French Theory is, despite its name, an American invention. In the 1980s, French philosophers such as Foucault, Derrida, and de Beauvoir gained exceptional notoriety in the United States. Their texts resonated with the local political and social context — feminist, queer, and anti-racist struggles — and were grouped under the label “French Theory,” despite their profound differences. When ideas travel, they shift and reinvent themselves. This process of decontextualization created a fertile tension: French Theory became more than a philosophy reserved for insiders; it turned into an academic language in the service of social and political critique.