Tribune. I am astonished at so many astonishments. The political #metoo, calling for “Remove the perpetrators of sexual and gender-based violence” of political life [tribune parue dans Le Monde du 16 novembre] unleashed a wave of amazement which translates into a dramatic incomprehension.
How can we ignore that our political culture favors violent acts against women? Already in 2011, commentators followed one another to express their disbelief in the Dominique Strauss-Kahn affair. We remember, there was “Not dead man” [selon l’ancien ministre Jack Lang], and if the boss of the International Monetary Fund had “Skipped a maid, that’s none of our business[ait] not “ [d’après le journaliste Olivier Mazerolle]. As I had vigorously denounced, the invisible victim, Nafissatou Diallo, was not entitled to any word of compassion, apart from very rare expressions. Ten years later, the wave of #metoo having passed by, the women who testified against Nicolas Hulot receive more consideration and empathy. But the expressions of bewilderment are still there, as if it was so difficult to imagine that a man of power could violate women in this way.
We should know, however: historical heritage and cultural practices fuel sexual violence in the political world. Contrary to popular belief, the high level of education and integration of bourgeois codes in no way protects against sexist predation. The political world is even shaped by symbolism and social codes that weave a backdrop conducive to the oppression of women.
Dependency ratio
Formerly because they were formally excluded from it, today, since it is the men who still mainly hold the reins of the apparatuses, the positions and the decisions, the access of women to politics passes through their relations with the men. This relationship of dependence is both very concrete and deeply rooted in our imaginations. The male inter-self is a simple social reproduction and the costume of the political leader remains calibrated for virility. Owning women is part of the panoply of a man of power worthy of the name.
Well placed to remind us of reactionary heaviness, Eric Zemmour writes in his latest book that “In a traditional society, men’s sexual appetite goes hand in hand with power; women are the goal and the booty of every gifted man who aspires to climb up in society ”. And often the domination of one sex over the other is doubled by that of the age of maturity over youth. The literature is full of stories in this direction, and the reality of concrete examples.
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