The Fight Against Gender Inequality in French Physical Education in the Late Twentieth Century: The Career and Pedagogical Innovation of Annick Davisse-Regional Teaching Inspector for Physical Education

A key protagonist in French physical education at the end of the twentieth century, Annick Davisse stands out for her singular career path, the sheer number of public speeches she made and the specificity of her educational proposals supporting the cause of girls in PE. Based on an analysis of her oral interviews and her publications as a whole, the biographical journey of this former Regional Teaching Inspector, whose subversive power stemmed from the paradoxes she embodied, is examined. Her novel approach to the fight against gender inequality was backed by a dialectical stance on the frontiers between gender standards and various membership groups. On the pedagogical front, she proclaimed her independence from the dominant categories of thought in PE and developed an innovative perspective on the gender question, cemented by the duration of her commitment and the wide circulation and (re)appropriation of her proposals. Lastly, Annick Davisse simultaneously tackled the question of gender differences (understood as the `differentialist' position) and that of the universal right to equality (understood as the `universalist' position), regardless of the paradoxes this generated with respect to feminist thinking.