Pauline Savari's practical feminism in the Belle Époque

This article examines the activities and legacy of hitherto unknown feminist Pauline Savari who advanced the emancipation of French women between 1887 and 1907. At a time when marriage and motherhood restricted women’s participation in the labour market, Savari promoted a practical feminism that sought the economic emancipation of all women, both professional and working-class. Her practical feminist philosophy, which emerged as a response to contemporary debates, is evident in her journalism, her creation of women’s unions, her organization of an international exhibition on women’s arts and crafts, and her advocacy for improved maternal conditions. An exemplary New Woman, Savari drew on her experience as a poor artist, her expertise on women’s questions, and her networking skills to ameliorate the conditions of women’s employment, in particular those of oft-neglected writers and artists

Art · Emancipation · Exhibition · Feminism · Journalism · Media studies · Political science · Politics · Sociology · The arts · Visual arts · French Historical and Cultural Studies · Gender Studies · Historical Gender and Feminism Studies · Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis · Law