If four decades of French lessons has taught me anything, it’s the importance of living in the present.
That’s because all the other tenses are so much harder to remember ha ha!
This morning’s lesson was on sexism in French politics. It didn’t start well, because the dog literally ate my homework.
The topic was also horrifying. France has never had a female president, and only once had a female prime minister, back in 1991. They have plenty of female ministers, though, and they continue to be treated appallingly. When they stand up to speak in the National Assembly, it’s to a tirade of wolf whistles, comments on their appearance, and cries of “fishwife!” and other abusive nicknames. I’m not sorry Le Pen lost the presidential election, but French politics certainly needs to be dragged into the 21st century.
It’s illegal in France to harass a woman in the street, but it’s very hard to get a conviction. I mentioned to my teacher that there seems to be less wolf whistling and other similar behaviors in NZ these days compared to when I was younger. She gently suggested this might be because as I was aging, I was less of a target, a suggestion to which I took deep umbrage. But was she right??