goût amer, un malaise profond, et beaucoup d'interrogations.
Mon avis : Ce roman graphique est un huis clos sur l'adolescence, avec ses brimades, ses découvertes et ses injustices. Quoi de pire, en plein questionnement intérieur et avec le corps en perpétuel changement que de se retrouver confronté aux autres garçons, exposer ses complexes dans le plus simple appareil, d'être victime d'insultes et de moqueries ? Timothé Le Boucher nous offre ici un roman graphique percutant, en s'intéressant à ce microcosme étrange de la vie scolaire, les Vestiaires. Harcèlement, violence. Le pauvre Corentin, plus enrobé que les autres, en fait particulièrement les frais. J'ai eu beaucoup de peine pour lui, seul contre la meute, dans l'incapacité de se défendre. Du moins, au début, car la dynamique du groupe va changer au fil des semaines.
Je m'attendais à une histoire "classique", comme une sorte de journal de bord, de tranche de vie, mais c'est sans compter le talent de l'auteur qui, comme à chaque fois, me surprend avec un final auquel on ne s'attend pas, et qui laisse un goût amer, un malaise profond, et beaucoup d'interrogations.
February 19, 2024
Non dà soluzioni nè balsami: è tutto caos, come i giovani adolescenti che non sanno bene quel che fanno. Provano di qua e di la a crescere, inserirsi, trovarsi e crearsi. L’ho trovata molto sensibile al problema.
“Lascia quel cell brutto intellettuale di merda”. Ma la smettiamo di sottovalutare la traduzione? È tra le più brutte che abbia mai visto i vita mia. Nessun giovane parla in questa maniera, NESSUNO.
“Lascia quel cell brutto intellettuale di merda”. Ma la smettiamo di sottovalutare la traduzione? È tra le più brutte che abbia mai visto i vita mia. Nessun giovane parla in questa maniera, NESSUNO.
February 20, 2019
Wow - puissant et dérangeant (et un peu de ptsd de mes années collège...)
March 20, 2022
Oh boy, locker rooms. Does any place within school conjure more awful memories? I know that my own experiences were not the best in them, despite nothing truly awful happening there; but that still didn't preclude people from bullying anyone who was overweight, odd, without the right fashion, or just anyone that the bullies decided to go for that day. And don't get me started about all the internalised trauma of having to spend years in the boys locker room as a trans girl who still hadn't figured her shit out yet. Nightmare fuel.
A story that decides to take a look at this weird microcosm of school life, of this place where tensions are always high, and where there a pretty much never school staff to keep things safe, is definitely a bold move. Within just opening the book the author and artist Timothé Le Boucher lets the reader know that the events in the book are inspired by things that he witnessed and lived through; that the depictions of bullying and abuse he's crafted here aren't too far removed from his own past, as well as the lived reality for many others.
The story begins with a group of school boys being let into their newly renovated locker room for the first time. The walls have been repainted, they've got nice new benches, and the showers have been revamped. Whilst they're initially impressed by what they find they do encounter one glaring issue, their old individual showers have been replaced by a communal one. These young, adolescent boys are terrified by the idea that they'll have to get naked around each other and shower. In fact, they outright refuse to use the showers, and spend the next few weeks going without.
However, as time passes the students are sick of feeling dirty and sweaty after their sports, and when the girls start telling them they all stink someone makes the plunge and uses the showers. After this more of the students begin to, and some lines begin to be drawn between those that shower and those that don't. This isn't the only divide we see in this book, and there are some very clear groups that form inside the locker room, each vying not to be the ones that get picked on by those deemed to be 'above' them.
One kid who falls prey to the bullies more than once is Corentin, a boy who doesn't really have any friends, and whose weight makes him a target of ridicule and abuse more than once. One of his chief bullies is the exchange student Gauthier, who makes it his mission to shame the kid. However, when Corentin discovers something 'odd' that Gauthier is doing in one of the toilet stalls and takes a photo the focus of the bullying changes. Now Gauthier is the one being abused and made fun of, whilst Corentin manages to get in with one of the groups when he suggests new ways in which to harass the boy who once bullied him.
