The New Parisienne versus the myth of the Parisienne

What comes to mind when you hear the word “Parisienne”? For generations, the image of the Parisian woman has been embodied through literary depictions, magazine stories, mainstream cinema and the popular media. However, the oversimplified archetype of the Parisian woman has become outdated and differs from the reality.

The iconic Parisienne

In many people’s mind, the French woman is often a Parisian: white skinned, thin, sexy and chic, cycling in the 6th arrondissement, hair blowing in the wind, perched on 12-centimeter heels, impeccably styled and flaunting an elegance or edginess that seems to be innate. She has been personified by a long list of women: Brigitte Bardot, Emmanuelle Béart, Marion Cotillard in the cinema, or by philosophers such as Simone de Beauvoir and other well-known personalities. Much like the Eiffel Tower, the Parisienne has become a symbol of national identity.

Of course, none of this reflects the majority of the population. It rules out the tremendous diversity of the population and ignores the very many obstacles to her deep freedom, in a patriarchal society where discriminations, particularly against women, are numerous. But this archetype made her into a brand, and remained unchanged for centuries, up until today where it has even become a marketing asset for selling dozens of books dedicated to this topic.  Model and music producer Caroline de Maigret co-authored How to Be Parisian Wherever You Are.

Mireille Giuliano’s 2004 book French Women Don’t Get Fat became a worldwide bestseller with its advice on how to “enjoy food and stay slim and healthy”, and was followed 10 years later by French Women Don’t Get Facelifts

The new Parisienne in 2021

This fantasy has existed for a very long time but is now outdated.

Much like the woman herself, the myth of the Parisienne didn’t begin to die out until recently. With the rise of the #MeToo movement, women in France have begun speaking out against it as a stereotype that excludes the majority of French women, a false, unattainable image that erases the country’s black, Asian and LGBTQ populations.

The new Parisian, free from the fantasy that was thrown upon her shoulders, is diverse: she is no longer necessarily white, not always dressed as a model ready for a catwalk. She does not always wear a size 36. So, goodbye to the femme fatale, and welcome to a Parisian coming from various backgrounds, and able to shake up the smooth and predictable image with which we have labeled her for centuries.

Journalist Lindsey Tramuta’s book, “The New Parisienne: The Women and Ideas Shaping Paris”, profiles 40 women living in the French capital who don’t necessarily fit this very narrow mould, including disability activist Elisa Rojas, rabbi Delphine Horvilleur and Paris’ recently reelected Spanish-French mayor, Anne Hidalgo.