Alice Coffin delivers her interpretation of the concept of sorority

In "Sorority", a collection of texts published by Points, fourteen authors recount their definition of this concept used in feminist movements.

On Europe 1, Alice Coffin, author, elected ecologist and activist, talks about her experience and tries to explain the "built rivalries" between women. 

INTERVIEW

Alliance, "non-aggression" pact, respect: what is hidden behind the concept of sorority, rediscovered by the general public since the #MeToo movement?

In the book

Sorority

, published on April 8 by Points, fourteen authors with different profiles, including Lauren Bastide, Juliette Armanet, Jeanne Cherhal, Fatima Ouassak or even Ovidie, offer their personal definition of this concept.

A collection of texts, edited by Chloé Delaume, in which Alice Coffin, journalist, author, feminist activist and elected ecologist on the Council of Paris participated.

On Europe 1, she looks back on her experience of this concept, which has been "invisible" for a long time.

Neutrality at the center of his thinking

"We hear it quite rarely, it was very invisible even then, and particularly in France, that we can clearly see what fraternity means since it is on the pediments of our buildings," notes Alice Coffin.

Her definition of sorority is similar to that of Gloria Jean Watkins, a feminist known by her pen name bell hooks.

"In a patriarchal regime, in a society dominated by men, the bond between women is experienced as an act of betrayal. Everything is done precisely so that women never show solidarity and, on the contrary, build themselves up as rivals", she explains.

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"What happens if all of a sudden we show sorority, that is to say an alliance, a respect, a non-aggression pact?", S ' she asks. "It can take very different forms and this is what is told in these texts. Doesn't it become a very interesting tool to fight against patriarchy?"

Faced with this concept, some critics denounce a desire to divide society. A false debate for the author. "As soon as we talk about sorority, we get the impression that it is a concept of split. Except that it is a rather vicious reversal of things: if there is a need for women to set up tools of alliance and regrouping, it is good because they have been placed, for centuries, in a situation of oppression, discrimination ", she replies. Seeing in the sorority an "attempt to react, to resist a given situation", she places neutrality at the center of her reflection. “From the moment we start defending women, we come to deny anything of humanity.While all male groups are seen as something that is essential for the defense of all, without distinctions, "she points out. 

Built rivalries

To develop her vision of the concept, following Chloé Delaume's call, Alice Coffin decided to take an activist interest in the obstacles that prevent this sorority, in particular by questioning women who attack others. women in public space.

For that, she used the public criticisms emitted by other women on her last work

Le genie lesbien

.

She contacted various personalities such as Anne Hidalgo, Marlène Schiappa or Sonia Mabrouk to discuss it, each providing a personal response. 

If it is sometimes difficult to perceive another woman as a sister, it is because of built rivalries, strongly anchored in the collective imagination and widely used in cultural products, according to the elected ecologist. Women, "often confined to private spaces, to the sphere of domestic service", have also had fewer opportunities to come together through the ages.

Constructed and historical rivalries which are also widely exploited by the media or the political field, she explains. "I try to do everything not to give ground to grind to that". "My principle is not to attack a woman, especially in public responsibilities, because women are much more attacked than men", explains the author and activist. A principle that she applies in particular on social networks, where female public figures are prime targets, but that she claims to be personal. "I have no injunctions to give, if the women do not want to do that, I do not oblige anyone".