The Locker Room is an odd book in that it wants to take a look at bullying in schools, but doesn't do it in a broader context; instead focusing squarely on what happens in this one room once a week. We don't get to see if Corentin gets picked on during lunch, nor do we see if snide comments are made about people during class. Our only context for things is in this one isolated room. This really works in some regards, and I liked how whenever the story showed us anything from outside we were looking out through the frosted windows of the locker room at these indistinct, distorted shapes. However, it often felt like I was only getting small snippets of the whole, and that whilst the important events might be happening in this one location I was still missing details that would have made things make sense.
For example, we see a pretty sharp change in how the students are acting towards Corenti and Gauthier from one week to the next, as Guthier becomes the target for the bullies and Corentin becomes one of them. There are hints in the dialogue as to what's been going on, but you're very much left to try and fill in the gaps yourself and add your own context. A big example of this is what Gauthier was doing in the toilet that got him so hated by the other students. Before this he seemed incredibly self conscious about showering with the other boys, and kept himself covered as much as he could, that coupled with the photo of him in the stall labelling him as 'revolting' leads the reader to make certain conclusions without actually saying they itself.
I don't know if this is being done from a perspective of some kind of plausible deniability, such as if someone comes to the conclusion that Gauthier was caught masturbating in the toilet and that's why he was made fun of the writer can say 'I never said that, that's your own conclusion' if they ever got called out for having that content in the book. It might also be because to a certain degree it doesn't matter what Gauthier was doing. Having lived through school I can say, and I'm sure you'll all agree, that it often didn't matter what someone decided to make the reason for bullying you; if it was going to happen it was going to happen, and reasons why didn't matter.
I think this is the approach the author is going for, and if so, I think it's the better way of doing this. Readers are able to project their own thought and feelings onto this, possibly drawing from their own experiences; which makes the book feel a lot more personal in some way and will help the reader relate it to their own life.
Though the book is good in a lot of ways there are some areas in which I felt it let itself down, or could cause upset to some readers. The first is that this is a book that focuses on teenage boys, and as such features the boys using horrible language. There are the uses of abelist and homophobic slurs more than once across the book, and whilst this might be accurate for how teens talk it was jarring to see, and did lessen my enjoyment of the book.
The second thing is that whilst there is no male nudity in the book, or at least no full frontal male nudity as most often the boys would be covering their genitals self-consciously, there are repeated scenes where the boys spy into the girls locker room and everything is openly on show. I know that the book is being written from a teen male perspective, and that for most teen males seeing a guys junk is the last thing they want, whilst seeing a girl naked is probably the first, it did feel a little one-sided that naked girls were fine whilst naked boys weren't. The author could have easily conveyed the boys being perverts without showing female nudity.
Overall, I thought that The Locker Room was a well crafted book, one that isn't necessarily heavy on the details, but certainly captures the feel of what its like to experience bullying, and how bullying can sometimes go too far. Bullying is still one of those things that all too often gets brushed aside as not being serious, or is chalked up to 'kids just being kids'. But the simple truth is that bullying is awful, it has long-lasting effects that can stay with a person for decades. It needs to be challenged and called out whenever it happens, and if books like this can help highlight these issues, or encourage people to act differently when it happens, that can only be a good thing.
A story that decides to take a look at this weird microcosm of school life, of this place where tensions are always high, and where there a pretty much never school staff to keep things safe, is definitely a bold move. Within just opening the book the author and artist Timothé Le Boucher lets the reader know that the events in the book are inspired by things that he witnessed and lived through; that the depictions of bullying and abuse he's crafted here aren't too far removed from his own past, as well as the lived reality for many others.
The story begins with a group of school boys being let into their newly renovated locker room for the first time. The walls have been repainted, they've got nice new benches, and the showers have been revamped. Whilst they're initially impressed by what they find they do encounter one glaring issue, their old individual showers have been replaced by a communal one. These young, adolescent boys are terrified by the idea that they'll have to get naked around each other and shower. In fact, they outright refuse to use the showers, and spend the next few weeks going without.
However, as time passes the students are sick of feeling dirty and sweaty after their sports, and when the girls start telling them they all stink someone makes the plunge and uses the showers. After this more of the students begin to, and some lines begin to be drawn between those that shower and those that don't. This isn't the only divide we see in this book, and there are some very clear groups that form inside the locker room, each vying not to be the ones that get picked on by those deemed to be 'above' them.
