In a tone of personal engagement, the author describes the different phases that have marked the history of critical research on 'Women and media'?. She highlights France's shortcomings in this field, an area where legitimacy has proved difficult to construct in all contexts. The formation of certain research strands, such as Cultural Studies, has nevertheless facilitated its development in Britain and its extension throughout the world. The author seeks here to identify the common points in the histories of two debates: one that emerged in the sixties and seventies within feminist theories and practices, and another that started to mobilize critical theory of the media during the same period. This research field, where the ambiguities of post-modernism and post-feminism are currently becoming apparent, is characterized by a proliferation of questions, especially on the future of disciplines.