Katia Kaupp

See also: Kaupp

Raised in a family of Lorraine or Alsatian origin, Katia D. Kaupp begins its journalistic career with Paris Match with the beginning of the year 1950. But at the end of the decade, it leaves the magazine for Libération where it works approximately five years. The failure of the newspaper leads it to seek work with France Observer which, although not going better, recruits it as freelance journalist.

It is thus recently in the weekly magazine when it is transformed into Nouvel Observateur. Attached to the heading “Our Time”, it deals with the topics of the mode, the woman in general and feminism in particular . That does not prevent it from carrying an interest to the negationnism and the Jewish genocide. But its articles on “the Courrèges phenomenon” (March 11th, 1965) - that it presents like a revolutionist as well as Mao or Castro - or on “the Universe of the abortion” (April 22nd, 1965) mark the spirits. Become the “large high-speed motorboat of the newspaper”, it cannot, in January 1966, to prevent oneself from leaving it to join the magazine It.

But its collaboration occurs there badly and, as of August, it is of return with Obs. It enters then in conflict with Mariella Righini for the heading “mode”, not hesitating to try to prevent it from carrying out its discussions with the large dressmakers. May 68 then leads it to cover subjects more explicitly political. Thus, it treats with attention of nebula gauchist and particularly of the JCR of which it interview the leader with the presidential elections of 1969. With the beginning of the year 1969, it remains even in Spain, denouncing on the occasion the political repression which reigns there (“Spain: new enquiry”, February 3rd, 1969).

But it is especially its Féminisme which marks its years 1970. Very near to the MLF of which it covers the congresses it “the subject of the women brings to Nouvel Observateur: prisons of woman, contraception, the abortion, the rape, etc”. Denouncing “the scandals of the abortion” (December 29th, 1969) or M.L.F., it signs proclamation of April 1971. Its distance of the newspaper between September 1974 and February 1976 does not attenuate an engagement which takes the form of a call to the women to support the renewal of the Law Veil, a delegation of women in Iran in 1979 or the women engaged in the policy like Francoise Gaspard, feminist and socialist mayor of which she greets engagement against racism. This topic is besides, with the anti-semitism and immigration, a question to which it is very sensitive. Thus, one of the rare distorsions to its support for the cause of the women is the defense of a Maghrebian marked of rape by noble, position of class and race taking precedence then over solidarity between sex. She denounces also racism related to the establishment of immigrants to the drop of gold (April 18th, 1977) or a mosque in Rennes (January 19th, 1981). She treats also psychiatry, drug or prison. Promoted international reporter in 1979, it then publishes more subjects on foreign countries (Iran, Ireland, Afghanistan, Tanzania) even if it allowed it already (on the Benign one in 1973, Finland and India in 1977,…).

But second half of the years 1970 marks a reduction in quality of its articles in spite of “a made style of poetry and rigor, particularly in the field of the mode”. After various bouderies, jumps of mood and false exits, she is laid off in the name of profitability in 1992, not without copiers severance pays.

She lives since, with her companion the Marc architect Caisne. She still publishes some articles in 1994 and 1997.

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