Culture Générale et Expression: Représentations et enjeux des relations hommes/femmes

Vocabulary flashcards covering gender representations, historical milestones of women's legal and political rights in France, and contemporary socio-professional challenges.

Role of 'Care'

A social expectation traditionally assigned to women centered on nurturing, listening, empathy, emotional support, and attending to children's daily and medical needs.

Separation of Spheres (Séparation des sphères)

The traditional societal division prior to the mid-20th century where men occupied the public sphere (work, politics, decision-making) and women were restricted to the private sphere (home, children, domestic care).

Code Civil Napoléonien (1804)

The French civil code established in 1804 that institutionalized married women's legal incapacity, placing them under the complete authority of their husbands and legally assimilating them to minors.

Incapacité Juridique (Legal Incapacity)

The legal status under which married French women lived until 1938, preventing them from signing contracts, managing personal property, working, or opening a bank account without marital consent.

Ester en justice

The legal action of initiating or participating in court proceedings, an action prohibited to married French women without their husband's authorization prior to 1938.

Chef de famille

The legal designation of the husband giving him sole authority to choose the family domicile, manage marital property, and represent the household in civil life.

Article 213 of the French Civil Code

A legal article in effect until 1938 dictating marital duties: the husband owed protection to his wife, and the wife owed obedience to her husband.

Law of 1907 (France)

French legislation that granted married women the right to freely dispose of their own earned wages, though they remained unable to sign legal contracts.

Reform of 1938 (France)

The abolition of married women's legal incapacity (incapacité juridique), ending their status as legal minors while keeping them under their husband's authority.

Law of 1942 (France)

French legal reform allowing women to officially serve as legal guardians (tutrices légales).

Women's Suffrage in France (1944–1945)

French women gained the right to vote and run for office in April 1944, casting their ballots for the first time during the municipal elections of 1945.

Law of 1965 (France)

The landmark legal reform allowing married French women to open bank accounts and take paid employment without the permission of their husbands.

Paternal Authority (Autorité paternelle)

The legal structure in place until 1970 in France where parental decision-making authority belonged exclusively to the father, leaving mothers in a secondary caretaking role without legal authority.

Control of Maternity (Contrôle de la maternité)

The 20th-century development characterized by access to contraception and the legalization of abortion (IVG), allowing women greater choice over if and when to have children.

Plafond de verre (Glass Ceiling)

A contemporary professional barrier referring to the persistent underrepresentation of women in executive, management, and upper-level leadership positions.

Charge mentale (Mental Load)

The invisible burden of planning, anticipating, and organizing domestic chores and family life that disproportionately falls upon women, even when both partners work full-time.