Start Date
4-27-2020 9:00 AM
End Date
4-27-2020 10:00 AM
Disciplines
European History | Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Subjects
Feminists -- France -- History, Women's rights -- France -- History -- 18th century, France -- History -- Revolution (1789-1799) --Women, Olympe de Gouges (1748-1793) -- Influence
Abstract
As French society found itself swept into a frenzied pursuit of liberty, equality, and fraternity, French Revolutionaries ironically neglected to include all citizens in their so-called “inalienable rights of man.” Most notably, the newly formed French National Assembly forgot its women. As a result, female Revolutionaries fought not only for a more equitable political system, but also for the rights and liberties of women. Yet, feminists of the French Revolution faced a paradoxical dilemma. In attempting to publish political writings, form political clubs, and wield weapons against the monarchy, women were forced out of the domestic sphere, an action that threatened the Jacobin ideal of a new “moral” republic. Thus, the actions of feminist revolutionary writers such as Olympe de Gouges and Manon Roland, as well as the creation of women’s political clubs such as the Société des Citoyennes Républicaines Révolutionaires, ironically prompted the creation of anti-feminist decrees ensuring female insubordination. This paper explores the elements of Revolutionary feminism that ironically generated greater inequality for women in post-Revolutionary French society.
Rights
© Copyright the author(s)
IN COPYRIGHT:
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
DISCLAIMER:
The purpose of this statement is to help the public understand how this Item may be used. When there is a (non-standard) License or contract that governs re-use of the associated Item, this statement only summarizes the effects of some of its terms. It is not a License, and should not be used to license your Work. To license your own Work, use a License offered at https://creativecommons.org/
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/32884
Paradoxical Feminism: Attempts at Gender Equality in the French Revolution
As French society found itself swept into a frenzied pursuit of liberty, equality, and fraternity, French Revolutionaries ironically neglected to include all citizens in their so-called “inalienable rights of man.” Most notably, the newly formed French National Assembly forgot its women. As a result, female Revolutionaries fought not only for a more equitable political system, but also for the rights and liberties of women. Yet, feminists of the French Revolution faced a paradoxical dilemma. In attempting to publish political writings, form political clubs, and wield weapons against the monarchy, women were forced out of the domestic sphere, an action that threatened the Jacobin ideal of a new “moral” republic. Thus, the actions of feminist revolutionary writers such as Olympe de Gouges and Manon Roland, as well as the creation of women’s political clubs such as the Société des Citoyennes Républicaines Révolutionaires, ironically prompted the creation of anti-feminist decrees ensuring female insubordination. This paper explores the elements of Revolutionary feminism that ironically generated greater inequality for women in post-Revolutionary French society.
Notes
2nd place winner of the Karen E. Hoppes Young Historians Award for Outstanding Research and Writing.