Da criminali a (quasi) cittadine: Marie-Madeleine Jodin e il caso delle femmes publiques nella Rivoluzione francese

Abstract

The figure of the femmes publiques leads to a rather interesting reconsideration of the history of female citizenship during the French Revolution. Prostitution was indeed involved in an ambiguous depenalization process. This essay aims to examine the legal ambiguity of the condition of the femmes publiques during the Revolution, when prostitution was decriminalised but still stigmatised. To highlight the female agency, this study will analyse the letters written to the government during the Thermidorian reaction and Marie-Madeleine Jodin’s Vues législatives pour les femmes, adressées à l’Assemblée nationale.