One kid who falls prey to the bullies more than once is Corentin, a boy who doesn't really have any friends, and whose weight makes him a target of ridicule and abuse more than once. One of his chief bullies is the exchange student Gauthier, who makes it his mission to shame the kid. However, when Corentin discovers something 'odd' that Gauthier is doing in one of the toilet stalls and takes a photo the focus of the bullying changes. Now Gauthier is the one being abused and made fun of, whilst Corentin manages to get in with one of the groups when he suggests new ways in which to harass the boy who once bullied him.
The Locker Room is an odd book in that it wants to take a look at bullying in schools, but doesn't do it in a broader context; instead focusing squarely on what happens in this one room once a week. We don't get to see if Corentin gets picked on during lunch, nor do we see if snide comments are made about people during class. Our only context for things is in this one isolated room. This really works in some regards, and I liked how whenever the story showed us anything from outside we were looking out through the frosted windows of the locker room at these indistinct, distorted shapes. However, it often felt like I was only getting small snippets of the whole, and that whilst the important events might be happening in this one location I was still missing details that would have made things make sense.
For example, we see a pretty sharp change in how the students are acting towards Corenti and Gauthier from one week to the next, as Guthier becomes the target for the bullies and Corentin becomes one of them. There are hints in the dialogue as to what's been going on, but you're very much left to try and fill in the gaps yourself and add your own context. A big example of this is what Gauthier was doing in the toilet that got him so hated by the other students. Before this he seemed incredibly self conscious about showering with the other boys, and kept himself covered as much as he could, that coupled with the photo of him in the stall labelling him as 'revolting' leads the reader to make certain conclusions without actually saying they itself.
I don't know if this is being done from a perspective of some kind of plausible deniability, such as if someone comes to the conclusion that Gauthier was caught masturbating in the toilet and that's why he was made fun of the writer can say 'I never said that, that's your own conclusion' if they ever got called out for having that content in the book. It might also be because to a certain degree it doesn't matter what Gauthier was doing. Having lived through school I can say, and I'm sure you'll all agree, that it often didn't matter what someone decided to make the reason for bullying you; if it was going to happen it was going to happen, and reasons why didn't matter.
I think this is the approach the author is going for, and if so, I think it's the better way of doing this. Readers are able to project their own thought and feelings onto this, possibly drawing from their own experiences; which makes the book feel a lot more personal in some way and will help the reader relate it to their own life.
Though the book is good in a lot of ways there are some areas in which I felt it let itself down, or could cause upset to some readers. The first is that this is a book that focuses on teenage boys, and as such features the boys using horrible language. There are the uses of abelist and homophobic slurs more than once across the book, and whilst this might be accurate for how teens talk it was jarring to see, and did lessen my enjoyment of the book.
The second thing is that whilst there is no male nudity in the book, or at least no full frontal male nudity as most often the boys would be covering their genitals self-consciously, there are repeated scenes where the boys spy into the girls locker room and everything is openly on show. I know that the book is being written from a teen male perspective, and that for most teen males seeing a guys junk is the last thing they want, whilst seeing a girl naked is probably the first, it did feel a little one-sided that naked girls were fine whilst naked boys weren't. The author could have easily conveyed the boys being perverts without showing female nudity.
Overall, I thought that The Locker Room was a well crafted book, one that isn't necessarily heavy on the details, but certainly captures the feel of what its like to experience bullying, and how bullying can sometimes go too far. Bullying is still one of those things that all too often gets brushed aside as not being serious, or is chalked up to 'kids just being kids'. But the simple truth is that bullying is awful, it has long-lasting effects that can stay with a person for decades. It needs to be challenged and called out whenever it happens, and if books like this can help highlight these issues, or encourage people to act differently when it happens, that can only be a good thing.
January 17, 2026
J’ai découvert Timothée Le Boucher avec Ces jours qui disparaissent, une œuvre qui m’a profondément marqué et qui m’a donné envie d’explorer le reste de sa bibliographie. Si Le Patient m’a laissé plus mitigé, 47 cordes, Première partie a en revanche été un véritable coup de cœur. Les Vestiaires s’inscrit encore dans un registre différent, tant par son sujet que par son dispositif narratif.
Dans cet ouvrage, l'auteur s’attaque frontalement à des thématiques difficiles et dérangeantes : le harcèlement, les violences scolaires, la puberté, la sexualité, la virilité imposée ou encore le voyeurisme. La bande dessinée dépeint un univers adolescent marqué par une cruauté omniprésente, où les rapports de force se construisent et se déforment sous le poids des injonctions sociales et des complexes individuels. La violence, souvent banalisée, circule entre les élèves sans réel contrepoids, donnant une image brutale mais crédible de cette micro-société.
