Feminism in France (RLE Feminist Theory) by Duchen Claire;

Author:Duchen, Claire; [Duchen, Claire]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Group
Published: 2022-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 6

A different politics

DOI: 10.4324/9780203084427-6

One of the questions most vital to examine is, I think, what the implications of difference are for feminist politics. If the women’s movement believes strongly that theory and practice go hand in hand, and that the production of theory is tied to women’s lives and strategies for change, then any discussion of feminist theoretical work must involve discussion of political activity, and the issues raised in Chapter 5 must be linked to political reality in France. This chapter, then, asks what the strategic implications of feminine difference are for feminist politics; and what ‘multiplicity’ means in terms of structure and activity for the MLF.

The focus will be on the fragile political space that feminism occupies in mainstream French political life. Psych et Po may aim for a politics of difference, but other feminists reject this in favour of something that seems more simple but is, I believe, far more complex and difficult: a different politics. What happens when feminists attempt to create a politics that both expresses a different idea about political theory, and a desire for procedures that are different from those which already exist in the political arena, but which at the same time operates within the boundaries of that arena? It is easy to speculate: but I have tried to anchor my speculations in the experience of feminists in two political parties, those which – of the major parties – seem the most accessible to feminism for ideological and practical reasons. These are the Socialist Party (PS) and the more marginal, but still influential, Parti Socialiste Unifié (PSU).

Feminism seems to be in clear contradiction to the imperatives of party politics. Fundamental to feminism is its multiplicity of approach, diversity of formation, rejection of hierarchy, its revision of the meaning of politics and open-endedness of analysis. Electoral politics, however, require a political programme and platform. Politicians have to demonstrate that they have a particular vision of the society they would like to see and are capable of developing sets of measures, adopting positions and working out viable strategies in order to realise that society and make it work. The substance of political statements must be expressed in a particular kind of rhetoric, in such a way that the public will be convinced enough to vote for that particular party. The direct goal of the party is to gain power, and once gained, to keep it, and this goal largely determines both the discourse and the strategy of the party.

Between feminism and competitive party politics – which forms the institutional framework of democratic societies – there seems to be a gulf over attitudes to power, to means and ends, to the meaning of politics and to the way in which political life is conducted. Even so, feminist groups are obliged to confront the question of their relation to political institutions, whether they end up by totally rejecting, or pragmatically accepting, the rules that make up the political game. When the rather vague feminist ideal

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.