French audiences […] adopted the sexual stereotypes that had originated out of the music’s earliest moments in the United States. In doing so, they bolstered their connections to a masculine identity that denied women equal footing as musicians, critics, and fans. French women were expected to buy products that supported their families and that improved standards of living, not jazz records or concert tickets, which remained the purview of male teenagers and young adults.
Jazz and Postwar French Identity – Elizabeth Vihlen McGregor