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The Risky Business of French Feminism: Publishing, Politics, and Artistry examines the institutional history of the publishing house Editions des Femmes as well as its relationship to the French Women's Liberation Movement (MLF) from 1972 to the present. The founding and subsequent success of Editions des Femmes in the publishing milieu intensified the ideological divisions within the MLF and highlighted the extent to which that movement failed to adequately reflect on the power inherent in its recourse to print culture as an agent of change. In particular, Editions des Femmes produced several periodical publications and pioneered a woman-centered subculture that attached militant political meanings to the practice of buying and publishing books. While the MLF succeeded in changing legislation detrimental to women, it was not able to create unified cultural politics or construct a long-term media strategy that could preserve the movement's original ideals and unity. Jennifer L. Sweatman explores the long-term dissipation of the MLF as a unified force not only as an outcome of ideological disagreement, but also due to conflicting views on culture, women's creativity as a strategy for empowerment, and the utility of media for creating change.
As the MLF fragmented, unable to fully come to terms with its various consumer identities, its need for capital to support creative projects, and its difficult experience with collective decision-making, the Editions des Femmes' project was seen as incredibly controversial. However, Editions des Femmes embodied a broader strategy for cultural transformation that privileged women's creative works rather than feminism, situating it as a successful forerunner of the revitalization of the publishing industry from below as small, independent houses challenged the large, media conglomerate control of the industry.
List of contents
Table of Contents
Chapter One - Introduction: The Risky Politics of Editions des Femmes
The Risky Politics of Editions des Femmes: The Female-Collective
The Risky Vision of Editions des Femmes: Psychanalyse et Politique
The Risky Editorial Policy of Editions des Femmes: Publishing Women
Chapter Two- Freeing Words and Seizing Speech: The Emergence of
Editions des Femmes
Psychanalyse et Politique
Power, Print, and the MLF in Public
The Founding of Editions des Femmes
Chapter Three- Public Visibility: The Success of Editions des Femmes'
Editorial Policy
MLF Causes and Editions des Femmes' Militant Catalog
Building a Catalog, Branding an Author
"Women's Writing": An Essentialist Catalog?
The Political Risks of Publishing Success
Chapter Four - Contested Collectives in Print: Editions des Femmes and
Its Critics
Contesting the Collective, or Who are "the Women"?
Commercial Rivalry between Editions des Femmes and Editions Tierce
Chapter Five -"The Desire to Perpetuate a Heritage": From Militancy to
Commemoration in Editions des Femmes' Editorial Policy
Book Business and the Risks of Militant Publishing
New Fields of Struggle: Small Publishers and the Prix Unique
A New Look: Revamping the "des Femmes" Image
Protecting Writers: New Strategies for Building Solidarity
Commemoration and Exceptional Women
Conclusion
About the author
Jennifer L. Sweatman is assistant professor of history at Bridgewater College in Virginia.
Summary
The Risky Business of French Feminism: Publishing, Politics, and Artistry examines the women-owned publishing house Editions des Femmes and its rivals in order to understand how the French Women’s Liberation Movement used print media to transform French culture and society from the 1970s through the 1990s.
