@article {34439, title = {Le culte de la cheffe dans le monde communiste : Eug{\'e}nie Cotton, " m{\`e}re mondiale "}, journal = {Clio. Femmes, Genre, Histoire}, volume = {57}, year = {2023}, pages = {161-172}, abstract = {

{\`A} travers\ l{\textquoteright}{\'e}tude du syst{\`e}me {\`a} effet int{\'e}grateur de rituels et de c{\'e}r{\'e}monials
c{\'e}l{\'e}brant la pr{\'e}sidente de l{\textquoteright}UFF et de la FDIF Eug{\'e}nie\ Cotton, promue en autorit{\'e} universelle dont les vertus renvoient au\ mod{\`e}le marial, le pr{\'e}sent travail explore la mise en place dans le\ monde communiste de la guerre froide du versant f{\'e}minin du culte\ du leader. Afin d{\textquoteright}en saisir les sp{\'e}cificit{\'e}s par rapport {\`a} un ph{\'e}nom{\`e}ne\ historique dont la riche production historiographique des vingt derni{\`e}res\ ann{\'e}es consacre naturellement et exclusivement la masculinit{\'e},\ y sont examin{\'e}s plus particuli{\`e}rement les circonstances qui lui donn{\`e}rent\ naissance, les temps forts qui scandent son cheminement, les\ m{\'e}canismes de sa diffusion et les glissements genr{\'e}s op{\'e}r{\'e}s dans le\ processus de son invention.

" The communist cult of the female leader: Eug{\'e}nie Cotton\ (1881-1967), {\textquotedblleft}world mother{\textquotedblright} "

This article considers the rituals and ceremonies celebrating the French pro-communist activist, Eug{\'e}nie Cotton, president of the\ Union of French Women (UFW) and of the Women{\textquoteright}s International\ Democratic Federation (WIDF), and the way Cotton was elevated\ to the rank of universal authority, exemplifying virtues not unrelated\ to the model of the Virgin Mary. This exploration of the enactment\ of the female version of the cult of the leader in the communist\ world during the Cold War contrasts with the masculine focus of\ the substantial historiographical production of the last twenty years\ on this topic. The paper examines in particular the circumstances\ that gave birth to the {\textquotedblleft}Cotton cult{\textquotedblright}, the key moments in its evolution,\ the mechanisms of its diffusion and the gender shifts in the\ process of its invention.

Mots-cl{\'e}s : Eug{\'e}nie Cotton, culte du leader, UFF, FDIF, pacifisme,
guerre froide
Keywords: Eug{\'e}nie Cotton, cult of the leader, UFW, WIDF, pacifism,
Cold War

}, url = {https://www.cairn.info/revue--2023-1-page-161.htm}, author = {Loukia Efthymiou} }