Feminism in France is the history offeminist thought and movements inFrance. Feminism in France can be roughly divided into three waves:First-wave feminism from theFrench Revolution through theThird Republic which was concerned chiefly withsuffrage andcivic rights for women. Significant contributions came from revolutionary movements of theFrench Revolution of 1848 andParis Commune, culminating in 1944 when women gained the right to vote.
Second-wave feminism began in the 1940s as a reevaluation of women's role in society, reconciling the inferior treatment of women in society despite their ostensibly equal political status to men. Pioneered by theorists such asSimone de Beauvoir, second wave feminism was an important current within the social turmoil leading up to and following theMay 1968 events in France. Political goals included the guarantee of increasedbodily autonomy for women via increased access toabortion andbirth control.
Third-wave feminism since the 2000s continues the legacy of the second wave while adding elements ofpostcolonial feminism, approaching women's rights in tandem with other ongoing discourses, particularly those surroundingracism.
In November 1789, at the very beginning of the French Revolution, theWomen's Petition was addressed to the National Assembly but not discussed. Although variousfeminist movements emerged during the Revolution, most politicians followedRousseau's theories as outlined inEmile, which confined women to the roles of mother and spouse. The philosopherCondorcet was a notable exception who advocated equal rights for both sexes.
TheSociété fraternelle de l'un et l'autre sexe ("Fraternal Society of Both Sexes") was founded in 1790 byClaude Dansart. It included prominent individuals such asEtta Palm d'Aelders,Jacques Hébert,Louise-Félicité de Kéralio,Pauline Léon,Théroigne de Méricourt,Madame Roland,Thérésa Cabarrús, andMerlin de Thionville. The following year,Olympe de Gouges published theDeclaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen. This was a letter addressed to QueenMarie Antoinette which requested actions in favour ofwomen's rights. Gouges wasguillotined two years later, days after the execution of theGirondins.
In February 1793,Pauline Léon andClaire Lacombe created the exclusively-femaleSociété des républicaines révolutionnaires (Society of Revolutionary Republicans—the finale inrépublicaines explicitly denoting Republican Women), which boasted two hundred members. Viewed by the historianDaniel Guérin as a sort of "feminist section of theEnragés",[1] they participated in the fall of the Girondins. Lacombe advocated giving weapons to women. However, the Society was outlawed by the revolutionary government in the following year.
The feminist movement expanded again inSocialist movements of theRomantic generation, in particular amongParisianSaint Simonians. Women freely adopted new lifestyles, inciting indignation inpublic opinion. They claimed equality of rights and participated in theabundant literary activity, such asClaire Démar'sAppel au peuple sur l'affranchissement de la femme (1833), a feministpamphlet. On the other hand,Charles Fourier'sUtopian Socialist theory of passions advocated "free love." His architectural model of thephalanstery community explicitly took into account women's emancipation.
TheBourbon Restoration re-established the prohibition ofdivorce in 1816. When theJuly Monarchy restricted the political rights of the majority of the population, the feminist struggle rejoined the Republican and Socialist struggle for a "Democratic and Social Republic," leading to the1848 Revolution and the proclamation of theSecond Republic. The 1848 Revolution became the occasion of a public expression of the feminist movement, who organized itself in various associations. Women's political activities led several of them to be proscribed as the otherForty-Eighters.
During the culturally thriving times of theBelle Époque, especially in the late nineteenth century, feminism and the view of femininity experienced substantial shifts evident through acts by women of boldness and rejection of previous stigmas.[2] The most defining characteristic of this period shown by these actions is the power of choice women began to take hold of.[3] Such acts included these women partaking in nonstandard ways of marriage—as divorce during this time had been legally reinstalled as a result of the Naquet Laws[4]—practicing gender role-defying jobs, and profoundly influencing societal ideologies regarding femininity through writings.[2]
Feminist newspapers quickly became more widespread and took a role in transforming both the view of women and their rights.[2] As this era held promise of equality, proceeding after the French Revolution, women still had yet to gain the title of equal citizens,[5] making it a difficult and dangerous venture to publicize opinions promoting the advancement of women's rights. Among these newspapers, the most notable is Marguerite Durand'sLa Fronde,[6] run entirely by women.[4]
Some women organized a feminist movement during the Commune, following up on earlier attempts in 1789 and 1848.Nathalie Lemel, a socialist bookbinder, andÉlisabeth Dmitrieff, a young Russian exile and member of the Russian section of theFirst International (IWA), created theUnion des femmes pour la défense de Paris et les soins aux blessés ("Women's Union for the Defense of Paris and Care of the Injured") on 11 April 1871. The feminist writerAndré Léo, a friend ofPaule Minck, was also active in the Women's Union. The association demandedgender equality, wage equality, right ofdivorce for women, and right tosecular and professional education for girls. They also demanded suppression of the distinction between married women andconcubines, between legitimate and natural children, the abolition ofprostitution in closing themaisons de tolérance, or legal officialbrothels.
