(en) France, Organisation Communiste Libertarie (OCL-lyon) - Courant Alternatif, CA #239 - FEMINISM: A well dissonant Paris on March 8! (fr, pt)

8 March 2014, the International Day of Women's Rights - this global celebration originally 
"devoted" to the woman, and become a real institution - has been in Paris for a special 
treatment, since for the first After two events were organized separately, the various 
feminist components having failed to agree on a single procession. ---- It would be wrong 
to see in the strife around 8 March of simple quarrels individuals or groups: What 
cleavage reflects the demo "classic", at the initiative of the National Collaborative for 
Women's Rights (CNDF) and the collective called "March 8 for All" is profound and 
revealing different conceptions of the world, even if each of these processions was of 
course far from being homogeneous.

Of course, certain lines of battle were in a lot of leaflets calling for the mobilization 
of both sides (defense of abortion, denouncing violence against women, regularization 
sans-papier/?re/s ... ), but the first procession focused on gender equality and women 
about their rights; the second, on the belief that "there is not one but OF feminisms, and 
no vision of feminism can not set itself up as a universal model." Collective March 8 for 
All, appeared at the March 8, 2012, is in fact to "be heard excluding non feminism that 
gives voice to all women in all their diversity: shemale, whores, veiled women, dykes, 
Papers homeless ... ". An optical difference that resulted in recent years, tensions 
between the two feminist trends to breaking point on the issues of the veil and 
prostitution (see box) - feminists as those who supported the CNDF the law on the 
criminalization of the client that was adopted last December (1) and repulsive to scroll 
alongside veiled women. Collective struggles Women 93 (born in 2011) and blames the 
breakdown on "some institutional feminists who develop violent exclusionary practices 
against some women: veiled, poor prostitutes".

Sailing and prostitution, angry words

The first procession (several thousand people) walked Bastille to Richelieu-Drouot led by 
the banner "Stop violence against women", and it brought together women's associations 
such as the Confederation of Family Planning, feminism or Dare the bitches care, unions 
(CGT, Solidarity, FSU ...) party (PCF, Left Front, Workers Struggle ...), AC!, ATTAC or 
the League of Human Rights and Kurdish associations, African ... - as well as midwives 
struggle for recognition of the status of a hospital practitioner. "What we want is 
equality," headlined the tract, which unsurprisingly called "the mobilization and 
resistance against the extreme right," criticizing a little left in power for its economic 
and social policy but mostly pointing back rights sought by "reactionary forces" 
(including through attacks against the "ABCD equal" school project), and claiming inter 
alia the right to vote for overseas-era-s .

For years, individuals and feminist groups in France are primarily concerned to advance 
equality in the professional field (especially in political and journalistic careers) in 
wages or pensions (see collective Beard, Dare feminism ... or recently Let the one), for 
the sake of integration through institutions. The "French values" of secularism and 
citizenship have long served as a bridge between these reformers, who often belong to the 
middle class, and some left currents or extreme libertarians defining itself as 
internationalist and revolutionary but accepting the "legacy" of the French Republic. But, 
under the French colonial history, these currents are struggling to stick to the 
"emancipatory" secularism when it leads by example on the stigmatization of immigrant 
women. And even they are struggling to stay stowed policy positions based on morality and 
ideology when, on the pretext of "abolition" of prostitution, they have resulted in an 
increased weakening of prostitute-es and therefore deterioration of their fate. And the 
NPA is it shared the attitude to adopt in relation to the law on the criminalization of 
clients, or the headscarf; but, on March 8, he showed in the procession of the collective 
on March 8 for All-prostitute alongside're declaring defend their trade or veiled women.

The procession consisted of a thousand people (probably younger on average than in the 
first) who beat the pavement of the most popular neighborhoods (Belleville Pigalle) with 
the banner heading "My body, my choice, my struggles. " He collected such as Women in 
collective struggles of 93 associations and community health support prostitute-es, 
Act-Up, Inter-LGBT, extreme left organizations such as proletarian Way, the libertarian 
activists ( Anarchist Federation, NTC ...), the pro-Palestinian and other committees, the 
"list of voiceless 18th arrondissement" (2), etc.., with slogans pointing "prostitutes in 
danger" or "Muslim stigmatized."

To finish painting the picture divisions in feminist circles, mention seven women (members 
of Femen [3] or relatives) who are stripped before the pyramid of the Louvre that day, 
equipped with flags, to denounce " oppression "... in the Arab and Muslim World! and claim 
"freedom, secularism, equality." The Femen, who are as numerous institutional feminists, 
but are distinguished from them by their choice of spectacular actions - to ban both 
prostitution and sailing feed by such actions the wave of racism.

In truth, the feminist movement has grown over the past decades many other rifts, here as 
elsewhere, often linked to moral or ideological principles eyes. For example on 
pornography (see interview with Angela Davis in the rest of this article): still, even 
when the concern not to show prudish, some feminists openly rank, France is home in the 
opinion of Ovidie, for whom porn is what is in fact (it can be liberating when it comes 
out of the normative heterosexuality inventing other representations of the sexual act 
from a transgression macho codes).

However, questions of sailing and prostitution have sown discord here much more than the 
debate "eroticism or pornography? "Erstwhile, because they combine multiple cards - not 
only moral and ideological, but also personal (origin and social status, aspirations or 
ambitions, skin color ...), in connection with the French colonial history and North-South 
relations, etc.. That is why these issues have led to the emergence of multiple positions, 
not only two opposing camps.

