Barrette: Le Rugby Féminin in 1920s France

Abstract

Barrette, although it has been previously overlooked in modern sports histories, rose to prominence in France during the 1920s as a women’s contact sport. The close ties between barrette and rugby football support an argument that barrette was explicitly viewed as women’s rugby, and therefore should have a more prominent position in the history of rugby as well as women’s sports. Exploring the rise and decline of barrette through contemporary newspaper reports exposes the political and social context in which women played rugby during the interwar years in Paris. Supporting, promoting, and participating in a contact sport for women in 1920s France were not simply a leisure choice but arguably a strong political statement. Highlighting the prominent role of Dr Marie Houdré, and engaging with the debate surrounding Alice Milliat’s feminist ideals, exposes the feminist ideal behind barrette. Building on transnational comparisons between barrette in Paris and women’s football in England, the evidence indicates that barrette explicitly challenged gender boundaries. Barrette players and promoters were obliged to carefully negotiate the public perception of their gender troubling sport, which was recorded in both mainstream and feminist newspapers that provide primary source material for this study.