French Studies 2002 Rodgers 137
1
, . , an interesting and informative book with plenty of illustrations and fine quotations, nicely translated, particularly the interview with Madjigue `ne Cisse ´, the woman leader of the sans-papiers movement. U L Y R Women in Contemporary France. Edited by A G and U T. Oxford, Berg, . ix + pp. Hb £.. Pb £.. As the editors rightly point out in their introduction, this collection of essays is innovative in the sense that it is the only recent book in English which attempts to present the contemporary situation of women in France, addressing both mainstream and less often researched issues. It consists of nine articles: ‘Women in paid work’ (A. Gregory), ‘Women’s unpaid work and leisure’ ( J. Windebank), ‘Women and the media’ (M. Allison), ‘Women and politics’ (M. Fidelma Cross), ‘Women and language’ (K. Beeching), ‘Women’s writing’ (G. Rye), ‘Immigrant and ethnic minority women’ ( J. Freedman), ‘Visible subjects: lesbians in contemporary France’ (U. Tidd) and ‘Women in rural France’ (M. Demossier). The editors must have given an extremely well-defined brief to their authors, since the contributions fully complement each other yet do not overlap, and the homogeneity in both methodology and presentation is striking. All are clearly structured, are written in a straightforward, unpretentious style, and are well researched, presenting up-to-date information, and in many cases valuable statistics, on women’s participation in French society. Each contribution also includes a useful selective bibliography. The contributors have not presumed any prior knowledge on the part of the reader, and have thus contextualized the issues they address, highlighting the roles played by the State, various institutions, pressure groups, political parties and ideological forces in the definition of women’s lives in contemporary France. They have striven to put forward a balanced view, presenting not only the progress that women have made but also the obstacles which have been encountered — and the inequalities which have endured. Logically, then, given the evidence supplied in the contributions, in their conclusion, Gregory and Tidd support Bourdieu’s view that ‘persistent, relative inequalities between women and men remain, despite the increased range in opportunities for women in French society’, and their outlook is bleak — perhaps unnecessarily so. Be that as it may, the book certainly helps one understand the situation of women in France. It is more descriptive than speculative — this is not a research volume, nor a theoretical investigation (the only exception being Rye’s article on women’s writing). But that is not to belittle its value. It offers an excellent practical overall view of women’s involvement in various aspects of contemporary life in France, and is a very valuable source of information. I can confidently recommend it to anybody — at least, to undergraduate students or non-specialist readers — interested in the subject. U W S C R
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Transcript of French Studies 2002 Rodgers 137
, .,
an interesting and informative book with plenty of illustrations and finequotations, nicely translated, particularly the interview with Madjiguene Cisse,the woman leader of the sans-papiers movement.
U L Y R
Women in Contemporary France. Edited by A G and U T.Oxford, Berg, . ix+ pp. Hb £.. Pb £..
As the editors rightly point out in their introduction, this collection of essays isinnovative in the sense that it is the only recent book in English which attemptsto present the contemporary situation of women in France, addressing bothmainstream and less often researched issues. It consists of nine articles: ‘Womenin paid work’ (A. Gregory), ‘Women’s unpaid work and leisure’ ( J. Windebank),‘Women and the media’ (M. Allison), ‘Women and politics’ (M. Fidelma Cross),‘Women and language’ (K. Beeching), ‘Women’s writing’ (G. Rye), ‘Immigrantand ethnic minority women’ ( J. Freedman), ‘Visible subjects: lesbians incontemporary France’ (U. Tidd) and ‘Women in rural France’ (M. Demossier).The editors must have given an extremely well-defined brief to their authors,since the contributions fully complement each other yet do not overlap, and thehomogeneity in both methodology and presentation is striking. All are clearlystructured, are written in a straightforward, unpretentious style, and are wellresearched, presenting up-to-date information, and in many cases valuablestatistics, on women’s participation in French society. Each contribution alsoincludes a useful selective bibliography. The contributors have not presumedany prior knowledge on the part of the reader, and have thus contextualized theissues they address, highlighting the roles played by the State, various institutions,pressure groups, political parties and ideological forces in the definition ofwomen’s lives in contemporary France. They have striven to put forward abalanced view, presenting not only the progress that women have made but alsothe obstacles which have been encountered — and the inequalities which haveendured. Logically, then, given the evidence supplied in the contributions, intheir conclusion, Gregory and Tidd support Bourdieu’s view that ‘persistent,relative inequalities between women and men remain, despite the increasedrange in opportunities for women in French society’, and their outlook isbleak — perhaps unnecessarily so. Be that as it may, the book certainly helps oneunderstand the situation of women in France. It is more descriptive thanspeculative — this is not a research volume, nor a theoretical investigation (theonly exception being Rye’s article on women’s writing). But that is not to belittleits value. It offers an excellent practical overall view of women’s involvement invarious aspects of contemporary life in France, and is a very valuable source ofinformation. I can confidently recommend it to anybody — at least, toundergraduate students or non-specialist readers — interested in the subject.
U W S C R
—French Studies, Vol. , No. — --: :: fsrev
