Beyond the fields of psychoanalysis, philosophy and writing, all of which are fundamental elements of its theoretical corpus, the history of the various feminisms in France has often been restricted to the MLF (Women's Liberation Movement) and the "French" brand of feminism. Ranging from footage captured by the first video cameras and portable video recorders that belonged to the feminist video collectives of the 1970s, and which was used to document their struggles at the time, to the different practices of contemporary artists, Défricheuses establishes a dialogue between generations of feminist artists and videographers. Their story is interwound with that of the Cité internationale des arts and the Centre audiovisuel Simone de Beauvoir. Martha Wilson, Maria Klonaris and Katerina Thomadaki, Myriam Mihindou, Eszter Salamon, Nil Yalter, Orlan, Bouchra Khalili, Zanele Muholi, Saddie Choua, Lili Reynaud Dewar and Paula Valero Comín, to name but a few. Mixing works, archives, video and documents, Défricheuses focuses on an alternative history in which activism and visual culture play a central role.

The exhibition is divided into several chapters, including "rebellious practices", "transnational struggles", "feminist appropriation of the media" and "against normativity".