Reproductive Citizens

Nimisha Barton

Description

In the familiar tale of mass migration to France from 1880 onward, we know very little about the hundreds of thousands of women who formed a critical part of those migration waves. In Reproductive Citizens, Nimisha Barton argues that their relative absence in the historical record hints at a larger and more problematic oversight-the role of sex and gender in shaping the experiences of migrants to France before the Second World War. Barton's compelling history of social citizenship demonstrates how, through the routine application of social policies, state and social actors worked separately toward a shared goal: repopulating France with immigrant families. Filled with voices gleaned from census reports, municipal statistics, naturalization dossiers, court cases, police files, and social worker registers, Reproductive Citizens shows how France welcomed foreign-born men and women-mobilizing naturalization, family law, social policy, and welfare assistance to ensure they would procreate, bearing French-assimilated children. Immigrants often embraced these policies because they, too, stood to gain from pensions, family allowances, unemployment benefits, and French nationality. By striking this bargain, they were also guaranteed safety and stability on a tumultuous continent.Barton concludes that, in return for generous social provisions and refuge in dark times, immigrants joined the French nation through marriage and reproduction, breadwinning and child-rearing-in short, through families and family-making-which made them more French than even formal citizenship status could.

Sujets

• France
• Gender studies
• History of Europe
• 20th century
• Histoire

Informations

• Publié par: Cornell University Press
• Date de parution: 15 septembre 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781501749698
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 13 Mo

Extrait

REPRODUCTIVE CITIZENS

REPRODUCTIVE CITIZENS

GE NDE R, I MMI GRAT I ON, AND T HE STAT E I N MODE RN F RANCE , 1880–1945

N i m i s h a B a rto n

CORNELL UNIVERSITY PRESS Ithaca and London

Copyright © 2020 by Cornell University

All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850. Visit our website at cornellpress.cornell.edu.

First published 2020 by Cornell University Press

Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data Names: Barton, Nimisha, author. Title: Reproductive citizens : gender, immigration, and the state in modern France, 1880–1945 / Nimisha Barton. Description: Ithaca [New York] : Cornell University Press, 2020. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2019050551 (print) | LCCN 2019050552 (ebook) | ISBN 9781501749636 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781501749698 (pdf ) | ISBN 9781501749681 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Immigrants—Government policy— France—History—20th century. | Immigrants— France—Social conditions—20th century. | Family policy—France—History—20th century. | Women— France—Social conditions—20th century. | Sex role— Political aspects—France—History—20th century. | Sex role—Political aspects—France—History—19th century. | Citizenship—France—History—20th century. | France—Emigration and immigration—History—20th century. | France—Population policy—History—20th century. | France—Politics and government—1870–1940. Classification: LCC JV7933. B37 2020 (print) | LCC JV7933 (ebook) | DDC 325/.4409041—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019050551 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc. gov/2019050552

Cover image: Djoya Abouaf, Identity card application, September 6, 1923, in Moïse Abouaf and Djoya née Baralia, I/A 1, Archives of the Police Prefecture of Paris.

Co nte nts

List of Figures and Tables vii Acknowledgments ix Abbreviations xv

Introduction 1. The Forces that Push and Pull 2. Bachelors, Bureaucrats, and Marrying into the Nation 3. Wives, Wages, and Regulating Breadwinners 4. Mothers, Welfare Organizations, and Reproducing for the Nation 5. Neighborhood, Street Culture, and MeltingPot Mixité 6. Motherhood, Neighborhood, and Nationhood 7. Neighborly Networks and Welfare Work under Vichy  Conclusion

Notes 217 Bibliography 261 Index 275

1 13

39

71

96

127

154

181 209

F i g u r e s a n d Ta b l e s

Figures I.1. The Goata family in Paris, ca. 1932 1.1. “The Great Transportation Networks Used by Immigrants in France,” 1932 1.2. Foreign labor recruitment, Société générale d’immigration (SGI) pamphlet, 1929 1.3. Foreign laborers signing labor contracts, SGI pamphlet, 1929 1.4. Foreign laborers marrying in France, SGI pamphlet, 1929 3.1. Polish Jew Gendel Mass née Scher, ca. 1922 4.1. League for the Protection of Abandoned Mothers (LPAM) brochure, 1926 4.2. Photograph of officials visiting LPAM offices, 1931 4.3. The office of the League for the Protection of Abandoned Mothers, 1928 5.1. The 11th arrondissement, 1926 5.2. Romanian Jew Riva Hena Marcu née Matas, ca. 1921 6.1. The marketplace at rue Richard Lenoir, 1922 6.2. Turkish Jew Djoya Abouaf née Baralia and her three children, ca. 1923 7.1. The personnel of the Groupe Amelot, ca. 1940–42 7.2. Serbian Jew Sol Camhi née Colonomos, ca. 1923 7.3. Polish Jew Elsa Handkan née Manachem, ca. 1926

Tables 1.1. Spanish and Portuguese agricultural workers in France, 1915–18 1.2. Italian agricultural workers in France, 1916–18 1.3. Spanish and Portuguese agricultural workers in France, 1919–22 1.4. Polish agricultural workers in France, 1920–22

16

2

28 29 29 75

107 108

111 129 132 163

165 188 200 201

17 17

18 18

vii

viii FI GURES AND TABLES

2.1. 2.2. 2.3. 2.4. 2.5. 5.1.

Marital status of the population of France, 1921 Marital status of the population of France, 1926 Marital status of the population of France, 1931 Marital status of the population of France, 1936 Naturalized men by marital status in France, 1889–1940 French and foreign population of Paris residingen garni, 1926 and 1931

42 43 43 43 44

143

A c k n o w l e d g m e nt s

It is an impossible task to thank the many friends, colleagues, and mentors who made this project possible. And yet I will endeavor to do so anyway. My first thanks go to Philip Nord, whose intelligence and insight were indispensable to the development of this project. Phil’s guidance contributed immeasurably to my personal and professional develop ment as a scholar. I am grateful that he was willing to share his wisdom with a novice to the discipline of history and to the academy, more gener ally. Margot Canaday offered perceptive feedback on this project as well as support, encouragement, and mentorship throughout. It was she who first introduced me to the (substantial) American literature concerning immigra tion as well as the study of gender and sexuality more generally. As a result, she has deeply influenced the way I think about history and, of course, the way I “do” history as well. Bonnie Smith asked searching and creative ques tions about this project from the start, which encouraged me to keep the human narrative central to the story. She is a model of brilliance, and feroc ity, and I am lucky to have her as a mentor. I had the great fortune to benefit from the advice of David Bell, who pushed me to clarify the stakes of my work. Gracious with his time and thorough in his feedback, David also offered more practical guidance on negotiating the strategic challenges of academic life. I also wish to extend a heartfelt thanks to Claire Zalc for a great many things that are too numerous to recount: it was Claire who provided key insight in the formative stages of this work, Claire who pointed me toward archival sources, Claire who vouched for me with archivists, introduced me to fellow scholars and col leagues, and helped integrate me into the intellectual life of Paris. Without Claire, I would truly have been lost during my time abroad. Many of us find our way into the academy via an inspirational mentor. I am no different. As an undergraduate at UC Berkeley, Susanna Barrows first inspired in me a curiosity about all things French, encouraging me to pursue a graduate degree in French history and urging me to think about immigrant

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