The Mind Has No Sex: Women of the French Revolution

Long before the upheavals of the 18th century, the concept of gender equality had roots in earlier intellectual history. Christine de Pizan and Marie Le Jars de Gournay stand out as early voices who dared to suggest that women were the equals of men. In 1622, Gournay published L'Égalité des hommes et des femmes (The Equality of Men and Women), where she explicitly defended this argument. These early thinkers laid the groundwork for what would become a broader philosophical movement.

The intellectual climate of the time was slowly shifting, yet the resistance to these ideas remained strong. The struggle was not merely social but deeply rooted in the philosophical understanding of human nature. The arguments presented by these women were not isolated incidents but part of a continuous thread of dissent against the prevailing patriarchal norms.

The true philosophical breakthrough came in the late 17th century with François Poulain de la Barre. A Cartesian philosopher and cleric, Poulain moved the debate from social observation to metaphysical reality. He argued that the physical differences between sexes were irrelevant to the capabilities of the mind. His famous assertion was that la mente no tiene sexo—the mind has no sex.

This Cartesian reasoning provided a robust intellectual framework that would influence the Enlightenment. By separating the physical from the mental, Poulain dismantled the biological determinism that had long justified the subordination of women. His work, De l'égalité des deux sexes (1673), argued that any perceived inferiority of women was the result of education and custom, not nature. This radical idea paved the way for later thinkers to demand not just social courtesy but political and educational rights.

Following Poulain's work, the 18th century saw a proliferation of texts defending women's rights. These works were often published anonymously or attributed to others due to the controversial nature of their content. For instance, a treatise published in Londres in 1739, attributed to Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, was titled De la no inferioridad de la mujer respecto al hombre; O breve y humilde defensa del derecho natural del bello sexo a una perfecta igualdad de poder, dignidad y valoración con los hombres.

Another significant work appeared in 1758, also published in London, titled Reivindicación de los derechos femeninos; O la igualdad de los sexos demostrada moral y físicamente. The titles alone reveal the boldness of these publications. They moved beyond theoretical equality to demand specific rights. The authors of these works shared common themes:

• Criticism of the restrictions imposed by institutionalized marriage.
• Advocacy for the education of women.
• Highlighting the 'civilizing' role women played in society.

These texts testified to the presence of a significant feminist current within 18th-century philosophy, challenging the status quo with reasoned arguments.

Despite the intellectual momentum, the practical application of these ideals during the French Revolution faced significant hurdles. The labor of revolutionary women to secure a political voice was obstructed by many of their enlightened male peers. This contradiction highlights the gap between philosophical theory and political reality.

Historian Darrin McMahon explains this dynamic in his work, Igualdad, which narrates the evolution of the idea of equality from antiquity to modern times. The book details how the revolutionary fervor for liberty often stopped short of including full equality for women. While the philosophical arguments for equality were being refined and published, the political will to implement them lagged behind, leaving women to fight a dual battle against both the old regime and the prejudices of the new revolutionary class.