Talk:Women in the French Revolution
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No women's rights during the Revolution
editThe lemma's introductory text is an example of apology of the French Revolution, it implicitely credits the FR with the development of women's rights. Women had no political rights in pre-Revolutionary France; they were considered "passive" citizens?
The term passive citizen only came into existence by the F.R. The poor people, as well as women, were completely excluded from political rights by the revolutionary Constitution of 1791, and the Revolutionary lawmakers branded them as passive citizens. The Ancien Régime had no notion of passive citizens. Before the FR, limited political rights for women existed. Abesses and noble heirs or widows were allowed to vote in the first and second Estates. Also note that women under the Ancien Régime could be at the head of important fiefs, and several queens became regent of France.
I concede it's little, but after the FR, women still had no rights. The statement that women had little rights is indeed true for the period before 1789, but even more true for the period after 1789. The lemma creates the impression of an improvement, whereas there was only disillusion. The debate about women's rights was ongoing under the Ancien Régime already, only, the King never chopped off the heads of the debaters, as did the Revolution.
The mere fact that some women had high hopes, and actively supported the FR is not enough to claim that the FR actually introduced women's rights (even when it is said they were removed again). At no point during the FR, any right was given to women. In spite of the appearance (partly created much later), the FR had no democratic intentions. Whereas the Estates had been elected, under the King, through general elections (per Estate), the FR introduced censitary vote - only the rich could vote. The feudal rights were not abolished, but only changed names. Workers were forbidden to create unions (as they used to do before the FR) by the Loi le Chapelier. The Assemblée created laws against peasant revolts. The religious freedom, introduced by Louis XVI, was curtailed and abolished. Slavery continued to exist, now under protection of the Rights of Man (as the right to property). A militia composed of active citizes (the rich) enforced the rights of the factory and land owners. Riyadi (talk) 22:47, 17 October 2014 (UTC)
- the article is quite clear: It states: " The women demanded equality for men and then moved on to a demand for the end of male domination....the movement was crushed" Rjensen (talk) 09:17, 18 October 2014 (UTC)
- Lego, Luke Rimmo. "Women and the French Revolution: the start of the modern feminist movement." The Historian, Historical Association of Britain, May 17, 2023.
- ^ This article talks about that. Yes I do agree that women weren't granted immense rights during the FR, however it was definitely the start for the Feminist movement. Women definitely gained some rights during the FR- like the right to property. Many changes that occured during the French Revolution, helped in the long run. NortheastStories (talk) NortheastStories (talk) 00:41, 14 April 2024 (UTC)
Wiki Education assignment: The Age of Revolution and Historical Memory
editThis article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 20 January 2022 and 4 May 2022. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Gcocucci2 (article contribs).