Lucile Peytavin is a French historian and essayist specialised in women's work and gender issues. Co-founder of the association Gender and Statistics and a member of the Women's Foundation's Observatory on the Economic Emancipation of Women, she published her essay Le Coût de la virilité (The Cost of Virility) in 2023 (Ed. Anne Carrières), which explores the economic consequences of violent and risky behaviour by men, estimated at around €95 billion a year in France.
In this interview, Lucile Peytavin talks about her latest co-authored book, Sororité: Le Pacte (Sorority: The Pact) (Ed. Le Livre de Poche, Hachette), published on the 19th of March. She talks about sorore humanism, peace, and the need for women to support each other in a divisive society.
Foundation RAJA-Danièle Marcovici (FRDM): On the 19th of March, the essay-manifesto Sororité : Le Pacte (Sorority: The Pact), which you co-wrote, was published. What were your main motivations for writing this book and what are the key messages you want to convey through this “pact”?
Lucile Peytavin (L.P.): Like many women and feminists, my co-authors (Aline Jalliet and Maryne Bruneau) and I have noted that solidarity between us women is often lacking. Male solidarity, through the notion of fraternity, is extremely prevalent in our society. It has been built up through stories, such as that of the musketeers, the knights of the round table, or that of the French Revolution when men came together in a constituent assembly.
We women, on the other hand, have often been erased from history, and have not had the kind of imagination that would have enabled us to build female solidarity. We can see in very concrete terms, even today, that this erasure due to patriarchy isolates us from each other, and often even places us in rivalry. We can take the example of the world of work, where positions of responsibility are still expensive for women, and where rivalry takes precedence over mutual help.
This rivalry is exacerbated by social networks, which link our value to our physical appearance, with unattainable beauty criteria. We end up denigrating women because they don’t respond to patriarchal beauty injunctions, or because they respond too much (like bimbos). We also have women who embrace misogynist ideas and vote for Trump in the United States, for example. One explanation is that they feel that if they’re on the side of the executioners, they’ll be protected.
Because of patriarchy, women often tend to feel illegitimate, to hate themselves even, and come to denigrate other women to reassure themselves. That’s why, through this book, we wanted to shed light on all those mechanisms that explain why we find it hard to show solidarity with each other, and where this comes from. We also support the idea that, while there may be profound disagreements between us, nothing justifies violence between activists, between women, and especially not in the name of feminism, otherwise we’re not feminists.
We therefore propose a pact that can be signed by all the women on change.org who recognize themselves in this commitment to sisterhood and peace.
FRDM: This manifesto explores the notions of “sorority” and “sorore humanism”. What significance do you attach to these concepts today?
L.P.: So, behind the term “sorore humanism”, it’s above all a message of peace between women that we want to convey. Sorority is the creation of bonds of peace, of peaceful connections between women, but also a movement of support.
I think it’s important to explain why this sisterhood is necessary.
Misogyny and sexism are the world’s leading forms of discrimination.
It affects 50% of the population, regardless of social background or age group. As women, we are all linked to each other, whether we like it or not. If we think of this humanist sisterhood, it’s also to overcome our differences and differences of opinion. It was Andrea Dworkin who rightly said that “rape is a threat to all women, whether they are communists or fascists, liberals, conservatives, Democrats, Republicans, racists, blacks, homosexuals or homophobes”; we are all linked by the reality of sexism.
Throughout history, when women have united and supported each other as sisters, they have achieved revolutions, particularly in Western countries, such as obtaining the same rights as men, without spilling a drop of blood. Suffragists may have used bombs, but their instructions were never to target people. We can clearly say that women have everything it takes to practice sisterhood, precisely because they are the people of humanism.
FRDM: In your essay The Cost of Manliness, published in 2023, you advocate that it would ultimately be more advantageous for society to “behave like women”. Why do you think women’s behavior is so different, and how can it benefit society?
L.P.: Women account for only 17% of all charges brought by the courts, which means that they commit far fewer violent offences, misdemeanors and felonies than men. For every type of offence, there is a statistical gulf between men and women. And why are women’s behaviors more conducive to social cohesion than men’s? It’s not for biological reasons, since it’s been proven that whether or not a person is violent is not determined by gender. On the other hand, women’s upbringing encourages empathy and emotional self-regulation. It’s often said that women are hysterical, but statistics on violence show that they are far more self-controlled.
The humanist solution is right there in front of us, already applied to half the population. So, if we want to live in a calmer, richer society – because all this violence has costs[1]– then we should also educate boys in the same way as girls.
Why don’t we? Because there’s a contempt for the feminine. Men must never behave like women. Masculine and virile identity is built on this contempt for the feminine, even as we realize the benefits of so-called feminine values on society.
I think we need to revalorize the feminine, so that empathy, communication and respect for others can also be instilled in boys.
So, when I say that we women have everything in us to be sorore, it’s because we benefit from this humanist education.
FRDM: Some critics see sorority as simply a feminine variation of fraternity, even divisive, and suggest that the term “solidarity” would be more appropriate and inclusive. How do you defend the importance and relevance of this concept?
L.P.: We’re often told that the word “feminism” isn’t inclusive enough, and that we could say we’re all anti-sexist. Of course, the project is to achieve an anti-sexist society and gender equality, but the reality is that sexism isn’t aimed at everyone: it’s women who are its victims. That’s why it’s so important to use the word “feminism”, just as it’s important to think about the sisterhood.
We think of the sisterhood as a tool that will enable us both to win rights, the same rights as men, and to feel safe, valued and supported among ourselves. In our book, we also talk about “root sisterhood”, which means that, because we are like-minded, because we are women, bound by the same realities, getting together with each other can enable us to become more aware of what and who we are, outside our roles as wives, mothers and so on. In the end, it allows us to reconnect with ourselves and our fellow human beings.
I also think it’s important to point out that sorority is about women, not men.
In fact, men aren’t even the point, it’s not about them. It’s a tool for women’s equity, and in my opinion a necessary one, to face up together to the patriarchy that divides us and puts us in rivalry. This is not the case for men. But they can, if they wish, offer the book to the women around them!
FRDM: Do you have a final word to add?
L.P.: On social networks, where 73% of online harassment victims are women, we’re launching the hashtag #sororitélepacte (#sororitythepact). The idea is simple: when we see a woman attacked on social networks, not for her ideas but just because she’s a woman, we use this hashtag. It’s a way of showing our solidarity and reminding us of the basics: do no harm and support other women.
In addition, my new book Tu vas pas chialer comme une gonzesse! (Don’t cry like a girl!) will be published in May by Editions La Meute and deals with the problems of gendered education.
[1] Le coût de la virilité (The cost of virility). (Peytavin, 2023): This essay explores the economic consequences of violent, high-risk behavior by men, estimated at around €95 billion a year in France.
Interview by Diane Dussans, Project Manager, Fondation RAJA-Danièle Marcovici