Le choix narratif du huis clos, limité aux vestiaires et à l’intervalle entre deux séances de sport, est particulièrement fort. Le lecteur ne voit rien de ce qui se passe à l’extérieur : tout se joue dans cet espace clos, à la fois intime et oppressant. Cette contrainte renforce l’observation des dynamiques de groupe, des dominations tacites, des humiliations répétées. D’une séance à l’autre, les relations évoluent subtilement, les tensions s’accumulent et l’atmosphère devient de plus en plus étouffante, jusqu’à un drame inattendu, d’autant plus marquant qu’il surgit sans emphase ni avertissement.
Bien que publiée il y a plus de dix ans, Les Vestiaires reste d’une actualité troublante. Les comportements décrits, les mécanismes de domination et la violence sociale qu’ils engendrent n’ont rien perdu de leur pertinence. L’auteur livre un état des lieux glaçant de l’adolescence, sans artifice ni volonté de rassurer. Le lecteur est placé dans une position inconfortable, presque voyeuriste, témoin passif de rapports féroces qu’il ne peut ni empêcher ni détourner du regard.
Pour autant, l’album n’est pas exempt de défauts. À mon sens, le scénario manque parfois de sensibilité, notamment dans la manière d’aborder certains personnages ou situations, qui peuvent sembler plus démonstratives que nuancées. Cette sécheresse narrative, si elle participe à la tension permanente, peut aussi créer une distance émotionnelle et limiter l’attachement aux protagonistes.
Malgré ces réserves, Les Vestiaires demeure une œuvre importante et percutante, qui ose montrer une réalité dérangeante sans chercher à la lisser. Timothée Le Boucher y affirme déjà un regard lucide et sans complaisance sur la violence des rapports humains, faisant de cette bande dessinée un témoignage inconfortable mais nécessaire.
Ma chronique : https://psycheedelik-unehistoiredemot...
Dans cet ouvrage, l'auteur s’attaque frontalement à des thématiques difficiles et dérangeantes : le harcèlement, les violences scolaires, la puberté, la sexualité, la virilité imposée ou encore le voyeurisme. La bande dessinée dépeint un univers adolescent marqué par une cruauté omniprésente, où les rapports de force se construisent et se déforment sous le poids des injonctions sociales et des complexes individuels. La violence, souvent banalisée, circule entre les élèves sans réel contrepoids, donnant une image brutale mais crédible de cette micro-société.
Le choix narratif du huis clos, limité aux vestiaires et à l’intervalle entre deux séances de sport, est particulièrement fort. Le lecteur ne voit rien de ce qui se passe à l’extérieur : tout se joue dans cet espace clos, à la fois intime et oppressant. Cette contrainte renforce l’observation des dynamiques de groupe, des dominations tacites, des humiliations répétées. D’une séance à l’autre, les relations évoluent subtilement, les tensions s’accumulent et l’atmosphère devient de plus en plus étouffante, jusqu’à un drame inattendu, d’autant plus marquant qu’il surgit sans emphase ni avertissement.
Bien que publiée il y a plus de dix ans, Les Vestiaires reste d’une actualité troublante. Les comportements décrits, les mécanismes de domination et la violence sociale qu’ils engendrent n’ont rien perdu de leur pertinence. L’auteur livre un état des lieux glaçant de l’adolescence, sans artifice ni volonté de rassurer. Le lecteur est placé dans une position inconfortable, presque voyeuriste, témoin passif de rapports féroces qu’il ne peut ni empêcher ni détourner du regard.
Pour autant, l’album n’est pas exempt de défauts. À mon sens, le scénario manque parfois de sensibilité, notamment dans la manière d’aborder certains personnages ou situations, qui peuvent sembler plus démonstratives que nuancées. Cette sécheresse narrative, si elle participe à la tension permanente, peut aussi créer une distance émotionnelle et limiter l’attachement aux protagonistes.
Malgré ces réserves, Les Vestiaires demeure une œuvre importante et percutante, qui ose montrer une réalité dérangeante sans chercher à la lisser. Timothée Le Boucher y affirme déjà un regard lucide et sans complaisance sur la violence des rapports humains, faisant de cette bande dessinée un témoignage inconfortable mais nécessaire.
Ma chronique : https://psycheedelik-unehistoiredemot...
