Feminist Publishing in France 1975–2000
Résumé
This chapter examines the place of feminist publishing in both the French and international publishing industries from 1975 until 2000. It uses the theories of sociologist Pierre Bourdieu in order to analyse the ways in which feminist publishers attempted to gain a foothold in an industry that was marked by broader economic, political and cultural shifts in French society in the decades following the 1970s. It considers both the publishing industry and feminism as ‘fields’, following Bourdieu, the intersection of which allowed French feminists and women writers a means of expressing and disseminating their ideas and experiences. Structural and political changes in the 1980s and 1990s, however, meant that the context was generally less favourable for feminist publishing, although some publishers were able to adapt to the shifting context and markets. Internal division and disagreements within the feminist movement also contributed to a decline in specialist collections devoted to feminism.