This paper sums up the various pretexts Rousseau argues as reasons to defend women's subordination. It seemed interesting to organise the paper in the two parts. The first one intends to decide whether Rousseau's writing until 1755, date in which his Second Discourse was published, can be object of feminist criticism. The second, on the contrary, means to reconstruct historically the political,pedagogical and religious convictions which Rousseau makes use of in order to exclude women.