Black gay Paris: from invisibilization to the difficult alliance of Black and gay politics

ABSTRACT

According to the French republican model, group identities are conceptualized as a threat to national identity. Thus, identity politics in France faces specific challenges. The following article focuses on the Black gay population in Paris. Their everyday interactions and activities in their own spaces reveal recurring instances of marginalization and invisibilization, notably linked to this republican model. We explore their activism and the obstacles identity politics faces, especially the challenge in bringing together Black and gay politics.

KEYWORDS:

• Race
• sexuality
• identity politics
• intersectionality

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. We thank Jules Falquet, co-director of Damien Trawalé's PhD research, for her precious help and feedback during the research and development of this article. We also thank Patricia Bass for her help with translation, without which this work would not be possible.

2. The French Republican model is based upon the idea of a universalist citizenship, characterized by a refusal to recognize racial minorities. Since the State forbids governmental polls of racial statistics, it is difficult to estimate the black population. However, according to a 2007 poll from the CRAN-TNS-Sofres, black people represent 3.8 percent of the adult population.

3. We use the word “Antilleans” to refer to people from the French Antilles.

4. We reference the Goffmanian distinction between discreditable and discredited.

5. Technically, ‘guinea fowl', term indicating flamboyantly effeminate gay men.

6. Original citation: ‘tellement marre d’être pris pour l’étalon, la bête de sexe. Je ne sortirai plus jamais avec un Blanc', (Afrik.com, 2005, URL: http://www.afrik.com/article8251.html.).

7. In French, the term ‘bounty' (referring to a Bounty candy bar) is equivalent to the term ‘Oreo' in English; ‘black outside, white inside'.

8. We refer to the Weberian distinction between communal relationships and associative relationships.

9. Although the comment might have been based on other dimensions than Michel's sexuality (his light skin, for example), Michel's interpretation of the situation is based on the idea, common among some Antilleans, that Antillean homosexuals are not truly Antilleans (Galli 2011).