April 12, 2025
- Et en dernier, Corentin, le souffre-douleur. C'est sa position particulière qui maintient toute la pyramide. Ce qui serait amusant, c'est qu'il parte de la classe. Comme ça, les autres devront se battre pour pas devenir le bizut pendant que la nouvelle pyramide se forme.
Dans les vestiaires est un genre de Sa Majesté des mouches qui explore l'univers sans foi ni loi des vestiaires scolaires. C'est un lieu où les figures d'autorité ne peuvent pas s'introduire et en cette nouvelle année où le vestiaire a été rénové et offre maintenant qu'une douche collective, une lutte de pouvoir s'installera entre les lycéens. Existe-t-il une meilleur façon d'éviter le ridicule que de le canaliser vers une autre cible ?
J'ai aimé plusieurs aspects de cette bande dessinée ! Je trouve le scénario original et le sujet très intéressant. Les vestiaires imposent effectivement une intimité forcée aux jeunes qui sont souvent vulnérables ou hypersensibles au jugement des autres. En rajoutant à ça les dynamiques de classe ingrates, ça ne peut que finir en traumatismes.
Par contre, le style de dessin m'a laissé plutôt indifférent et l'auteur utilisait un duo d'intellos qui discute à quelques reprises des dynamiques de la classe, pour exprimer le propos de son histoire, et j'ai trouvé ça superflu étant donné que ce n'était pas non plus si complexe...
Dans les vestiaires est un genre de Sa Majesté des mouches qui explore l'univers sans foi ni loi des vestiaires scolaires. C'est un lieu où les figures d'autorité ne peuvent pas s'introduire et en cette nouvelle année où le vestiaire a été rénové et offre maintenant qu'une douche collective, une lutte de pouvoir s'installera entre les lycéens. Existe-t-il une meilleur façon d'éviter le ridicule que de le canaliser vers une autre cible ?
J'ai aimé plusieurs aspects de cette bande dessinée ! Je trouve le scénario original et le sujet très intéressant. Les vestiaires imposent effectivement une intimité forcée aux jeunes qui sont souvent vulnérables ou hypersensibles au jugement des autres. En rajoutant à ça les dynamiques de classe ingrates, ça ne peut que finir en traumatismes.
Par contre, le style de dessin m'a laissé plutôt indifférent et l'auteur utilisait un duo d'intellos qui discute à quelques reprises des dynamiques de la classe, pour exprimer le propos de son histoire, et j'ai trouvé ça superflu étant donné que ce n'était pas non plus si complexe...
March 12, 2021
This is an exploration of bullying and toxic masculinity in middke school by French artist and writer Timothé Le Boucher. He opens with remrmbering his own experiences of heing bullied and how the locker room was a place without any supervision and much insecurity.
I remember how much I dreaded the locker rooms, and how I would change in stalls..none of us showered, and neither did we remove bras or underwear and if we did we went to the toilets as they were the only sheltering place. But it was also only ever 5 minutes and didn't really have time for anything but being turned agsinst the wall changing with quickness and long shirts to cover butts.
I wish we had some more conclusive end or commentary rather then the end only being open to interpretation and direct to reader anti bullying message.
Fatphobia, p/f/r slurs all used, and much derogatory language and violence between boys and around puberty, nudity and being man enough and 'not gay' also they are shown spying on the girls and full fenale nudity is shown when male genitals are always covered which in itself is commentary (and the girls are only ever seen in the changeroom, at least partly undressed), the boys being turned on by them.
I remember how much I dreaded the locker rooms, and how I would change in stalls..none of us showered, and neither did we remove bras or underwear and if we did we went to the toilets as they were the only sheltering place. But it was also only ever 5 minutes and didn't really have time for anything but being turned agsinst the wall changing with quickness and long shirts to cover butts.
I wish we had some more conclusive end or commentary rather then the end only being open to interpretation and direct to reader anti bullying message.
Fatphobia, p/f/r slurs all used, and much derogatory language and violence between boys and around puberty, nudity and being man enough and 'not gay' also they are shown spying on the girls and full fenale nudity is shown when male genitals are always covered which in itself is commentary (and the girls are only ever seen in the changeroom, at least partly undressed), the boys being turned on by them.
