Feminism in France
Feminism in France is the history of feminist thought and movements in France. Feminism in France can be roughly divided into three waves: First-wave feminism from the French Revolution through the Third Republic which was concerned chiefly with suffrage and civic rights for women. Significant contributions came from revolutionary movements of the French Revolution of 1848 and Paris 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 as Simone de Beauvoir, second wave feminism was an important current within the social turmoil leading up to and following the May 1968 events in France. Political goals included the guarantee of increased bodily autonomy for women via increased access to abortion and birth control.
Third-wave feminism since the 2000s continues the legacy of the second wave while adding elements of postcolonial feminism, approaching women's rights in tandem with other ongoing discourses, particularly those surrounding racism.
Third-wave feminism[edit]
In the 2000s, some feminist groups such as Ni putes, ni soumises (Neither Whores, Nor Submissives) denounced an increased influence of Islamic extremism in poor suburbs of large immigrant population, claiming they may be pressured into wearing veils, leaving school, and marrying early.[33] On the other hand, a "third wave" of the feminist movement arose, combining the issues of sexism and racism, protesting the perceived Islamophobic instrumentalization of feminism by the French Right.
After Ni Putes Ni Soumises activists were received by Prime Minister Jean Pierre Raffarin and their message incorporated into the official celebrations of Bastille Day 2003 in Paris, various left-wing authors (Sylvie Tissot,[34] Elsa Dorlin,[35] Étienne Balibar,[36] Houria Bouteldja,[37] etc.) as well as NGOs such as Les Blédardes (led by Bouteldja), criticized the racist 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 of Sohane Benziane) silences the precarization of women.[34][35] They frame the debate among the French Left concerning the 2004 law on secularity and conspicuous religious symbols in schools, mainly targeted against the hijab, under this light.[34]
They claimed that Ni Putes Ni Soumises overshadowed the work of other feminist NGOs. After the nomination of its leader Fadela Amara to the government by Nicolas Sarkozy, Sylvie Tissot denounced a "state feminism"[34] (an instrumentalization of feminism by state authorities) while Bouteldja qualified the NGO as an Ideological State Apparatus (AIE).[37]
In January 2007, the collective of the Féministes indigènes launched a manifesto in honour of the Mulatress Solitude. Solitude was a maroon heroine who fought with Louis Delgrès against the re-establishment of slavery (abolished during the French Revolution) by Napoleon.[38] The manifesto stated that "Western Feminism did not have the monopoly of resistance against masculine domination" and supported a mild form of separatism, refusing to allow others (males or whites) to speak in their names.[39]