Christine Delphy
Encyclopedia
Christine Delphy is a French sociologist
, feminist, writer and theorist. She was a co-founder of the review Nouvelles questions féministes (New Feminist Issues) with Simone de Beauvoir
in 1977.
at the University of Paris
and began working for Centre National de
Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) in Paris in 1966. She became a professor at the University of Paris. Delphy's works are mostly about feminism and class
-struggle issues.
Delphy is one of the feminists who opposed the law that forbids wearing the Muslim scarf
(hijab) at schools in France
, 2004. She is openly
lesbian
. She was a member of the Gouines rouges
.
Christine Delphy took part in the women's liberation movement (Mouvement de Libération des Femmes called MLF) and was one of the few women who brought flowers to the "wife of the unknown soldier" in August 1970. It was the first action of the MLF that received attention in the medias.
She created Material feminism
, which is not just socialist feminism but applies a materialist approach to gender relations. For Karl Marx
class is a position in the mode of production
; for Delphy gender is also a position in the mode of production
(domestic labour). So the main enemy of women is not capitalism but patriarchy. The sex comes after the gender (hierarchy) and is used to legitimate the domination.
Other materialist feminists are : Monique Wittig
, Colette Guillaumin
, Sheila Jeffreys
etc.
Christine Delphy had a big influence on Monique Wittig
, who had a big influence on Judith Butler. But Judith Butler de-emphasizes materialist analysis. For her, women are principally a cultural construction. Christine Delphy writes that this 'cultural turn' has dismissed the very real oppression of women.
Against Essentialism and the so-called "French Feminism"
Delphy challenges the biological essentialist view of gender and fights against essentialism
, even when it comes from the women's movement. She also fights against what she called "the invention of 'french Feminism'": Most French feminists are against essentialism and very few support what was called "French Feminism" in the United States. For Delphy, the American invention of "French Feminism" had a political purpose: the acceptance of essentialism among Anglo-American feminists (it was expected they would think, If French women think this way, we have to respect/accept this.
All these ideas are elaborated in many articles from the 70's, 80's and 90's in "Questions féministes" and "Nouvelles questions féministes" and were published in the following books:
L'Ennemi principal, tome 1 : L'Économie politique du patriarcat (1997) and L'Ennemi principal, tome 2 : Penser le genre (2001).
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
, feminist, writer and theorist. She was a co-founder of the review Nouvelles questions féministes (New Feminist Issues) with Simone de Beauvoir
Simone de Beauvoir
Simone-Ernestine-Lucie-Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir, often shortened to Simone de Beauvoir , was a French existentialist philosopher, public intellectual, and social theorist. She wrote novels, essays, biographies, an autobiography in several volumes, and monographs on philosophy, politics, and...
in 1977.
Biography
Delphy studied sociologySociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
at the University of Paris
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
and began working for Centre National de
Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) in Paris in 1966. She became a professor at the University of Paris. Delphy's works are mostly about feminism and class
Social class
Social classes are economic or cultural arrangements of groups in society. Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political scientists, economists, anthropologists and social historians. In the social sciences, social class is often discussed in terms of 'social stratification'...
-struggle issues.
Delphy is one of the feminists who opposed the law that forbids wearing the Muslim scarf
Scarf
A scarf is a piece of fabric worn around the neck, or near the head or around the waist for warmth, cleanliness, fashion or for religious reasons. They can come in a variety of different colours.-History:...
(hijab) at schools in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, 2004. She is openly
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
. She was a member of the Gouines rouges
Gouines rouges
The Gouines Rouges are a French radical feminist lesbian movement.The Gouines Rouges were founded in April 1971, responding to a desire to assert themselves in the heart of both the feminist movement and the homosexual movement, and the fear that lesbians were in danger of disappearing.- History...
.
Christine Delphy took part in the women's liberation movement (Mouvement de Libération des Femmes called MLF) and was one of the few women who brought flowers to the "wife of the unknown soldier" in August 1970. It was the first action of the MLF that received attention in the medias.
Ideas
Material FeminismShe created Material feminism
Material feminism
Material feminism examines the "material conditions under which social arrangements, including those of gender hierarchy, develop" It argues that "material conditions of all sorts play a vital role in the social production of gender"....
, which is not just socialist feminism but applies a materialist approach to gender relations. For Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
class is a position in the mode of production
Mode of production
In the writings of Karl Marx and the Marxist theory of historical materialism, a mode of production is a specific combination of:...
; for Delphy gender is also a position in the mode of production
Mode of production
In the writings of Karl Marx and the Marxist theory of historical materialism, a mode of production is a specific combination of:...
(domestic labour). So the main enemy of women is not capitalism but patriarchy. The sex comes after the gender (hierarchy) and is used to legitimate the domination.
Other materialist feminists are : Monique Wittig
Monique Wittig
Monique Wittig was a French author and feminist theorist who wrote about overcoming socially enforced gender roles and who coined the phrase "heterosexual contract". She published her first novel, L'Opoponax, in 1964...
, Colette Guillaumin
Colette Guillaumin
Colette Guillaumin, born in 1934, is a sociologist at the French National Centre for Scientific Research and a French feminist.-Bibliography:...
, Sheila Jeffreys
Sheila Jeffreys
Sheila Jeffreys is a lesbian feminist scholar and political activist, known for her analysis of the history and politics of sexuality in Britain. She is a professor in Political Science at the University of Melbourne in Australia...
etc.
Christine Delphy had a big influence on Monique Wittig
Monique Wittig
Monique Wittig was a French author and feminist theorist who wrote about overcoming socially enforced gender roles and who coined the phrase "heterosexual contract". She published her first novel, L'Opoponax, in 1964...
, who had a big influence on Judith Butler. But Judith Butler de-emphasizes materialist analysis. For her, women are principally a cultural construction. Christine Delphy writes that this 'cultural turn' has dismissed the very real oppression of women.
Against Essentialism and the so-called "French Feminism"
Delphy challenges the biological essentialist view of gender and fights against essentialism
Essentialism
In philosophy, essentialism is the view that, for any specific kind of entity, there is a set of characteristics or properties all of which any entity of that kind must possess. Therefore all things can be precisely defined or described...
, even when it comes from the women's movement. She also fights against what she called "the invention of 'french Feminism'": Most French feminists are against essentialism and very few support what was called "French Feminism" in the United States. For Delphy, the American invention of "French Feminism" had a political purpose: the acceptance of essentialism among Anglo-American feminists (it was expected they would think, If French women think this way, we have to respect/accept this.
All these ideas are elaborated in many articles from the 70's, 80's and 90's in "Questions féministes" and "Nouvelles questions féministes" and were published in the following books:
L'Ennemi principal, tome 1 : L'Économie politique du patriarcat (1997) and L'Ennemi principal, tome 2 : Penser le genre (2001).