Inherited Feminism?

Based on a study of second-wave feminists in France, this article focuses on the diffusion of feminism within the activists’ family sphere, a space of transmission relatively little explored in the literature. More specifically, it examines the processes of reception and appropriation of a “feminist legacy” among the activists’ children. After a general presentation of these legacies and the mechanisms of their transmission, an analysis of four portraits of activists’ children will highlight the various modes of reception, from the mere internalization of contents to political and activist appropriations. Informed by other cases encountered in the course of the investigation, this analysis makes it possible to draw out some more general elements in order to understand the variations observed.