Women who have broken the rules
Provocation and emancipation.
Historically, the image of a woman with a cigar breaks traditional gender codes. It evokes a self-confident, sensual and free woman, who appropriates a symbol once reserved for powerful men. Several women have deliberately broken the codes, cigars to the lips, to assert their independence and mark their emancipation. Here's a close-up look at some of the women who have made history.
George Sanda 19th-century French writer, was known for her life choices that defied convention, including her masculine style of dress and her love of cigars. At a time when smoking was considered a strictly male activity, she dared to smoke cigars in public, asserting her independence and rebellion against patriarchal norms. For George Sand, cigars were as much a symbol of pleasure as an act of cultural defiance. Cigar smoking for George Sand was not just a personal pleasure. It was a way of asserting herself in a man's world, a gesture that embodied provocation, freedom and intellectual power.
Cigars numb sorrow and fill the lonely hours with a million pleasant things. Georges Sand
Colettea provocative writer of the early 20th century, is also associated with the image of an emancipated and sensual woman.
Colette, with her often sensual stories such as Chéri or ClaudineHe also made a name for himself with his unconventional attitude, smoking in public, writing about sensual pleasures, and living scandalous love affairs for his time.
She never hesitated to appear in public with a cigar or cigarette, fully embracing her pleasure and independence. In her day, this gesture represented a form of female emancipation.
For Colette, the cigar was more than just a pleasure: it was a symbol of her desire for freedom, her sensuality and her rejection of convention.
Colette saw a cigar (or cigarette) as an extension of her character: free, sophisticated and unpredictable. This image has gone down in literary and cultural history.
Marlene Dietricha German actress and singer, was often photographed with a cigar, defying the norms of her time. In the 1930s and 1940s, she embodied a powerful, sensual and free woman, combining elegance with mystery. The cigar in her delicate fingers was a provocative symbol of emancipation and seduction.
Frida Kahloa famous Mexican artist, was also known for her taste in cigars. She sometimes appeared in photographs with a cigar between her lips, a way of breaking gender stereotypes and asserting her strong, unconventional personality.
For Frida, cigars were both a mark of independence and an extension of her passionate and daring character.
