ABSTRACT
French feminisms are diverse writings on questions of sexual difference by women associated with recent French intellectual and political movements. In 1980 the anthology New French Feminisms by Elaine Marks and Isabelle de Courtivron gave some taste of this material to a wider English-speaking audience. Simone de Beauvoir can be considered a figure to whom all French feminists owe some debt, for introducing the question of a differently sexed body into the philosophical arena of French politics. The combination of theory, fantasy, and innovative wordcraft in many French feminist texts often translate well, however, and an enigmatic style can be frustrating to those who are unfamiliar with the critical dynamics in which they are often engaged. Christine Delphy can be thought of in many ways as an exception to the rule of ‘French Feminism’-that is, to the most popular understanding of French women’s writing on sexual difference.
