Sylviane Agacinski has never shied away from controversy. Vilified by some including many feminists and celebrated by others as a pioneer of genderequality sh... » 

Sylviane Agacinski has never shied away from controversy. Vilified by some including many feminists and celebrated by others as a pioneer of genderequality she has galvanized the French political scene. Her articulation ofthe theory of parity helped inspire a law that went into effect in May 2000requiring the countrys political parties to fill 50 percent of the candidaciesin every race with women.Sylviane Agacinski according to The New Yorker is sometimes credited withmaking parit respectable. Agacinski begins with the notion that sexualdifference should be affirmed rather than denied. Sex Agacinski points out isnot a social cultural or ethnic characteristic it is a universal humantrait. In her argument for the necessary recognition of sexual difference sheenters into todays most controversial social territory.Agacinskis model of parity does not strive for the nebulous ideal ofequality between the sexes instead it demands a concrete formula forpolitical contests an equal number of female and male candidates in everyelection. It is a theory that has sparked impassioned debate across France Arefemale politicians necessarily different from male politicians? Is paritydemocratic? Is it truly feminist?Agacinskis sophisticated polemic will stimulate debate on American shores asit has in France. Parity of the Sexes sheds light on one of the crucial spheresof public life in which earlier French feminists left their work unfinished the realm of political power. «