With Royal trailing in most opinion polls for this weekend's run-off elections, found this article to be rather interesting. ############################################### Source: - http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/29/opinion/edcourt.php France's moment of truth for femininity By Isabelle de Courtivron The Boston Globe BOSTON: French women enjoy good press. Recent bestsellers in the United States tell us that they stay thin, dress well, have easy access to daycare, don't feel the need to marry out of economic or social vulnerability, and mostly get along well with French men. Indeed, the French are proud to claim that no "war of the sexes" exists in their culture, as it does in all those "Anglo-Saxon countries" (read: the United States). Women and men in France supposedly have a special relationship, based on a history of chivalrous heterosexual seduction, harmony between the sexes, and the sacrosanct concept of "mixité," which ensures that in no sphere are women and men ever separate. Like all myths, this one has some degree of truth. But the political arena has always been an exception to this idealized model. In politics, France is more regressive than Germany, New Zealand, Chile, and Liberia, all of which are led by women. Let us not forget that women did not get the vote in France until quite late, after World War II, for fear that they would vote like their husbands or, worse, like their priests. Among 27 European countries, France is 22nd in terms of how many women are government ministers. The presidential campaign of Ségolène Royal has shed light on this particular blind spot. Her own fellow Socialists initiated the misogynistic attacks on her candidacy: "Who will take care of the children?" sneered one of her rivals, as others nodded in agreement. Rows of older male career politicians sat disapprovingly as she talked in public meetings - or, more precisely, as she listened. For from the beginning, she decided to listen, so that she could get a better sense of what French people thought about the issues. This went completely against the grain. In France, eloquent, imperious politicians traditionally make decisions without consultation, in a manner reminiscent of their monarchical predecessors (even if they have to cancel most proposed reforms under the pressure of street demonstrations). So Royal's approach was interpreted as proof that she lacked any ideas of her own. Though wherever she went she attracted crowds of supporters (not in the bubble of the Paris intelligentsia, but in the provinces ), she was consistently tripped up by the press and by politicians of all stripes, who made much of any perceived misstep. When she said she would focus on battered women but did not pontificate in sufficient detail about submarines, she was met with indignation. When she refused to "dress for success," the focus shifted to her legs and to pictures of her in a bikini, and the media debated whether she was exploiting her feminine good looks. It was asserted that she was too authoritarian - or sometimes the reverse, that she didn't project enough authority. In sum, she was not deemed electable or legitimate. The second round of balloting this coming Sunday could prove otherwise. Indeed, if any woman is to reach the highest office, it should be Ségolène Royal, for she corresponds to a French national archetype of femininity. In a new book the writer Michele Sarde details how this young woman from the provinces represents a subtle mixture of traditional France and the rebellious modernity of Simone de Beauvoir. She is an educated woman who has always worked. With her partner, François Hollande, she has shared both private responsibilities (they have four children together) and political visions (he is the secretary of the Socialist Party). So where are the feminists who should be celebrating this historic occasion and protesting the sexist attacks on the first serious woman candidate for the French presidency? A petition entitled "1 million women have had enough!" - objecting to the way Royal has been treated - has gathered only 17,000 signatures. "Feminism" remains a taboo word in France. Femininity and power are still incompatible in many parts of the world. I say this with a glance toward this side of the Atlantic, where the first serious woman candidate for president has endured petty, unfair criticism in areas ranging from her hair style to her marriage. So while women are gaining political power around the world , the bad news is that they still often find themselves blocked by unrealistic expectations and intractable gender stereotypes. Royal's experience may reflect not just a "French exception," but also a more global reality. Isabelle de Courtivron is a humanities professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This article first appeared in The Boston Globe.