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Feminism is Back in France--Or Is It?
- Hypatia
- Indiana University Press
- Volume 15, Number 4, Fall 2000
- pp. 243-255
- 10.1353/hyp.2000.0062
- Article
- Additional Information
Michèle Le Duff discusses the revival of feminism in France, including the phenomenon of state-sponsored feminism, such as government support for "parity": equal numbers of women and men in government. Le Duff analyzes the strategically patchy application of this revival and remains wary about it. Turning to the work of seventeenth-century philosopher Gabrielle Suchon, Le Duff considers her concepts of freedom, servitude, and active citizenship, which may well, she argues, have influenced Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Le Duff favorably juxtaposes the active citizenship defended by Suchon with the kind of citizenship implicitly supported by recent French government feminism.