While International Women’s Day, March 8th, is a
fairly low-key event in the U.S., many conferences, public debates,
commemorations and art installations mark la
Journée Internationale des Femmes, and the accompanying Semaine des Femmes (Women’s Week), or Semaine
des Droits des Femmes (Women’s Rights Week). Below are just a couple of activities of interest in honor of the
101st International Women's Day.
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© Toutes en moto
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Ladies, Start your
Engines!
A familiar leitmotif of French feminism is to appropriate
male symbols and subvert them in a feminine way. Toutes en moto, which translates as ‘all (females) on bikes’, turns
the über-masculine testosterone on wheels icon into girls night out fun while
poking fun at traditional stereotypes. Senator Brigitte Gonthier-Maurin,
President of the Delegation for Women’s Rights and Equal Opportunity between
Men and Women, says women motardes
(female motorcyclists) “promote a beautiful image of modern woman: one who
decides to take control of her destiny without rejecting either her liberty or
her femininity.”
Organized with the association Femmes Solidaires, the moto tour leaves from the Château de
Vincennes at 3pm on Sunday, March 11th. The ‘motoparade’ route will
go down the avenue de Daumesnil and cross over to the left bank, encircling the
Luxembourg Gardens
before heading up boulevard Saint-Michel and along the Left Bank quais, ending
at the Eiffel Tower.
Guys are welcome – but the girls get to drive.
Guided visits at the Louvre
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© Louvre
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The Louvre, usually closed on Tuesdays, will welcome
visitors from various women’s organizations on March 6th. The
general public can take part in a series of guided visits focusing on women in
antiquity or women artists represented at the Louvre. The visits are in French.
La Femme dans l’Antiquité
(Women in Antiquity) – 90 minute guided visits, beginning at 11:30am on
Wednesdays, March 7, 14 and 21.
L’Art
au Féminin (Women Artists) – 90 minute guided visits, beginning at 2:30 pm
on Fridays, March 9 (Women Painters), March 16 (Women Sculptors and
Decorators), and March 23 (Women Patrons of the Arts)
Neighborhood
Activities
Several district city halls, the Mairie of each arrondissement,
have Women’s Day activities.
Mairie du 3ème, 2 rue Eugène Spuller, 3ème, M: Temple
In keeping with their strong tradition of activism and
promotion of historical themes, the Mairie du 3ème is highlighting the history
and impact of the Women's Movement in the 3rd district with a walking tour
of sights of current and historical importance to the women's movement, beginning at 2:30pm on Saturday, March 10th.
The walking tour will explore the role of women in political life and in the
national memory, and will include a meeting with the historical association of the
arrondissement to learn about the
women of the Paris Commune and their influence on worker and feminist
movements; meetings with the feminist groupes La Barbe and Osez le
Féminisme; a visit to a Heath Center for a discussion on the realities of
access to abortion and contraception; and a discussion on theatrical
improvisation with the group Arts Compétences.
This is a great opportunity to discover the residential side
of the hip Marais. Don’t miss the Marché
des Enfants Rouges, just across from the Mairie, on rue de Bretagne, also a
lovely street for shopping, cafés and people watching.
International Women’s
Day in English
The American
Library in Paris is hosting WICE World Watch @ The Library: The
promise and the reality of International Women's Day, Tuesday, March 6th
at 7:30 pm. Constance Borde, co-author new translation of Simone de Beauvoir’s The
Second Sex, and Suyan Zhou discuss
the current state of women’s issues and status in the US and China.
For an excellent list in French of other related activities
in Paris and
the provinces see:
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