February isLGBTQ History Monthin the UK.Here at theParis Schoolof Arts and Culture, we are commemorating this by puttingaspotlight on a selection of queerwriters, artists, performers, filmmakers and innovators, both French and foreign, who left an important markon Paris, a city which has long been a more liberating and welcoming place for non-conforming creatives.Some are also featured in ourMA Programmes in Film, Creative Writing and the Philosophy of Art History.

Rachilde

Asymbolistnovelist and playwright, gender-bender Rachilde became one of the most important writers of the late 19thcentury.Born in the French countryside in 1860, Marguerite Vallette-Eymerymoved to Paris at the age of 18,adopting a masculine haircut, started wearing men’s clothing and took up the pen name and gender ambiguous identity of Rachilde.Introduced via a cousin totheworld-renownedactressSarah Benhardt, Rachilde quicklyintegratedinto the Parisian cultural world. Rachildebegan hostingaweeklyliterarysalonwhich was popularwithothernon-conformist writers and intellectuals.Rachilde is best known forthecontroversialeroticnovel,Monsieur Venus,published in 1884 andwhichled being tried for pornography and convictedin absentiain Belgium.

Rachilde,along withJane Dieulafoy and Marc deMontifaud,two other late19thcenturywriterswhoalsodid not conform to the era’s notions of femininity,areexamined byDrRachel Meschin她的recentbookBefore Trans.DrRachel Meschwas a recent guestoftheAmerican Library in Paris’Evenings withAnAuthor series.You can view the recording of thisdiscussionat this link.

Oscar Wilde

Over the last 150 years,Parisbecamea haven forvariousforeign queer creatives,one of the earliestbeingIrish poet and playwright Oscar Wilde.In 1895, atthe height ofhissuccess, Wilde was convicted of gross indecency with men and sentenced to two yearsofhardlabour. Immediately uponhisrelease,heexiledhimselfinFrance, first livingin the northern seaside town ofBerneval- le-Grandwith his lover Robert Ross. This iswhere he wrotehis last work,The Ballad of ReadingGaol(1898), a long poemdescribingthe harshrealitiesof prison life.Wilde eventually movedtoParis,renting a roomatl’Hôteld’Alsace, adingyhotel in the Saint-Germainneighhourhoodwhich hassince被transformed into the chicL’Hôtel. Impoverished,this is whereWilde tragicallydiedof meningitison30November 1900.His tomb in Pere Lachaise cemetery has become a pilgrimage site for fans the world over.In addition to Wilde’s own writings, thewriter was the topic of the 2018filmThe Happy Princewritten和directed by, and starringRupert Everett.

Colette

Often considered as France’s greatest femme de lettres, Colette was open about her lesbian relationships (first encouraged by her first husband) and challenged gender norms throughout her career. In addition to writing, she was also a theatre performer and mime. During one such performance at the Moulin Rouge in 1907, entitled “La Reve d’Egypte (“The Dream of Egypt”), she caused an immense scandal by passionately kissing her lover, Mathilde de Morny, on stage. Colette wrote over 30 works, her most famous being the novellaGigi. Published in 1944, the book recounts the story of a young courtesan who defies tradition by marrying her wealthy lover. It was later adapted to film, first in 1949 by French director Jacqueline Audry and then in 1957 as a Hollywood musical film which went on to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards. She too was the subject of a biopic in 2018; simply entitledColette, it was directed by Wash Westmoreland and starred Keira Knightley.

Gertrude Stein & Alice B.Toklas

Influential figures in early 20thcentury literary and artistic circles, the Americancouplefirst met inParis in1906 and remained together untilStein’s death in 1946.In addition tocollecting art,theyhostedweekly salonsin their apartment on rueFleurus,which attractedto top artist and writers of the era.Steinwroteseveral books, includingone on the great Spanish painter,Picasso,(studied inourModernism and Parismoduleof our Paris MAProgrammes)和The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas,a quasi-memoir of their Paris yearswritten in the voice ofAlice B. Toklas.Tolkasalsopublisheda fewworks:两个食谱和一个autobiographyentitledWhat Is Remembered.

