Synopses & Reviews
This book examines the development of Frances male and female homosexual communities and its gay liberation movements after 1968. The book focuses on the construction of social institutions, treating gay activist organizations and their relation to post-1968 French feminism, gay ghettos in French cities, the gay press, the impact of AIDS on political identity, and the renewed militancy of the 1990s. While acknowledging the influence of Americas gay liberation movement on the French situation, the author emphasizes the differences arising from the fact that homosexuality has not historically been criminalized in France as it has been in the United States.
The book is divided into four parts. Part I, “The Revolution of Desire (1968-79),” which examines the activism of the early post-1968 gay liberation movement, is preceded by a historical summary that traces French cultural, political, and social attitudes toward homosexuality. It also explores the relations between the movements for gay and womens liberation in their various incarnations. Part II, “The Time of Socialization (1979-84)” describes the development of gay ghettos and the dissemination of gay institutions (media, countercultural venues, bars, baths, and the like). The pivotal year is 1981, which saw the advent of François Mitterrands government, with its pro-gay policies, as well as the first tracking of AIDS in the United States.
Part III, “End of the Carefree Life (1981-89),” deals with initial reactions in France to the AIDS epidemic, reactions that included the realization of its ubiquity, first with the death of Michel Foucault in 1984, and then with the media spectacle of Rock Hudsons death in 1985. The author describes the French governments response to the epidemic, the role of French medical researchers in searching for the causes of the infection, and the development of Aides (meaning helpers), a social, medical, and political-action group dedicated to raising public and personal awareness of AIDS. Part IV, “The Time of Contradictions (1989-96),” focuses on the changing social institutions of homosexuality in the 1990s: the development of ACT-UP, based on the American model, in France; the campaign to promote safer sex; the integration of seropositive individuals into the homosexual community; and the acceptance of homosexuality almost as a given. The book concludes with a thoughtful epilogue on the integration of minority communities into French society.
Review
"An exhaustive, thoroughly researched work with a surprising 'you-are-there' readability."Library Journal
Synopsis
This book examines the development of France's male and female homosexual communities and its gay liberation movements after 1968.
Synopsis
While acknowledging that the development of France's homosexual communities after 1968 was influenced by America's gay liberation movement, Frédéric Martel highlights the differences arising from the fact that homosexuality has not historically been criminalized in France as in the United States. Beginning with a historical summary tracing French cultural, political and social attitudes towards homosexuality, Martel explores the relation between gay and women's liberation movements, describes the development of gay ghettos in the early 1980s, the initial reactions in France to the AIDS epidemic, and the renewed militancy of the 1990s. Taking the advent of Mitterand's government in 1981 as a pivotal moment in France's gay history, the book concludes with a thoughtful epilogue on the integration of minority communities into French society.
Synopsis
While acknowledging that the development of France's homosexual communities after 1968 was influenced by America's gay liberation movement, Frédéric Martel highlights the differences arising from the fact that homosexuality has not historically been criminalized in France as in the United States. Beginning with a historical summary tracing French cultural, political and social attitudes towards homosexuality, Martel explores the relation between gay and women's liberation movements, describes the development of gay ghettos in the early 1980s, the initial reactions in France to the AIDS epidemic, and the renewed militancy of the 1990s. Taking the advent of Mitterand's government in 1981 as a pivotal moment in France's gay history, the book concludes with a thoughtful epilogue on the integration of minority communities into French society.
Synopsis
“An exhaustive, thoroughly researched work with a surprising ‘you-are-there readability.”—Library Journal
“English-speaking audiences have a number of reasons for reading The Pink and the Black, not the least of which are its detailed chronology of events and its extensive bibliography. By remaining faithful to its original French edition, the English translation provides a fascinating, unabridged peek into the French debates over how to construct a new brand of homosexuality, an identity Made in France. The Pink and the Black is an important addition to cross-cultural studies of homosexuality.”—Journal of Homosexuality
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. [429]-442).
About the Author
Frédéric Martel is a French diplomat who has held administrative positions with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture.
Table of Contents
Acronyms used in this book; Preface to the English-language edition; Prologue; Part I. The Revolution of Desire (1968-79): 1. 'My name is Guy Hocquenghem'; 2. Women's liberation: year zero; 3. 'Down with daddy's homosexuality!' (before 1970); 4. Drifting; 5. The militant explosion; Part II. The Era of Socialization (1979-84): 6. 'We must be relentlessly gay'; 7. 'Seven years of happiness'? (May 1981); 8. Swan song; 9. Happiness in the ghetto; Part III. The End of the Carefree Life (1981-89): 10. The conflagration; 11. Aides: the history of a social movement; 12. Backlash; 13. The hecatomb; Part IV. The Era of Contradictions (1989-96): 14. ACT UP: the history of a political movement; 15. The second homosexual revolution; 16. The identity movement; Epilogue; Chronology; Interview sources; Notes; Bibliography.