The Women's Union also participated in several municipal commissions and organized cooperative workshops.[7] Along withEugène Varlin, Nathalie Le Mel created thecooperative restaurantLa Marmite, which served free food for indigents, and then fought during the Bloody Week on the barricades.[8] On the other hand, Paule Minck opened a free school in theChurch of Saint Pierre de Montmartre, and animated theClub Saint-Sulpice on the Left Bank.[8] The RussianAnne Jaclard, who declined to marryDostoievsky and finally became the wife ofBlanquist activistVictor Jaclard, founded with André Léo the newspaperLa Sociale. She was also a member of theComité de vigilance de Montmartre, along with Louise Michel and Paule Minck, as well as of the Russian section of theFirst International.Victorine Brocher, close to the IWA activists and founder of a cooperative bakery in 1867, also fought during the Commune and the Bloody Week.[8]
Famous figures such asLouise Michel, the "Red Virgin of Montmartre" who joined theNational Guard and would later be sent toNew Caledonia, symbolize the active participation of a small number of women in the insurrectionary events. A female battalion from the National Guard defended thePlace Blanche during the repression.
In 1909, French noblewoman and feministJeanne-Elizabeth Schmahl founded theFrench Union for Women's Suffrage to advocate for women'sright to vote in France.
Despite some cultural changes followingWorld War I, which had resulted in women replacing the male workers who had gone to the front, they were known as theAnnées folles and their exuberance was restricted to a very small group of female elites.Victor Margueritte'sLa Garçonne (The Flapper, 1922), depicting an emancipated woman, was seen as scandalous and caused him to lose hisLegion of Honour.
During theThird Republic, thesuffragettes movement championed theright to vote for women, but did not insist on the access of women to legislative and executive offices.[9] Thesuffragettes, however, did honour the achievements of foreign women in power by bringing attention to legislation passed under their influence concerning alcohol (such asProhibition in the United States), regulation ofprostitution, and protection ofchildren's rights.[9]
Despite this campaign and the new role of women following World War I, the Third Republic declined to grant them voting rights, mainly because of fear of the influence ofclericalism among them,[9] echoing the conservative vote of rural areas forLouis-Napoleon Bonaparte during theSecond Republic. After the 1936Popular Front victory, although he had defended voting rights for women (a proposition included in the program of theFrench Section of the Workers' International party since 1906), left-wing Prime MinisterLéon Blum did not implement the measure, because of the fear of theRadical-Socialist Party.[9]
Women obtained theright to vote only after theProvisional Government of the French Republic (GPRF) confirmed, on 5 October 1944, theordinance of 21 April 1944 of theFrench Committee of National Liberation.[9] Following theNovember 1946 elections, the first in which women were permitted to vote, sociologist Robert Verdier refuted anyvoting gender gap: in May 1947 inLe Populaire, he showed that women do not vote in a consistent way but divide themselves, as men, according to social classes.[9]
Olga Petit, born Scheina Lea-Balachowsky and also referred to as Sonia Olga Balachowsky-Petit, became the first femalelawyer inFrance on 6 December 1900.[10][11][12]
Marital power (puissance maritale) was abolished in 1938. However, the legal repeal of the specific doctrine ofmarital power does not necessarily grant married women the same legal rights as their husbands (or as unmarried women) as was notably the case in France, where the legal subordination of the wife (primarily coming from theNapoleonic Code) was gradually abolished with women obtaining full equality in marriage only in the 1980s.[13]
