Silencing La Voix des Femmes

Abstract

In 1848, renewed calls for liberté, égalité, fraternité, coupled with a freer press, enabled women’s rights activists to explore the possibility of entering public discourse and action. The editors of La Voix des Femmes did not see women’s political engagement as an appropriation of the masculine sphere but as a necessary corollary to the calling society had assigned their gender. However, despite their calls for gradual progress, critics immediately interpreted their pleas for equality as an attempt to abolish boundaries between public and private spheres, thereby threatening traditional gender roles. The ensuing uproar effectively silenced the movement.