Podcast Summary: Acontece que no es poco | Olympe de Gouges y la aprobación del voto femenino en Francia… un rato

Podcast: Todo Concostrina, SER Podcast
Host: Nieves Concostrina (with co-host Carlas)
Episode Date: February 12, 2024

MAIN THEME

This episode explores the history of women’s suffrage in France, focusing on the trailblazing yet often overlooked figure, Olympe de Gouges, and the convoluted, frustrating path to recognizing women’s right to vote. With Nieves Concostrina’s trademark sharp wit and irreverence, the episode uncovers paradoxes in the French revolution’s legacy, draws comparisons to other nations, and underscores the ongoing fight for equality.

KEY DISCUSSION POINTS & INSIGHTS

1. The Fleeting Approval of Women’s Suffrage in France

• [00:14-01:42] The hosts introduce the theme: the long, hard fight for women’s voting rights, and Olympe de Gouges as a champion whose story remains too little known in France and beyond.
• [00:52] In 1932, France’s National Assembly finally approved women’s suffrage—but only temporarily. The law reached the Senate, where it was blocked.
• Memorable analogy: “El sufragio universal en Francia duró menos que Paris Hilton en una biblioteca.” (Nieves, [01:31])

2. Misogynist Arguments and the Role of the Senate

• [01:32-02:56] The Senate’s justification for denying women the vote:
  • “Estamos dispuestos a dar a las mujeres todo lo que su sexo tiene derecho a pedir. Pero fuera de la política, darles el derecho al voto es un salto a lo desconocido. Hay que defender la república del feminismo.”
  • Nieves’ reaction, comically outraged: “Yo me cago en todo. Yo si lo pillo me lo como.” ([02:49])
• Comic interlude with “Muchacho, tú eres tonto” lampooning the stupidity of these arguments.

3. The Paradox of Revolutionary France

• [03:27-04:01] Despite France’s early declarations of “rights of the citizen,” it lagged embarrassingly in enfranchising its female citizens ("pequeño matiz").
• [04:02-04:38] French revolutionary ideals proclaimed all men free and equal, yet excluded slaves in Haiti and women in France.
  • “Una cosa son las personas y otra los negros y las mujeres. Son categorías distintas.” ([04:27])

4. A Curious Suffrage Accident in US History

• [04:40-05:05]
  • In 1776, the New Jersey constitution granted the vote to “persons,” unintentionally including women—but quickly fixed to restore “male” only.
  • “Asunto solucionado.” (Nieves, sarcastically, [05:06])

5. Spain as a Suffrage Pioneer

• [05:22-06:05]
  • Spain recognized women’s right to vote in 1931, through parliamentary debate, rather than mass protest or violence.
  • Tribute to Clara Campoamor’s key role from the Congressional tribune.

6. Olympe de Gouges: Visionary, Dramatist, Political Martyr

• [06:58-09:00]
  • Born from humble origins, Olympe became a playwright and radical social thinker with ideas “de siglos adelante.”
  • Proposed: civil contracts for couples (enabling easy separation, akin to today’s laws), social safety nets for single mothers, orphans, the elderly, and taxes on luxury.
  • Took political opportunity during the French Revolution to push for equality.
  • “Esta mujer todo lo que proponía era de siglos adelante. Y lo escribía aprovechando que le pilló la Revolución Francesa en París, que era un buen momento.” ([08:27])

7. The Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Citizen

• [09:04-10:47]
  • Olympe penned the Declaration of the Rights of Woman after being excluded from the “Rights of Man.”
  • Insisted: “La mujer nace libre y permanece igual al hombre en derechos.”
  • Host recalls Olympe’s famous challenge:
    • “Si la mujer tiene derecho de subir al cadalso, también tiene derecho de subir a la tribuna.” ([10:33])
  • Olympe also petitioned Marie Antoinette, defended human rights broadly (including against slavery and the death penalty), and opposed the execution of the king.

8. Persecution and Erasure

• [10:47-12:05]
  • Olympe was guillotined—her activism, pamphlets, and outspokenness gave both monarchists and revolutionaries reasons to eliminate her.
  • Her last words before execution were reportedly:
    • “Hijos de la patria, vosotros vengaréis mi muerte.”
  • “Olymp de Gouge cayó en el olvido durante casi dos siglos en los que en Francia siguieron sin votar las mujeres.” ([12:13])

9. Sexism Endures: The Rubén Darío Anecdote

• [12:13-12:50]
  • Nieves shares a caustic quote from poet Rubén Darío about suffragists:
    • “Todas son feas y la mayor parte más que jamonas. Estos marimachos merecen el escarmiento.”
  • Nieves’ retort: “Si lo pillo, lo crujo.”

NOTABLE QUOTES & MEMORABLE MOMENTS

• On the Senate’s refusal (Nieves, [01:32]):
  “El sufragio universal en Francia duró menos que Paris Hilton en una biblioteca.”
• Senator’s reasoning (Senate, paraphrased by Nieves, [02:43]):
  “Estamos dispuestos a dar a las mujeres todo lo que su sexo tiene derecho a pedir. Pero fuera de la política, darles el derecho al voto es un salto a lo desconocido. Hay que defender la república del feminismo.”
• Nieves’ signature irreverent fury ([02:49]):
  “Yo me cago en todo. Yo si lo pillo me lo como.”
• On hypocrisy (Nieves, [04:27]):
  “Una cosa son las personas y otra los negros y las mujeres. Son categorías distintas.”
• On Olympe de Gouges’ bold legacy ([10:33]):
  “Si la mujer tiene derecho de subir al cadalso, también tiene derecho de subir a la tribuna.”
• On Olympe’s fate ([12:13]):
  “Olymp de Gouge cayó en el olvido durante casi dos siglos en los que en Francia siguieron sin votar las mujeres.”
• Rubén Darío’s “suffragist” insult ([12:37]):
  “Todas son feas y la mayor parte más que jamonas. Estos marimachos merecen el escarmiento.”

TIMESTAMPS FOR IMPORTANT SEGMENTS

• [00:14-01:42] – Introduction to women’s suffrage struggle in France; Olympe de Gouges
• [01:42-02:56] – 1932 fleeting approval of the women’s vote, Senate’s misogynist argument
• [03:27-04:38] – Revolutionary France’s paradox: rights proclaimed, rights denied
• [04:38-05:05] – Sufragio femenino accidental en Nueva Jersey
• [05:22-06:05] – España como pionera en el voto femenino
• [06:58-09:00] – Biografía y aportaciones de Olympe de Gouges
• [09:04-10:47] – Declaración de los derechos de la mujer y la ciudadana, reacción política
• [10:47-12:05] – Ejecución y olvido de Olympe de Gouges
• [12:13-12:50] – Machismo en la literatura: Rubén Darío y la burla a las sufragistas

EPISODE TONE

Colloquial, witty, unapologetically irreverent, and cutting in its criticism of historical and ongoing sexism. Nieves Concostrina uses humor and emotion to make the injustices of the past relevant and vivid.

This episode is a rich, accessible crash course on how hard-fought—and how fragile—women’s rights have been, centering Olympe de Gouges as an essential and still under-recognized revolutionary voice. A must-listen for anyone interested in women’s history, revolutionary France, or the ongoing struggles for equality.