TheUnion des femmes françaises had its origins in France during theSecond World War.Women's committees of theFrench Resistance were born of the grassroots Resistance committees created byDanielle Casanova.[14] These women's committees gradually took shape at local levels, then at the regional and inter-regional level. They were regrouped within the Union des femmes françaises in thezone occupée and the Union des femmes de France in thezone libre. The leaders wereJosette Dumeix [fr], thenMaria Rabaté for the northern zone, after the arrest of Danielle Casanova and Marcelle Barjonet.[15] and Simone Bertrand[16] in thezone libre.[17]
Women were not allowed to become judges in France until 1946.[12]
During thebaby boom period, feminism became a minor movement, despite forerunners such asSimone de Beauvoir, who publishedThe Second Sex in 1949.[9]
The Second Sex is a detailed analysis of women's oppression and a foundational tract of contemporary feminism. It sets out afeminist existentialism which prescribes a moral revolution. As anexistentialist, de Beauvoir acceptedJean-Paul Sartre's precept thatexistence precedes essence; hence "one is not born a woman, but becomes one". Her analysis focuses on the social construction of Woman asthe Other, this de Beauvoir identifies as fundamental to women's oppression.[18] She argues that women have historically been considered deviant and abnormal, and contends that evenMary Wollstonecraft considered men to be the ideal toward which women should aspire. De Beauvoir argues that for feminism to move forward, this attitude must be set aside.[18]
Married French women obtained the right to work without their husband's consent in 1965.[19] TheNeuwirth Law legalized birth control in 1967, but the relativeexecutive decrees were blocked for a couple years by the conservative government.[20]
A strong feminist movement would only emerge in the aftermath ofMay 1968, with the creation of theMouvement de libération des femmes (Women's Liberation Movement, MLF), allegedly byAntoinette Fouque,Monique Wittig and Josiane Chanel in 1968. The name itself was given by the press, in reference to the USWomen's Lib movement. In the frame of the cultural and social changes that occurred during theFifth Republic, they advocated the right of autonomy from their husbands, and the rights tocontraception and toabortion.
The paternal authority of a man over his family in France was ended in 1970 (before that parental responsibilities belonged solely to the father who made all legal decisions concerning the children).[21]
From 1970, the procedures for the use of the title "Mademoiselle" were challenged in France, particularly by feminist groups who wanted it banned. A circular fromFrançois Fillon, thenPrime Minister, dated 21 February 2012, called for the deletion of the word "Mademoiselle" in all official documents. On 26 December 2012, theCouncil of State approved the deletion.[22]
In 1971, the feminist lawyerGisèle Halimi founded the groupChoisir ("To Choose"), to protect the women who had signed"Le Manifeste des 343 Salopes" (in English "Manifesto of the 343 Sluts" or alternately "Manifesto of the 343 Bitches"), written bySimone de Beauvoir. This provocative title became popular after Cabu's drawing on a satirical journal with the caption:« Who got those 343 whores pregnant? »); the women were admitting to have had illegal abortions, and therefore exposing themselves to judicial actions and prison sentences.[23] The Manifesto had been published inLe Nouvel Observateur on 5 April 1971. The Manifesto was the inspiration for a 3 February 1973, manifesto by 331 doctors declaring their support for abortion rights:
We want freedom of abortion. It is entirely the woman's decision. We reject any entity that forces her to defend herself, perpetuates an atmosphere of guilt, and allows underground abortions to persist ....[24]
Choisir had transformed into a clearly reformist body in 1972, and their campaign greatly influenced the passing of the law allowing contraception and abortion carried through bySimone Veil in 1975. The Veil Act was at the time hotly contested by Veil's own party, the conservativeUnion for French Democracy (UDF).
In 1974,Françoise d'Eaubonne coined the term "ecofeminism."
A new reform in France in 1985 abolished the stipulation that the father had the sole power to administer the children's property.[21]
In 1999,Florence Montreynaud launched theChiennes de garde NGO.
