Liberté, Égalité & Surtout, Fraternité?: The Struggle over Women's Liberation in the French Communist & Socialist Parties

Abstract

In this article Professor Fields examines the positions the French Communist and Socialist parties have historically, and more recently, taken with regard to women's rights and gender equality. He also discusses the criticism of these positions offered by feminists within these parties. The critics are especially troubled by the parties' unwillingness to undertake serious theoretical analysis of the structure of patriarchy. Without such analysis, they say, neither party can become an effective agent for changing entrenched notions and habits about women's place and role in society.