December 16, 2023
Je l'ai acheté dans un magasin de BDs à Montrèal. Basé sur la couverture et le titre, je supposais que l'histoire serait très homosexuelle. Mais ce n'est pas le cas! Aucun des garçons ne s'embrasse! Plutôt, cette band dessinée explore les thèmes de harcèlment parmi les adolescents.
Dans les Vestiares est un titre approprié. La BD se déroule entièrement dans le vestiare de garçons. Au début, le lycée installe une douche commune. Les garçons doivent prendre une douche ensemble et faire face à leurs insécurités concernant leur corps. C'est le plus difficile pour Corentin, un garçon en surpoids. Les autres garçons le harcèlent de manière aggressive. Cela m'a rendu triste. Parfois c'était difficile à lire. Pendant l'histoire, le harcèlment devient plus grave et violent. Entre ces épisodes, il y a des moments d'amitié et humor.
C'est quoi dans la photo de Gauthier????
Dans les Vestiares est un titre approprié. La BD se déroule entièrement dans le vestiare de garçons. Au début, le lycée installe une douche commune. Les garçons doivent prendre une douche ensemble et faire face à leurs insécurités concernant leur corps. C'est le plus difficile pour Corentin, un garçon en surpoids. Les autres garçons le harcèlent de manière aggressive. Cela m'a rendu triste. Parfois c'était difficile à lire. Pendant l'histoire, le harcèlment devient plus grave et violent. Entre ces épisodes, il y a des moments d'amitié et humor.
C'est quoi dans la photo de Gauthier????
April 18, 2021
Horrifying narrative of bullying centered around a group of high school age boys in a locker room. The setting is France but most of the dialogue and action translates to US readers. That said, I had a hard time keeping the guys straight due to blurry character design. The main guy being bullied is Corentin, presumably for being fat, but the victims and the ones doing the bullying shift from week to week. There are some panels in which it is impossible to figure out what Le Boucher has drawn in the frame. The violence is clear but to me, the story isn’t literal enough to understand. What is the secret about Gauthier caught by Corentin’s phone? Mostly my response to this book is that immature boys in a French high school are disgusting.
April 26, 2021
It's a really fascinating look at the social hierarchy of prepubescent and teenage boys as they are subjugated to their hormones and baser instincts that we get to see in this book. So I definitely enjoyed it because you got to see like I said the psychological effects of not having authority over young men that allows them to get to a point of abuse and bullying and everything like that. It's interesting how quickly the social hierarchy can be established through use of just looks and a few words we can understand these characters and what they stand for and who ultimately they will become. I felt like this was a really good look into a bit psychology, sociology and developmental behavioral health. So well developed and thoughtfull through out highly recomend this book.
March 14, 2023
Petite BD suffocante qui réussit à donner le malaise. Méchanceté, mesquinerie, petitesse, tout le pire de ce que les jeunes garçons peuvent être. Je pense que c’était un peu poussé quand même ; c’était vraiment le pire du pire de ce que les jeunes garçons peuvent être, sans aucune nuance.
La BD est une réussite dans les émotions qu’elle réussit à évoquer auprès du lecteur mais l’histoire ne m’a pas trop convaincu… Il manquait un fil conducteur solide : plusieurs des scènes étaient en effet des scènes de vestiaire mais n’apportaient rien à une trame qui traverserait l’oeuvre. Juste dépeindre des scènes du vestiaires bon…
La BD est une réussite dans les émotions qu’elle réussit à évoquer auprès du lecteur mais l’histoire ne m’a pas trop convaincu… Il manquait un fil conducteur solide : plusieurs des scènes étaient en effet des scènes de vestiaire mais n’apportaient rien à une trame qui traverserait l’oeuvre. Juste dépeindre des scènes du vestiaires bon…
November 25, 2022
You know the movies where they cast people in their late 20s to play high school students? This is the literary equivalent. The back states how this is about middle school students; however, I found so many reference points were definitely more high school-esque. It is a huge stretch to think that these events would take place in middle school. The art work is also sophomoric. Recommended for HS and up. *Content Warning: There is swearing, including homophobic language, nudity, sexual acts, and physical assault.*
November 18, 2025
He leído otras obras del autor y me han encantado. En cambio, en "En los vestuarios" me cuesta encontrar algo positivo fuera del estilo y el dibujo propios de Le Boucher: protagonistas que apenas evolucionan, relacionándose entre sí con dinámicas tóxicas y una escasa profundidad en el diseño de los personajes; una visión bastante estrecha de la adolescencia y el período del instituto; ausencia de claves y referencias para el relato... ¿Lo mejor? La claridad de la barbarie, enseñando que el odio no puede engendrar nada positivo.