In the English-speaking world, the term "French feminism" refers to a branch of theories and philosophies by and about women that emerged in the 1970s to the 1990s. These ideas have run parallel to and sometimes in contradistinction to the political feminist movement in France but is often referred to as "French feminist theory," distinguished by an approach which is more philosophical and literary.[25] Its writings tend to be effusive and metaphorical being less concerned with political doctrine and generally focused on theories of "the body".[26] The term includes writers who are not French, but who have worked substantially in France and the French tradition.[27]
In the 1970s, French writers approached feminism with the concept ofécriture féminine (which translates as female, or feminine writing).[28]Hélène Cixous argues that writing and philosophy arephallocentric and along with other French feminists such asLuce Irigaray emphasize "writing from the body" as a subversive exercise.[28] The work of psychoanalyst and philosopherJulia Kristeva has influenced feminist theory in general andfeminist literary criticism in particular. From the 1980s onwards the work of the artist and psychoanalystBracha Ettinger has influenced literary criticism, art history and film theory.[29][30][31]
Through their own concept of French feminism, American academics separated and ignored the already marginalized self-identifying feminists, while focusing on the women theorists associated withPsych et po and other academics who did not always identify as feminists themselves. This division ended up placing more importance on the theories of the French feminists than the political agenda and goals that groups such as radical feminists and the MLF had at the time.[32]
In the 2000s, some feminist groups such asNi putes, ni soumises (Neither Whores, Nor Submissives) denounced an increased influence ofIslamic extremism in poor suburbs of large immigrant population, claiming they may be pressured into wearingveils, leaving school, and marrying early.[33] On the other hand, a "third wave" of the feminist movement arose, combining the issues of sexism andracism, protesting the perceivedIslamophobic instrumentalization of feminism by the French Right.
AfterNi Putes Ni Soumises activists were received by Prime MinisterJean Pierre Raffarin and their message incorporated into the official celebrations ofBastille Day 2003 in Paris, variousleft-wing authors (Sylvie Tissot,[34] Elsa Dorlin,[35]Étienne Balibar,[36] Houria Bouteldja,[37] etc.) as well as NGOs such asLes Blédardes (led by Bouteldja), criticized theracist stigmatization of immigrant populations, whose cultures are depicted as inherently sexist.
They underline that sexism is not a specificity of immigrant populations, as if French culture itself were devoid of sexism, and that the focus on media-friendly and violent acts (such as the burning ofSohane Benziane) silences theprecarization of women.[34][35] They frame the debate among theFrench Left concerning the2004 law on secularity and conspicuous religious symbols in schools, mainly targeted against thehijab, under this light.[34]
They claimed thatNi Putes Ni Soumises overshadowed the work of other feminist NGOs. After the nomination of its leaderFadela Amara to the government byNicolas Sarkozy, Sylvie Tissot denounced a "state feminism"[34] (an instrumentalization of feminism by state authorities) while Bouteldja qualified the NGO as anIdeological State Apparatus (AIE).[37]
In January 2007, the collective of theFéministes indigènes launched a manifesto in honour ofthe Mulatress Solitude. Solitude was a maroon heroine who fought withLouis Delgrès against the re-establishment of slavery (abolished during theFrench Revolution) byNapoleon.[38] The manifesto stated that "Western Feminism did not have the monopoly of resistance against masculine domination" and supported a mild form ofseparatism, refusing to allow others (males or whites) to speak in their names.[39]
A few women held public office in the 1930s, although they kept a low profile. In 1936, the new Prime Minister,Léon Blum, included three women in thePopular Front government:Cécile Brunschvicg,Suzanne Lacore andIrène Joliot-Curie.[9] The inclusion of women in the Popular Front government was unanimously appreciated: even the far-right candidateXavier Vallat addressed his "congratulations" to Blum for this measure while the conservative newspaperLe Temps wrote, on 1 June 1936, that women could be ministers without previous authorizations from their husbands. Cécile Brunschvicg and Irène Joliot-Curie were both legally "under-age" as women.
