When I met her, in her apartment on the Right Bank in Paris,
I asked her why she had steered clear of feminist ideologies. She gave a smile
that reminded me of the radiant, seductive expressions of the French anchor
women. It was an expression designed for the camera; but it was also a rather
vulnerable and friendly expression of someone attempting to please.
“I’m allergic to ideologies, in general. I’m interested in
observing them and trying to understand why they arise, but I’m profoundly
skeptical. I’m incapable of adhering to an ideology. I believe that the MLF
[Women’s Liberation Movement] in France was the extreme culmination of a very
powerful movement throughout the world. And it did have its roots in history. Feminism
is a very ancient movement, but perhaps, for the first time, it has really achieved
something. In France, in the nineteenth century there was a great deal of feminist
activity, in England, they managed to gain the vote, but the movement failed in
France. But actually, having the vote is really not the key. There are only two
essential elements that can change women’s role in society: birth control and
the women’s participation in the economy.”
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