e repressions. From the Revolution to the end of World War Two, women would be subject to being the "second sex." Therefore, because of the discontinuity of French political history, the strength of the Patriarchal culture, and the inability of the French feminist movement to form a cohesive unit, French women could not obtain the right to vote until 1944.Before treading further into the history of French politics and its affects upon women, one must have a working definition for French feminism. What is feminism? Merriam-Webster defines feminism as, "The theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes," (Merriam-Webster 277). Feminism as it pertains to France needs a more in-depth description. Feminist theory in France appeared as a revolutionary movement that would jam the theoretical machinery of republican discourse, exposing its limits and disrupting its smooth functioning (Duchen 7). The republic showed inherent flaws in its philosophy when it promised universal suffrage to all and delivered suffrage for all males, considering its wives, mothers, and daughters as non-citizens. French Feminists faced an uphill battle with the strong patriarchal institutions upheld in the government, as well as in the church and home. Therefore, French feminism was a radical political movement often fought against by the status quo that sought "the end of a political relationship of the sexes characterized by masculine dominance and female subordinance," (Moses 7).Exploration of French Culture: The Patriarchal SocietyThe roots of the struggles French feminists faced when fighting to obtain true universal suffrage lie in the development of Western cultural ideals that they fought to change. French social patterns are a fusion of Greco-Latin, Judaic, and Germanic traditions in which patriarchal family life is a common factor (Moses 1). Women of these societies were denied all civic rights, education, and property. For e...
