French Feminism Reader is a collection of essays representing the authors and issues from French theory most influential in the American context. The book is designed for use in courses, and it includes illuminating introductions to the work of each author. These introductions include biographical information, influences and intellectual context, major themes in the author's work as a whole, and specific introductions to the selections in this volume. The contributors represent the two trends in French theory that have proven most useful to American feminists: social theory and psychoanalytic theory. Both of these trends move away from any traditional discussions of nature toward discussions of socially constructed notions of sex, sexuality and gender roles. While feminists interested in social theory focus on the ways in which social institutions shape these notions, feminists interested in psychoanalytic theory focus on cultural representations of sex, sexuality and gender roles, and the ways that they affect the psyche. This collection includes selections by Simone de Beauvoir, Christine Delphy, Colette Guilluamin, Monique Wittig, Michele Le Doeuff, Julia Kristeva, Luce Irigaray, and Helene Cixous.

This collection gathers together the writings on religion of the major voices of French feminism. Also included are introductory essays by the editors which provide a context and demonstrate the importance of these works.

Daughters of 1968 is the story of French feminism between 1944 and 1981, when feminism played a central political role in the history of France. The key women during this epoch were often leftists committed to a materialist critique of society and were part of a postwar tradition that produced widespread social change, revamping the workplace and laws governing everything from abortion to marriage. The May 1968 events--with their embrace of radical individualism and antiauthoritarianism--triggered a break from the past, and the women's movement split into two strands. One became universalist and intensely activist, the other particularist and less activist, distancing itself from contemporary feminism. This theoretical debate manifested itself in battles between women and organizations on the streets and in the courts. The history of French feminism is the history of women's claims to individualism and citizenship that had been granted their male counterparts, at least in principle, in 1789. Yet French women have more often donned the mantle of particularism, advancing their contributions as mothers to prove their worth as citizens, than they have thrown it off, claiming absolute equality. The few exceptions, such as Simone de Beauvoir or the 1970s activists, illustrate the diversity and tensions within French feminism, as France moved from a corporatist and tradition-minded country to one marked by individualism and modernity.

This anthology introduces the English-speaking reader to some of the major elements of recent French feminist thought. While including contributions from well-known theorists such as Luce Irigaray and Julia Kristeva, the book aims particularly to demonstrate the variety of views held by French women on the central issues of feminist politics, creativity, writing and sexual difference by providing a cross-section of texts from the women's movement, recent feminist research and intellectual debate in France. The book includes selections from the works of Simone de Beauvoir, Annie de Pisan, Anne Tristan, Christine Delphy, Arlette Farge, Elisabeth Badinter, Michele Le Doeuff, Sarah Kofman and Michele Montrelay. French Feminist Thought also presents the English-speaking reader with the new feminist approaches to male-dominated disciplines such as history, philosophy and psychoanalysis.

French Feminist Theory offers an introduction to the key concepts and themes in French feminist thought, both the materialist and the linguistic/psychoanalytic traditions. These are explored through the work of a wide range of theorists: Simone de Beauvoir, Chantal Chawaf, Helene Cixous, Catherine Clement, Christine Delphy, Marguerite Duras, Colette Guillaumin, Madeleine Gagnon, Luce Irigaray, Julia Kristeva, Nicole-Claude Mathieu, Michele Montreley, Monique Plaza, Paola Tabet and Monique Wittig. The book outlines the philosophical and political diversity of French feminism, setting developments in the field in the particular cultural and social contexts in which they have emerged and unfolded.