Feminism in France and in the US: A comparison

Type :

Term papers

Pages :

11 pages

Format :

.doc

Published date :

05/12/2009

Category :

Social studies

Sub category :

Sociology

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Summary :

Introduction
French feminism and American feminism in the 19th century: The fight for women's suffrage
Second-wave feminism: Other fights, increasing differences
1. The come-back of feminism: New women for new battles
2. The organization: Independent associations and links with the state
American feminism and French feminism today: Multiculturalism and identities
Parite: French reflection on a political issue
1. Feminism and antiracism
2. Feminism and multiculturalism
France and USA: Feminists at odds
1. French feminism: An American construction
2. French feminists on American feminism: An extra-critical approach
Conclusion
Bibliography

Abstract

In 1991, the American feminist movement was revived by the Anita Hill-Clarence Thomas case. In the same year, Clarence Thomas, a Supreme Court nominee was accused a few days before his appointment of sexual harassment by one of his former co-workers, the Law Professor Anita Hill.

This case is interesting for many reasons; for instance, the fact that Clarence Thomas was the first Black to be about to become a Supreme Court Judge was considered crucial in the multicultural American society. However, it also highlighted the activity of a new generation of feminists in the USA, who stood in favor of Anita Hill and used her personal experience to denounce the male domination; for them, the Hill-Thomas case was only an example of this established fact.

This case caused so much fuss that it became the center of a global controversy, and on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, in france, it was much debated too. But there, the comments were totally different among the women who claimed themselves to be feminist: unlikely to the American, they strongly rejected Anita Hill's complaint, arguing that what she had had endure was not sexual harassment that Clarence Thomas had only expressed his desire towards her and then was not guilty. This case provided them an opportunity to denounce the position of their American "sisters"; in their opinion, they were going too far, and in an anti-American posture, the French accused them of being very excessive and unable to entertain normal relations with men.