Side personalities, for example, Elisabeth Badinter refuses the name of "feminist values" 
of support in Baby-Loup (which began in 2008), an employee attached to her veil; but it is 
the name of the same values it upholds the right of every woman to freely dispose of his 
body, and thus decide to prostitute or not if it is not constrained by a third party (in 
this sense, E. Badinter strongly rejects law on the criminalization of clients, it holds 
for a pure "ideological display Act"). Virginia Despentes it, rightly protested both 
against the law banning the veil and against which penalizes customers prostitute-es. It 
considers that, in both cases, feminism has been utilized by the government: the law on 
prostitution was actually helps to tighten its immigration policy to control undocumented, 
as the law banning the veil allowed him to pursue a policy excluding certain French school 
- and at the same time, wishing to participate in the demonstration on March 8 veiled 
women were turned away for ten years.

Violence against women not considered all such

This analysis clearly resonates with protesters on March 8 for All who refuse to be 
trapped by the PS focusing on the rise of the extreme right - and this is fortunate 
because, as usual, power "socialist" waving his scapegoat to divert discontent and 
indignation at his reaction if "antisocial" policy. Therefore, some bonds are formed 
between anti-capitalist activists, feminists and from es immigration through common practices.

Thus, a week after the March 8 demonstration was held a rally at the Fountain of the 
Innocents, called by the Feminist Collective for Equality (CFPE), which brings together 
for the law on the veil 2004 atheists and believers , veiled or not. It aimed to denounce 
the "State Islamophobia" that reflects this law, "trigger discriminatory and hateful 
behavior, which find legitimacy and removing guilt" and the proliferation of assault and 
violence against women wearing a headscarf. The CFPE (born in 2003 from the petition "A 
veil of discrimination", which Christine Delphy was the first president) received the 
opportunity to support among other collective March 8 for All of STRASS, the tumultuous 
Indigenous of the Republic and the French Jewish Union for Peace.

Seen, position and mobilize on such matters entails crossing various analyzes in order not 
to mislead enemy-e stopping the sole criterion of class, gender or race (see again the 
following).

Cases like those on since 2011 Dominique Strauss-Kahn, for example, highlights the 
caricature impunity enjoyed by a white man belonging to the higher levels, by its 
functions and wealth, face a maid color or prostitutes. This reality, faced with the case 
of gang rape found in Cr?teil in 2012 (4) was then caused enough anger at the systematic 
suspicion surrounding unlike men of color for the class on March 8 for All organizes a 
protest "against racism and selective indignation" to highlight the "racist recovery" of 
the trial. Recalling that rape is not "exclusive to men living on the other side of the 
Mediterranean" or "exclusive prerogative of the neighborhood youngsters," this group 
already stated: "We reject a feminist consensus build on this base racist and stigmatizing 
leaving the FN opportunity to be indignant, together with feminists face the verdict of 
Cr?teil (...) and a nationalist and colonial logic which establishes the French company 
universal example of women's liberation. (...) The seriousness of rape does not depend on 
the activity or behavior of the victim or national, social or racial origin of the 
perpetrator! Our mobilizations should not depend either. This political and media outrage 
at different speeds and partial mobilizations do not serve women, on the contrary. In the 
end, it leads only to relativize the violence of white heterosexual men, these men in 
positions of power (moral, political, media, police, judiciary) that we violent, but enjoy 
forums and support points in media, surf all sexist and racist discriminatory logic to 
discredit our word, we divide and discourage us from defending ourselves. "Since then, the 
cloth having stopped burning between feminists, the beautiful facade of unity of March 8 
Parisians disintegrated, but clarification is needed - and (to end on a note deliberately 
optimistic) may bear- they fruit, encouraging more women to abandon their search for an 
illusory integration in favor of a necessary break with the established order?

Vanina

(1) See "Prostitution" folder in CA summer 2013 or the oclibertaire site and the article 
in CA in March 2014 on the same subject.

(2) This proposed Parisian municipal list was invalidated because some people with do not 
have French nationality.

(3) See "What's new with the" new feminism "? "CA in April 2013 or on oclibertaire.

(4) Ten men were acquitted and four sentences ranging from three years to one year 
suspended farm.

PS
Feminists, therefore against the criminalization of customers

At a time when the Socialist government wants to pass a law criminalizing clients of 
prostitutes, we affirm that the question is not to take sides for or against the abolition 
of prostitution, but it is necessary to take sides as feminists. Because wanting to 
"abolish" the prostitution without requiring in advance and with the same aplomb, the 
abolition of poverty, exploitation and pillage of the South by the North is at best naive, 
at worst, a sham. However, this government is not naive. In less than two years, we have 
even seen its determination to strengthen the operation of all dominations and the North 
over the South.

Because we are feminists, we reject that women are stigmatized, discriminated against, 
pushed to the isolation and invisibility because they are prostitutes. Because we are 
feminists, we reject that women in prostitution are endangered because of constraints 
exercise in hiding. Because we are feminists, we are opposed to a specifically violent 
against women prostitutes foreign law, and undocumented women in particular. Because we 
are feminists, we reject that prostitutes are in difficulty to impose their conditions, 
including condom use. Because we are feminists, we reject that prostitutes are vulnerable 
to HIV infection and other STIs (sexually transmitted infections) because remote community 
health associations, the fight against AIDS and access to rights. Because we are 
feminists, we reject a bill that gives precedence repression on real political, economic 
and social measures to fight against male domination, poverty, unemployment and insecurity 
of women.

Because we are feminists, we refuse to speak for the first question.

Collective March 8 for All

(Published in Lib?ration forum November 21, 2013)