Article ID: CBB001214347

The Evolution of the Gender Question in the Study of Madame Lavoisier (2013)

unapi

This paper analyses the changes in the image of Madame Lavoisier from the perspective of gender in two centuries worth of academic literature. From her lifetime to the end of the twentieth century, which marked the 200 years anniversary of Antoine Lavoisier's death, this woman was mainly praised as the quintessential sensible woman who had been dedicated to her husband, the father of the Chemical Revolution. Whereas this was intended as a praise to Madame Lavoisier, an investigation conducted from this perspective does not mean it depicted her as one of the intellectuals of the eighteenth century. On the other hand, a study that attempted to portray who she really was, due to the gender question, could be accused of bias and manipulating the historical documents; furthermore, if such a study adopted an unsuitable methodology, it would only end up emphasizing her as a "wicked woman". From the perspective of second-wave feminism, personified by the slogan "The personal is political", this paper shows the importance of the perception of Madame Lavoisier as a person who supported the Chemical Revolution in her own right. Such a perspective demands an analysis of how Marie-Anne Lavoisier has been described more recently, especially before the emergence of second-wave feminism, as well as how the research on her changed after this shift in feminist thought occurred. Such works can answer the question of when scientists attracted attention in history. In particular, this paper will compare the ways that female and male scientific researchers have attracted attention and shed light on the reasons for the difference between how the two sexes have been treated, to stop adopting the view of the strong and the tendency to group humans according to different conditions and think of them as being the same. This research approach will be a useful method for not only gender minority studies in the history of science but also for other minority studies.

...More
Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB001214347/

Similar Citations

Book Sandro Tirini; (2021)
Vita di Marie-Anne Paulze Lavoisier, contessa di Rumford (/isis/citation/CBB882603015/)

Article Kawashima, Keiko; (2009)
Gender Problems in the Transition of Studies on Madame Lavoisier (/isis/citation/CBB000933458/)

Book Kawashima, Keiko; Lécaille-Okamura, Ayako; Badinter, Élisabeth; (2013)
Emilie du Châtelet et Marie-Anne Lavoisier: Science et genre au XVIIIe siècle (/isis/citation/CBB001421088/)

Article Kawashima, Keiko; (2003)
Madame Lavoisier et l'Essai sur le phlogistique (/isis/citation/CBB000470206/)

Article Peumery, Jean-Jacques; (2000)
Marie-Anne Pierrette Paulze, épouse et collaboratrice de Lavoisier (/isis/citation/CBB000932396/)

Article Francesca Antonelli; (2022)
Madame Lavoisier and the others: women in Marie-Anne Paulze-Lavoisier's network (1771–1836) (/isis/citation/CBB704688080/)

Article Fara, Patricia; (2002)
Elizabeth Tollet: A New Newtonian Woman (/isis/citation/CBB000200319/)

Book Brunella Torresin; (2022)
Nel gran teatro della natura. Maria Sibylla Merian donna d’arte e di scienza (1647-1717) (/isis/citation/CBB819615122/)

Book Marta Cavazza; (2020)
Laura Bassi: Donne, genere e scienza nell’Italia del Settecento (/isis/citation/CBB887822674/)

Article George, Sam; (2010)
Animated Beings: Enlightenment Entomology for Girls (/isis/citation/CBB001032698/)

Book Arianrhod, Robyn; (2012)
Seduced by Logic: Émilie Du Châtelet, Mary Somerville, and the Newtonian Revolution (/isis/citation/CBB001421137/)

Article Jacob, Margaret C.; Sturkenboom, Dorothée; (2003)
A Women's Scientific Society in the West: The Late Eighteenth-Century Assimilation of Science (/isis/citation/CBB000340627/)

Article Kawashima, Keiko; (2007)
Two Popular Accounts of Émilie du Châtelet and the Gender Problem (/isis/citation/CBB000850156/)

Book Andréolle, Donna Spalding; Molinari, Véronique; (2011)
Women and Science, 17th Century to Present: Pioneers, Activists and Protagonists (/isis/citation/CBB001221430/)

Article Hoskin, Michael; (2002)
Caroline Herschel: Assistant Astronomer or Astronomical Assistant? (/isis/citation/CBB000300081/)

Authors & Contributors
Kawashima, Keiko
Antonelli, Francesca
Brunella Torresin
Sandro Tirini
Sturkenboom, Dorothée
Serrano, Elena
Concepts
Women in science
Science and gender
Chemistry
Biographies
Societies; institutions; academies
Laboratory notebooks
Time Periods
18th century
19th century
17th century
20th century
Places
France
Great Britain
Madrid (Spain)
England
Bologna (Italy)
Netherlands
Institutions
Natuurkundig Genootschap der Dames
Comments

Be the first to comment!

{{ comment.created_by.username }} on {{ comment.created_on | date:'medium' }}

Log in or register to comment