Parité!

Sexual Equality and the Crisis of French Universalism

Joan Wallach Scott

Joan Wallach Scott

Chicago Studies in Practices of Meaning

Cloth $62.50 ISBN: 9780226741079 Published December 2005

Paper $27.50 ISBN: 9780226741086 Published December 2005

E-book $7.00 to $27.50 About E-books ISBN: 9780226741093 Published November 2007

France today is in the throes of a crisis about whether to represent social differences within its political system and, if so, how. It is a crisis defined by the rhetoric of a universalism that takes the abstract individual to be the representative not only of citizens but also of the nation. In Parité! Joan Wallach Scott shows how the requirement for abstraction has led to the exclusion of women from French politics.

During the 1990s, le mouvement pour la parité successfully campaigned for women's inclusion in elective office with an argument that is unprecedented in the annals of feminism. The paritaristes insisted that if the abstract individual were thought of as sexed, then sexual difference would no longer be a relevant consideration in politics. Scott insists that this argument was neither essentialist nor separatist; it was not about women's special qualities or interests. Instead, parité was rigorously universalist—and for that reason was both misunderstood and a source of heated debate.

Review Quotes
Contents

“This is an extraordinary book that accomplishes two formidable tasks. Here, Joan Wallach Scott not only deftly guides the reader through the complexities of contemporary debates in France on the subject of parité, a movement that asks for equal representation between men and women in public office, but also situates these debates within the broader context of political representation in France. Parité! will prove an indispensable resource for anyone interested in the history of political representation, women’s struggle for political equality, and the history of modern France more generally.”--Paul Friedland, Bowdoin College

“This book by Joan Wallach Scott, one of the most important feminist historians writing today, is a fascinating and original discussion of the new direction taken by French feminism in the 1990s: the mouvement pour la parité, which demanded that elected offices be filled by men and women in equal numbers. Scott traces the intellectual genesis of the movement, its gaining of strength, its complex interaction with the rights of same-sex couples, and finally its partial success. Intensely thought-provoking, Parité! will be of enormous interest to anyone interested in modern European politics and history, or in feminism.”--David A. Bell, The Johns Hopkins University

"[The book] is an elegantly argued and ambitious effort to analyze and historicize the theoretical premises and political practices that shaped the most recent struggle for gender equality in France. . . . An important contribution not only to the history of French feminism and French republicanism, but to the theory of history."—Carolyn J. Dean, H-France Review

"The story [Scott] tells is one that will interest students of social movements, intersectionality, the relation between discourses and politics, and European politics in general, as well as any American feminists still hoping to revive an effective mobilization for gender equality. . . . Scott's gripping story . . . is a worthy addition to her notable oeuvre and an eye-opening challenge to any who might believe gender, race, and sexuality politics are inherently intertwined in a particular configuration."

"Extemely illuminating. [Scott] brings her impressive skills as a historian to discuss both the thinking behind the campaign and the not always predictable sequence of political developments that secured a partial success for the principle."

"Scott's clear and historically grounded analysis will help readers understand the intricacies of French politics in general and the parity movement more specifically."

"[Scott] sheds important new light on one of the central issues facing France at the beginning of the twenty-first century: how the Republic . . . should come to terms with the assertion of 'difference.'—Caroline Ford, Canadian Journal of History

Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. The Crisis of Representation
2. The Rejection of Quotas
3. The Dilemma of Difference
4. The Campaign for Parité
5. The Discourse of the Couple
6. The Power of the Law
Conclusion
Notes
Index

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Culture Studies

Gender and Sexuality

History: European History

Law and Legal Studies: Law and Society

Political Science: Political and Social Theory

Sociology: Social Change, Social Movements, Political Sociology

Women's Studies

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