Coccinelle

A transgender Frenchactress, entertainer and singer,Jacqueline Charlotte Dufresnoy,who went by the stage nameCoccinelle(French forladybug/ladybird),was the first widelypublicisedpost-war gender reassignment case in Europe.She made her debut as a transgender performer in 1953 atMadame Arthur, Paris’s first drag cabaret(which is still open and puts on an excellent show).In 1958 she underwent a vaginoplasty in Casablanca和became a media sensation upon returning to France. Her career continued to flourish, both on stage and on screen.In1960she marriedjournalist Francis Bonne,which wasthe first transgender union to belegallyrecognisedin France.Throughout her life, shewas alsoan importantadvocatefortransgenderrights.

André Baudry

Aformer seminarian and philosophy professor,AndréBaudry foundedArcadiein 1954,France’s firstorganisationfor “homophiles”, a term Baudry preferred to “homosexuals”. Amagazine和clubhouse followed soon afterwards.At the time,it was the only public voice for French gays和, over the course of its 30-year history,itbecame the largest group of its kind in France. Theorganisationgarneredthesupport of a range of personalities from Jean Cocteau to Michel Foucault, however,thatisn’tto say things were always smooth sailing.After its launch, the magazine wascensured and禁止向未成年人出售。In1955年,Baudry himselfwas prosecuted for “outrage auxbonnesmœurs” (outrage against good morals), convicted, and fined 400,000 francs. The history oftheorganisation, and thistime periodin France,areexplored inHistorianJulian Jackson’sbookLiving in Arcadia(University of Chicago Press, 2009).

James Baldwin

American writer and activist James Baldwin first came to Paris at the age of 24,attracted to the greater freedomFrance offeredhim as both a person ofcolour和a homosexual.Shortly after his arrival,Baldwingot involved inthecultural radicalism movementthat wasbrewingintheRive Gauche.He was also working on his second novel,Giovanni’s Room,which waspublished in 1956. Set in Paris,the storyrevolves arounda tormented love affair between the American narrator, David, and Giovanni, an Italian bartender. The bookcaused considerablecontroversyat the timeof itspublicationdue to its homoeroticcontent, butwent on to become a seminal work in queer literature.Youcandelvefurther intoGiovanni’s Room in thispowerpointby Kent staff member Dr Declan Kavanaghorthis article in theGuardian. Baldwin spent much of the rest of his life living in France, namelyinthe southern French village of Saint-Paul-de-Vence, where he settled in1970.Thewriter’scontributions totheParis’scultural heritagewillbehonouredwithanewmedia librarydedicated to him,scheduled to open in 2023.

Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé

Partners in life and business,Yves SaintLaurent和Pierre Bergé’s impact on Paris’s creative world went far beyond fashion.Working as a designer for Dior,Yves Saint Laurent metbusinessmanPierreBergé in 1958.They went on tolaunch Yves Saint Laurent’s own fashion housetogetherin 1961.虽然couple’s relationship ended in1976, theyremained lifelong friends and businesspartners. In2002 they created theFondation Pierre-Bergé-Yves Saint Laurentin the designer’s former studio and offices, housed in a historic mansion in the 16th district of Paris.It hosts temporary exhibits on Saint Laurent’s work和providessupportto cultural institutions and projects. You can view their collectiononline她的eor you may like to watch one of thetwo French films on the designerreleased in 2014;JalilLespert’sYves Saint Laurent和Bertrand Bonello’sSaintLaurent,which wasan official selectionat that year’s Cannes Film Festival.You’llhave to watch both to decide which one you think is best!

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Further Resources

120 bpm–This is another recent film wecan highly recommend.The moviechronicles howACT UP Parisfought toincreaseawareness ofqueer rights andinformation onthe AIDS crisisinthe early1990sinFrance.Directed by Robin Campillo, it won the Grand Prix at Cannes in 2017 and six César Awards (the French Oscars) including Best Film.

LesMots à laBouche–You can find an extensive collection of books and DVDs at this LGBTQ bookshoplocatedin the 11th arrondissement.

LGBTQCentreParis– Thispopularcommunitycentrein theMaraisorganisesworkshops, talks,haslending library和is a great resource onLGBTQevents, culture, wellbeing和activism in Paris.