January 13, 2023
3,5⭐
Je m'en doutais mais ouais, c'était horrible.
Le réalisme de cette BD est frappant, même si certaines choses sont portées à l'extrême.
Les dialogues, la manière de parler de tous ces mecs, ces préjugés qui ressortent, toutes ces blagues et ces réflexions homophobes, et puis le harcèlement...
J'ai tout retrouvé. (Et c'est pas toujours ce qu'on préfère retrouver, bien sûr, mais bon, c'est pour ça qu'on lit livre 😅)
Je m'en doutais mais ouais, c'était horrible.
Le réalisme de cette BD est frappant, même si certaines choses sont portées à l'extrême.
Les dialogues, la manière de parler de tous ces mecs, ces préjugés qui ressortent, toutes ces blagues et ces réflexions homophobes, et puis le harcèlement...
J'ai tout retrouvé. (Et c'est pas toujours ce qu'on préfère retrouver, bien sûr, mais bon, c'est pour ça qu'on lit livre 😅)
April 14, 2022
Un fumetto che racconta il bullismo nella scuola, visto attraverso la vita da spogliatoio. Duro, senza manicheismi, mostra cattiverie, ipocrisie, deformazioni, senza sconti per i carnefici, ma anche senza illusioni su una bontà a tutti i costi delle vittime. Utile spunto di riflessione su più livelli.
August 30, 2022
Témoignage authentique sur la puberté, dur mais nécessaire, Dans les vestiaires met en avant et de manière très juste le harcèlement tout en situant les scènes dans une zone de sans aucun contrôle. La limite entre être harcelé & devenir harceleur est également exploitée.
J'ai aimé le retournement de situation et la fin inattendue, mais conseillerai cette BD à un public averti.
J'ai aimé le retournement de situation et la fin inattendue, mais conseillerai cette BD à un public averti.
August 18, 2025
Assez prévisible quand on connaît Timothé Le Boucher. Je l’ai lu sans grand plaisir, plus pour passer le temps. Je l’ai beaucoup moins aimé que Ces jours qui disparaissent, Le Parient ou encore 47 cordes qui étaient beaucoup plus développées.
Dans les vestiaires en reste une bonne BD sur un sujet cruel qu’il ne faudra jamais cesser de dénoncer.
Dans les vestiaires en reste une bonne BD sur un sujet cruel qu’il ne faudra jamais cesser de dénoncer.
October 24, 2021
Graphiquement parlant, l’on peut voir que son style des débuts n’était pas aussi propre et travaillé qu’il peut l’être dans ses autres BD mais cela n’enlève en rien à la fluidité du récit. Seul bémol à mon goût, cette fin qui aurait mérité d’être poussée un peu plus loin à mon goût.
November 20, 2021
Une lecture tellement difficile par le sujet très lourd qu'elle nous apporte. Ca m'a mis super mal à l'aise et ça m'a choqué du début à la fin, mais c'est sûrement le but recherché par l'auteur.
La fin est un peu abrupte et j'aurais aimé que ça soit plus approfondie à ce moment.
La fin est un peu abrupte et j'aurais aimé que ça soit plus approfondie à ce moment.
April 28, 2022
Une première de l'auteur pour ma part. Un huit-clos présente des situations très réalistes, ce qui ne laisse pas indifférent. Le harcèlement, la violence sont abordés sans fioriture. Le scénario est aussi dramatique que l'écriture est talentueuse !
August 16, 2022
Une réalité sur le harcèlement. Ah... ces fameux vestiaires, ils ne sont pas mieux chez les filles... Pas sûre que la finalité soit la réalité...je ne suis pas convaincue que le harcelé deviennent vraiment le harceleur...
June 14, 2023
J'allais mettre trois,
Mais je mets quatre, pour remonter sa note.
Pas une lecture plaisir, elle fait mal, elle laisse de la peine dans le coeur, du lourd sur la poitrine, de l'amer dans la bouche.
Mais une lecture vraie.
Mais je mets quatre, pour remonter sa note.
Pas une lecture plaisir, elle fait mal, elle laisse de la peine dans le coeur, du lourd sur la poitrine, de l'amer dans la bouche.
Mais une lecture vraie.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews