Flipping Feminism - The Mission has a Name

‘Cherchez la femme’ is out. It might have worked as a project name if I'd been able to pronounce it.. The worst incident this week was when my frighteningly-sophisticated, French-speaking friend had no idea what I was trying to say (when I tested it on her) nor any comprehension of why I would label my project that way. So my absolute, FINAL, final title that will not change (for the next year at least) is 'Flipping Feminism'.



I like that you can’t help smiling when you say it. It’s memorable. And, magically, it communicates the two primary messages of this project, that I want to change (flip) the way feminism is perceived and that I am frustrated (flipping feminism!) with the way gender equality messages have been communicated previously.

Cherchez La Femme

After last week’s entry on feminism having a bad name I’ve been trying to think of a new title for my mission.

I was also influenced (a lot) by my father-in-law telling me ‘Feminism in Style’ made him squirm.
Not the desired effect. It’s gone. 'Feminism in Style' is no longer in style. I just wish I hadn’t bought the URL. Look out for it on eBay.

'Cherchez la femme' What do you think?

It means "look for the woman" and comes from the 1854 book The Mohicans of Paris by Alexandre Dumas (père).

The original passage reads: Il y a une femme dans toute les affaires; aussitôt qu'on me fait un rapport, je dis: 'Cherchez la femme'. There is a woman in every case; as soon as they bring me a report, I say, 'Look for the woman'.

In other words, no matter what the problem, a woman is often the root cause. I realise this may seem odd but I love the way we can twist it: If your company isn’t peak-performing, look for the woman. Oh – there isn’t one on your entire leadership team? Well there’s your root cause.

And women and men together created the situation we’re in now, so we both need to fix it. Women certainly are part of the cause.

Next time you are employing your leaders, cherchez la femme.

(Photo credit: Nylon magazine)