Femmes journalistes et sujets « féminins » : analyser Le Devoir au prisme du genre (1965-1975)

Ce mémoire porte sur la régulation de l'accès des femmes journalistes au quotidien Le Devoir entre 1965 et 1975 et sur le rôle de ce dernier dans la diffusion des revendications des femmes durant un contexte sociohistorique marqué par des contestations féministes. Au final, il entend lever le voile sur l'apport des femmes qui portèrent dans l'espace public des sujets qui les interpelaient et qui ont tenté de déconstruire la structure rigide des médias généralistes qui limitait leur agentivité en plus de nuancer la vision péjorative des pages féminines présente dans l'historiographie canadienne.This M.A. thesis focuses on the regulation of the access of women journalists to the daily newspaper Le Devoir between the years 1965 and 1975, and on the latter's role in the dissemination of women's demands during a sociohistorical context which was marked by feminist challenges. This period is targeted in order to analyze the impact of the abolition of the women’s page, which takes place in February 1971, on the organization of the newspaper, especially through the study of how women's and feminist themes are brought forward in the newspaper. This research posits the hypothesis that gender strongly influences the organization of Le Devoir through the consideration of it being a gendered space which is rife with sexualised power relations; the main forum for women at this time until its abolition, namely the women’s page, is a convincing demonstration of these dynamics. Based on a quantitative analysis, this research argues that Le Devoir displays a gendered organizational structure as to its content, and thus, articles on women’s and feminist themes are virtually unheard of during the period analyzed. In addition, women who write outside of the women’s page write mostly about social issues such as education or health. This quantitative perspective also allows us to note a significant drop in the space provided for the discussion of women's issues as a result of the abolition of the women's page; topics which will not be picked up by the general section of the daily. Following with a qualitative analysis of women's discourses and the representation of women in the newspaper, this M.A. thesis makes it possible to establish that, despite a constrained gender-based structure, certain women journalists were able to diffuse multiple claims by presenting not only the reality of Quebec women, but also of those of women from the four corners of the world. The diversity of topics addressed by women and the representations of women contradicts several studies which claim that women's pages would only contribute to the diffusion of a reductive vision of women and thus participate in their oppression, leading us to nuance the purely positive vision of the abolition of the women’s page. While it certainly contributed to the confinement of women's point of view to a dedicated space in the newspaper, it also allowed for the diffusion of women's concerns. In conclusion, this research ultimately pursues the objective of lifting the veil on the contribution of women who brought to the public space issues that challenged them, and their attempts to deconstruct the rigid structure of the media that limited their agency

La page féminine du Devoir, un « espace public alternatif » ? Une étude de cas des mécanismes d’exclusion et de contrôle du « féminin » et du « féminisme » dans le quotidien (1965-1975)

Cet article s’intéresse à la présence des thématiques féminines et féministes dans Le Devoir entre 1965 et 1975 afin de démontrer que la page féminine du quotidien permettait une diffusion des préoccupations des femmes dans l’espace public. Cette période permet d’analyser du même coup les impacts de l’abolition de la page féminine, en février 1971, sur l’organisation du quotidien, notamment à travers l’étude de la mise en valeur des thématiques féminines et féministes dans le journal. Il pose l’hypothèse que la baisse significative des thématiques féministes, à la suite de l’abolition de la page féminine, est le résultat d’une culture médiatique construite et reproduite comme culture masculine. Il souligne l’importance de la page féminine du quotidien, compris comme espace public alternatif, dans la diffusion des préoccupations féministes au Québec, un territoire médiatique encore bien peu exploré par la recherche.This article focuses on the presence of feminine and feminist themes in Le Devoir between 1965 and 1975 with the aim of demonstrating that the feminine page of this newspaper allowed the transposition of women’s concerns into the public space. This period is targeted in order to analyze at the same time the impact of the abolition of the woman’s page, which takes place in February 1971, on the organization of the newspaper, especially through the study of the development of women’s themes in the newspaper. It also posits that the significant decline of feminist articles following the abolition of the woman’s page is the result of a media culture built and reproduced as a masculine culture