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)ORULGD6WDWH8QLYHUVLW\/LEUDULHV 2020 French Feminist Journalism: Eugénie Niboyet and Simone de Beauvoir in 19th- and 20th-Century French Print Media Maria Villalobos Follow this and additional works at DigiNole: FSU's Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES FRENCH FEMINIST JOURNALISM: EUGÉNIE NIBOYET AND SIMONE DE BEAUVOIR IN 19TH- AND 20TH-CENTURY FRENCH PRINT MEDIA By MARIA VILLALOBOS A Thesis submitted to the Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics in partial fulfillment of the requirements for graduation with Honors in the Major Degree Awarded: Spring, 2020 Th m mbers of th D fens Committ approve this th sis of Maria Villalobos defended on April 15, 2020. ______________________________ Dr. Aimé Boutin Th sis Director ______________________________ Dr. Maxine Jones Outside Committ M mber ______________________________ Dr. Micha la Hulstyn Committ M mber Doc ID: a7be883424db5bc2173f101cfa1aee58a66a44d0 Villalobos 1 Table of Contents Abstract……………………………………………………………………….2 Introduction…………………………………………………………………3-6 Section 1 – Historical context of 19th century France and Women……….7-21 Section 2 – Eugénie Niboyet’s Life and Feminist Journalism…………...22-39 Section 3 – Historical context of 20th century France and Women……...40-45 Section 4 – Simone de Beauvoir’s Life and Feminist Journalism……….46-72 Conclusion……………………………………………………………….73-75 Bibliography……………………………………………………………..76-79 Villalobos 2 Abstract Topic: Women’s studies, Journalism, French literature, French history The emergence of early feminism through the printed word — journals, magazines, pamphlets — allowed women’s political voices to be heard and for their cause to be taken with seriousness, whether positively or negatively, by French society. Women’s continuous progress in all aspects, social, political, economic, can be attributed to the collective efforts of early feminists. This research looks at women’s social roles and struggles in France in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and how their restricted condition inspired the early feminist movement. I write and compare two prominent feminists, Eugénie Niboyet, whose voice has been forgotten and whose contributions to the feminist press are scarcely written about, and Simone de Beauvoir, who is considered by many one of the most important feminists and whose works and legacy are widely studied and talked about in the academic field of women’s studies. I divide this research into four sections: the historical context of nineteenth century France and women, Eugénie Niboyet’s life and feminist journalism, the historical context of 20th century France and women, and Simone de Beauvoir’s life and feminist journalism. Villalobos 3 Introduction Feminist works are commonly studied in the form of literary works while journal and magazine publications are often overlooked despite having been the only medium available to women fighting for their rights for hundreds of years. The purpose of this paper is to bring awareness to the emergence of the French feminist press and its effect on women’s integration into the male dominated public sphere of nineteeth- and twentieth-century France, along its obstacles and victories. I will highlight the journalism as well as the activism of two prominent French literary figures: Eugénie Niboyet and Simone de Beauvoir, and how their use of print media aided their cause for women’s emancipation. Women’s studies is an academic field I have always found intriguing as we live in a time where girls and women around the world are still discriminated against, restricted, and abused. We have come a long way, but much is yet to be done. When researching French women’s social conditions and feminist journalism, the primary authors I will be citing include: Claire Goldberg Moses, Janis Bergman-Carton, Evelyn Sullerot, Jeremy D. Popkin, Sandrine Sanos, Karen Offen, Toril Moi, and Anne Whitmarsh. I will be using the books French Feminism in the Nineteenth Century (1984), The Woman of Ideas in French Art, 1830-1848 (1995), Press, Revolution, and Social Identities in France, 1830-1835 (2002), Simone de Beauvoir: Creating a Feminist Existence in the World (2017), Simone de Beauvoir: The Making of an Intellectual Woman (2008), European Feminism, 1700-1950: A Political History (2000), among others. I will also use online sources and databases like Gallica by the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF) in order to access older publications such as the Voix des femmes journal. Villalobos 4 The reason I have chosen to compare Eugénie Niboyet and Simone de Beauvoir is because both figures were the forefront of the feminist movement in their respective times; however there exists a clear distinction between the two: one has been forgotten while the other is still celebrated today. Information on one is challenging to find while for the other research is abundant. One’s journalism was severely restricted while the other was free to write without any fear of government repression due to