‘Taking Up Space’
Women at Work in Contemporary France
Focusing on representations of women’s experiences in contemporary France, ‘Taking Up Space’ examines how women inhabit a variety of work spaces. It also speaks to the importance of cultural productions in calling out labour issues affecting women, as well as in offering a platform that allows us to imagine a future where inclusive and equitable work spaces are the norm. Drawing on Sara Ahmed’s phenomenological use of objects, the book explores women’s experiences through different metaphors of the door related to labour. The contributors demonstrate how doors are not only closed or open, but also serve as a threshold. Taken together, the chapters convey how women’s work experiences can range from states of oppression to survival and celebration, and demonstrates how through deliberate stances and actions, various work spaces can become sites of liberation and revolution.
This book will mainly be of interest to an academic audience, for scholarly studies and as instructional material. As the first edited volume on the representations in various cultural productions of women at work in contemporary France, it will be particularly useful to scholars writing and teaching on the question of gender and labour in post-68 France.
