Confounding stereotypes: How French femininity is evolving

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She is clichéd as a beacon of sophisticated glamour and effortless style, a woman who is seen as never getting fat, wearing her perfume and scarf with savoir faire and has tousled hair with that irresistible slept-in look.

There’s probably not another nationality whose femininity is associated with as much stereotyping as la femme française.

It’s not surprising that French women, like their UK and US sisters, are challenging clichés, sexist expectations, injustices and inequalities, though with a uniquely Gallic ambivalence. This is, after all, a nation with a strong feminist tradition through trailblazers such as Simone de Beauvoir and Simone Weil, while remaining strongly influenced by the Catholic church and family.

There can be an edge to the new wave of feminist activism in the wake of a sluggish response to #MeToo – or #BalanceTonPorc (‘denounce your pig’) as the French call it – ranging from public charges against powerful, prominent men through to feminist writing and grassroots initiatives from Les ...