In pre-revolutionary France, most women had little formal part in affairs outside the house. Before the revolution and the advent of feminism in France, women's official role in society consisted of providing heirs for their husbands and tending to household duties. While women in the upper classes played an influential role in society through the literary salon, women in general were dismissed as simpletons, unable to understand or give a meaningful contribution to the philosophical or political conversations of the day. However, with the emergence of ideas such as liberté, égalité, and fraternité, the women of France joined their voices to the chaos of the early revolution. This was the beginning of feminism in France. With demonstrations such as the Women's March on Versailles, and the Demonstration of 20 June 1792, women displayed their commitment to the Revolution. Both the Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen and the creation of the Society of Revolutionary Republican Women further conveyed their message of women's rights as a necessity to the new order of the revolution.
Inequality During Revolution
During the revolution, doctors and scientists played a significant role in the way society viewed women. Many doctors hypothesized that women could not partake in politics and other aspects of the government since their physiology and anatomy were so different than the physiology and anatomy of men. Scientists, doctors, and people of related professions stated that those with compacted skulls could not practice or follow the sciences (Nature's Body 7).
Women's participation in politics was considered useless since men were to keep their wives', daughters', sisters', and loved ones' values and needs in mind.
Women were thought to have the same beliefs, ideals, and desires for France as the men.
Women's March to Versailles
The Women's March to Versailles is an example of protofeminist militant activism during the French Revolution. Though the march was overwhelmingly made up of women by all accounts, they did not make explicitly feminist demands. In the years preceding the Revolution, there was a food shortage in France. People all over the country grew agitated and called for a guarantee of food, with insufficient response from the monarchy. In October 1789, women in the marketplace of Paris began marching to Versailles, spurred on by revolutionists. As they marched, they drew a large gathering, culminating in the siege of the palace and the royal family being transported to the Tuileries Palace.
Though the crowd was led by men such as Stanislas-Marie Maillard, the women's call for bread and their persistence to see their demands met, set the tone for the subsequent events led by women in the Revolution. Their resolve is exemplified by an account of a woman participating in the march, the woman Cheret. "The honorable members of the National Assembly, coming to understand that the women were absolutely committed to persist until there was something definite for always, accorded to our twelve deputies." While the march was not an inherently feminist event, the women of the march recalled the victory of "our citizenesses clothed in glory, returned by carriage at his majesty's expense, to the city hall in Paris." The women of the march were remembered by posterity of the French Revolution as "Mothers of the Nation."
Demanding arms
Pauline Léon, on March 6, 1791, submitted a petition signed by 319 women to the National Assembly requesting permission to form a garde national in order to defend Paris in case of military invasion. Léon requested permission be granted to women to arm themselves with pikes, pistols, sabers, and rifles, as well as the privilege of drilling under the French Guards. Her request was denied. Later in 1792, Théroigne de Méricourt made a call for the creation of "legions of amazons" in order to protect the revolution. As part of her call, she claimed that the right to bear arms would transform women into citizens.
Participation in demonstrations
On October 5, 1789, over eight hundred women overtook the Hotel de Ville. The women burned all of the papers and files that they found since none of the papers and files had any benefit towards their rights as French citizens. They also searched the hotel for arms and ammunition. The women did not find any ammunition. They did, however, find pikes and two cannons. They took the pikes and cannons and were then followed by Lafayette's national guard. The national guard was sent to subdue the protests.