Fraternal Society of Patriots of Both Sexes

The Fraternal Society of Patriots of Both Sexes, Defenders of the Constitution (French: La Société Fraternelle des Patriotes de l'un et l'autre sexe, Défenseurs de la Constitution) was a French revolutionary organization notable in the history of feminism as an early example of active participation of women in politics.

The Fraternal Society was founded in October 1790 by Claude Dansard, un maître de pension, or school master.

[1] This organization's goal was to provide a civic education that would lead to revolutionary acts becoming a daily occurrence.

[2][4] It has been suggested that the Fraternal Society grew out of the regular occupants of a special gallery allocated to women at the Jacobin Club.

[2] The members of this organization, of which Pépin Degrouhette,[1] Tallien and Merlin de Thionville were at one point presidents, debated the subject of liberty, France, and the Constitution with a zeal that was seen as surpassing that of the Jacobins.

The former Dominican convent in rue Saint-Honoré which hosted the Jacobins and the Fraternal Society, as it was in 1895