Wars (both World War I and World War II) had seen the provisional emancipation of some, individual, women, but post-war periods signalled the return to conservative roles.[9] For instance,Lucie Aubrac, who was active in theFrench Resistance—a role highlighted byGaullist myths—returned to private life after the war.[9] Thirty-three women were elected at the Liberation, but none entered the government, and the euphoria of the Liberation was quickly halted.[9]
Women retained a low profile during theFourth andFifth Republic. In 1949,Jeanne-Paule Sicard was the first female chief of staff, but was called "Mr.Pleven's (thenMinister of Defence) secretary."Marie-France Garaud, who enteredJean Foyer's office at the Ministry of Cooperation and would later become PresidentGeorges Pompidou's main counsellor, along withPierre Juillet, was given the same title. The leftist newspaperLibération, founded in 1973 byJean-Paul Sartre, would depict Marie-France Garaud as yet another figure of female spin-doctors. However, the new role granted to thePresident of the Republic in thesemi-presidential regime of the Fifth Republic after the1962 referendum on the election of the President at direct universal suffrage, led to a greater role of the "First Lady of France". AlthoughCharles de Gaulle's wife Yvonne remained out of the public sphere, the image ofClaude Pompidou would interest the media more and more.[9] The media frenzy surroundingCécilia Sarkozy, former wife of the former PresidentNicolas Sarkozy, would mark the culmination of this current.
Of the 27 cabinets formed during theFourth Republic, only four included women, and never more than one at a time. SFIO memberAndrée Viénot, widow of a Resistant, was nominated in June 1946 by theChristian democratGeorges Bidault of thePopular Republican Movement asundersecretary of Youth and Sports. However, she remained in office for only seven months. The next woman to hold government office,Germaine Poinso-Chapuis, was health and education minister from 24 November 1947 to 19 July 1948 inRobert Schuman's cabinet. Remaining one year in office, her name remained attached to adecree financingprivate education. Published in theJournal officiel on 22 May 1948 with her signature, the decree had been drafted in her absence at theCouncil of Ministers of France. The Communist and the Radical-Socialist Party called for the repealing of the decree, and finally, Schuman's cabinet was overturned after failing aconfidence motion on the subject.Germaine Poinso-Chapuis did not pursue her political career, encouraged to abandon it byPope Pius XII.[9]
The third woman to hold government office would be the Radical-SocialistJacqueline Thome-Patenôtre, appointed undersecretary of Reconstruction and Lodging inMaurice Bourgès-Maunoury's cabinet in 1957.Nafissa Sid Cara then participated in the government as undersecretary in charge ofAlgeria from 1959 till the end of thewar in 1962.Marie-Madeleine Dienesch, who evolved from Christian-Democracy to Gaullism (in 1966), occupied various offices as undersecretary between 1968 and 1974. Finally,Suzanne Ploux was undersecretary for the Minister of National Education in 1973 and 1974. In total, only seven women acceded to governmental offices between 1946 and 1974, and only one as minister.[9] Historians explain this rarity by underlining the specific context of theTrente Glorieuses (Thirty Glorious Years) and of the baby boom, leading to a strengthening offamilialism andpatriarchy.
Even left-wing cabinets abstained from nominating women:Pierre Mendès-France (advised byColette Baudry) did not include any woman in his cabinet, neither didGuy Mollet, the secretary general of the SFIO, nor the centristAntoine Pinay. Although theÉcole nationale d'administration (ENA) elite administrative school (from which a lot of French politicians graduate) became gender-mixed in 1945, only 18 women graduated from it between 1946 and 1956 (compared to 706 men).[9]
Of the first eleven cabinets of theFifth Republic, four did not count any women. In May 1968, the cabinet was exclusively male. This low representation of women was not, however, specific to France:West Germany's government did not include any women in any office from 1949 to 1961, and in 1974–1975, only 12 countries in the world had female ministers. The British government had exclusively male ministers.[9]
In 1974,Valéry Giscard d'Estaing waselected President, and nominated 9 women in his government between 1974 and 1981:Simone Veil, the first female minister,Françoise Giroud, named Minister of the Feminine Condition,Hélène Dorlhac,Alice Saunier-Seité,Annie Lesur andChristiane Scrivener,Nicole Pasquier,Monique Pelletier andHélène Missoffe. At the end of the 1970s, France was one of the leading countries in the world with respect to the number of female ministers, just behindSweden. However, they remained highly under-represented in theNational Assembly. There were only 14 female deputies (1.8%) in 1973 and 22 (2.8%) in 1978.Janine Alexandre-Derbay, 67-year-old senator of theRepublican Party (PR), initiated ahunger strike to protest against the complete absence of women on the governmental majority's electoral lists in Paris.[9]