her sex. Comparing these two figures can, therefore, help explain why such distinctions exist and bring awareness about seized opportunities and challenges faced by early French feminists. The structure of this thesis provides a historical overview before discussing each of the feminist journalists’ works. Without such context, we would not be able to consider the social, religious, economic, and political conditions that existed during each respective time period. To me, these factors are just as influential and important as their family, social upbringing, and education. To better understand and appreciate how both Niboyet and Beauvoir were able to achieve social change under government restrictions, social limitations, and harsh criticism, we must also see how the world looked like for French women back then. In Section 1, Historical context of 19th century France and Women, I will explore what was considered ‘feminism’ at the time. How did women live and what role did they play in society? What were women’s concerns and demands? I will focus on women’s social restriction, political inequality, dependence on men, marriage and motherhood as their ultimate objective in life. I will also consider women’s legal rights and the Civil Code of 1804, lack of educational opportunities, and joining the French workforce. In addition, I will discuss Saint Simonism, a Villalobos 5 religious and socialist movement that opened its doors to women and where we first see early feminists make use of the press. In Section 2, Eugénie Niboyet’s Life and Feminist Journalism, I will use Niboyet’s book, Le Vrai livre des femmes, to examine her life as well as her works, both literary and in the press. I will highlight some of her journals like Le Conseiller des femmes and the highly influential Voix des femmes, which brought together feminists that went on to create their own journals, resulting in the proliferation of the feminist press. I will also examine the reactions the Voix des femmes group provoked with their journal and women’s club, such as political attacks, government repression and antifeminist caricatures in the press. In Section 3, Historical context of 20th century France and Women, I will examine the evolution of feminism from one century to the other. From the emergence of the French word ‘féminisme’ to women’s struggles with new concerns such as bodily autonomy, reproduction rights, abortion, and suffrage. I will consider the effects of World War I and World War II in women’s lives, including new social expectations imposed on European women such as increasing childbirth and forcing women back into the private sphere. In Section 4, Simone de Beauvoir’s Life and Feminist Journalism, I will examine Beauvoir’s life from childhood to adulthood and her struggle with the feminist label. I will consider how her social class and background, educational opportunities, her relationship to Jean-Paul Sartre and their intellectual friendship circle allowed her to pursue a writing career and to become a distinguished French intellectual. I highlight her long journalist career with the journal Les Temps modernes, founded by Sartre and her, as well as her contributions to numerous other journals and political activism later on in her life. Villalobos 6 Overall, these four sections will give a better idea of women’s social struggles and rightful demands during two rapidly changing time periods. This thesis will attempt to give a voice to Eugénie Niboyet in addition to evaluate her numerous initiatives to publicize women’s concerns in the press. This thesis will also examine Simone de Beauvoir’s journalism as her lesser known contribution to the feminist movement, and her political activism resulting from Beauvoir’s exposure of an unjust world through the press. Villalobos 7 Section 1: Historical context of 19th century France and Women In this section I will explore the historical context of nineteenth-century France in relation to women’s social condition and their role in the established patriarchal society following the French Revolution. I survey the rise of first-wave feminism during this time period as I continue to explore its evolution throughout this paper. In addition, I will introduce the Saint Simonian women, a group of socialist feminists from the 1830s who radically challenged the notion of “equality” between men and women, the differences among women of different social classes, and womanhood among other concepts and notions, to ultimately find ways to achieve women’s liberation and equality between the sexes. In order to understand what was considered “feminism” back in nineteenth-century France, I will examine the challenges women faced as well as their different goals and demands according to social class, such as opening up opportunities for women with a focus on suffrage and education. Women’s Social Condition By the nineteenth century, French women’s lives had seen some change and emerging opportunities that explain the need for a movement that was not only led by women but that worked in the best interest of women.