This new, relative feminisation of power was partly explained by Giscard's government's fears of being confronted with another May 1968 and the influence of the MLF: "We can therefore explain the birth of state feminism under the pressure of contest feminism [féminisme de contestation]", wrote Christine Bard. Although thefar-left remained indifferent to the feminisation of power, in 1974,Arlette Laguiller became the first woman to present herself at a presidential election (for the Trotskyist partyWorkers' Struggle, LO), and integrated feminist propositions in her party. Giscard's achievements concerning the inclusion ofwomen in government has been qualified by Françoise Giroud as his most important feat, while others, such asEvelyne Surrot,Benoîte Groult or the ministerMonique Pelletier, denounced electoral "alibis". The sociologistMariette Sineau underlined that Giscard included women only in the low-levels of the governmental hierarchy (state secretaries) and kept them in socio-educative affairs. Seven women in eighteen (from 1936 to 1981) had offices related to youth and education, and four (including two ministers) had offices related to health, reflecting a traditional gender division. The importantMinistry of Finances,Defence,Foreign Affairs andInterior remained out of reach for women. Only six women in eighteen had been elected through universal suffrage. The rest were nominated by the Prime Minister. Hélène Missoffe was the only deputy to be named by Giscard.[9]
After theelection of thesocialist candidateFrançois Mitterrand in 1981,Yvette Roudy passed the 1983 law againstsexism.
Left and right-wing female ministers signed theManifeste des 10 in 1996 for equal representation of women in politics.[9] It was opposed by feminist historian and psychoanalystElisabeth Roudinesco, who believed the existing legislation was sufficient.
SocialistSégolène Royal was the first female presidential candidate to pass the first round of theFrench presidential election in 2007, confronting the conservativeUMP candidateNicolas Sarkozy. Sarkozy won in a tight contest, but one year later, polls showed voters regretted not sending Royal to theÉlysée Palace and that she would win a 2008 match up with Sarkozy easily.[citation needed] She was a front-runner in their leadership election, which took place 20 November 2008 but was narrowly defeated in the second round by rivalMartine Aubry, also a woman.[40]
Joan Scott, a professor at theInstitute for Advanced Study, stated: "There is a longstanding commitment to the notion that the French do gender relations differently – especially from prudish Americans – and that has to do with the French understanding of seduction. Seduction is the alternative to thinking about [sexual harassment] as sexual harassment."[41] Christine Bard, a professor at theUniversity of Angers, echoed those thoughts, saying that there is an "idealization of seductionà la Française, and that anti-feminism has become almost part of the national identity" in France.[41]
.jpg)
In 1990, following a case where a man had tortured and raped his wife, theCourt of Cassation authorized prosecution of spouses for rape or sexual assault. In 1992, theCourt of Cassation convicted a man of the rape of his wife, stating that the presumption that spouses have consented to sexual acts that occur within marriage is only valid when the contrary is not proven.[43] Until 1994, France kept in the French Penal Code the article from 1810 that exonerated a rapist if they later married their victim, and in 1994 Law 94-89 criminalized all marital rape.
Sexual harassment in the workplace was made subject to legal sanction in France starting only in 1992. The reach of those laws was not matched by vigorous enforcement, labor lawyers say.[41] France's "reluctance to move more aggressively against sexual harassment reflects deeply rooted ideas about sexual relations and the relative power between men and women", said Scott.[41]
France outlawed street sexual harassment in 2018, passing a law declaring catcalling on streets and public transportation is subject to fines of up to €750, with more for more aggressive and physical behavior. The law also declared that sex between an adult and a person of 15 or under can be considered rape if the younger person is judged incompetent to give consent.[44][45] It also gives underage victims of rape an extra decade to file complaints, extending the deadline to 30 years from their turning 18.[45]
.svg)
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) and the paternal authority of a man over his family was ended in 1970 (before that parental responsibilities belonged solely to the father who made all legal decisions concerning the children). Furthermore, it was only in 1985 that a legal reform abolished the stipulation that the husband had the sole power to administer the children's property.[1]{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)