The Elastic Closet: A History of Homosexuality in France, 1942–Present (review)

This volume explores the history of homosexuality in France since the 1940s with a combined focus on law, politics, and the media. Viewing this history as a ‘complicated series of strategies adapted to each time period’ rather than simply as a ‘teleological progression’ towards freedom (p. 3), Gunther shows how the French Republic and its values of ‘secularism, separation between public and private spheres, liberalism and universalism’ (p. 1, emphasis original) may have protected gay citizens from extreme repression but may also have imposed restrictions. The significance of male dominance and misogyny within this history is equally recognized. Following an extensive Introduction, which traces the regulation of homosexuality in France as far back as the Roman Empire, the first of the four main chapters focuses on the period 1940–60, which in legal terms identified the ‘potential victims’ (p. 4) of homosexuality as youth (the Vichy law of 1942 raised the age of majority to twenty-one) and the general public (1960 saw the penalty doubled for ‘indecent acts’ (p. 35) between members of the same sex). The chapter also examines the development of homosexual interest groups during the 1950s, such as Club Futur, which defended pederasty, and Arcadie, which adopted a more complex stance towards the age of sexual majority and cultivated a more respectable image. The 1970s, discussed in Chapter 2, saw the development of radical political movements, notably the Front homosexuel d’action révolutionnaire, which, for example, campaigned for the acceptance of pederastic relations and public nudity. Legal reforms in favour of gay citizens (Chapter 3) began to appear from the 1980s onwards (the repeal of the 1942 Vichy law and the 1960 Mirguet amendment; the 1985 anti-discrimination law; the 1999 PaCS law; and the 2004 anti-homophobia law) with the advent of more moderate, assimilationist movements like the Comité d’urgence antirépression homosexuelle and more ‘respectable’ self-representations from within the gay community, epitomized by Gai Pied magazine and the development of the Marais district in Paris. In addition, Chapter 3 considers the debate around the ‘delayed response’ (p. 81) to the AIDS crisis in France and introduces more recent debates regarding gay marriage and adoption. The fourth (final) chapter reveals how republican universalism has prevented gay citizens from asserting their difference in their own niche media during the 1990s and 2000s (the PinkTV channel and the magazines Têtu and Préférences). The conclusion considers the influence of Anglo-American queer theory in France, asking how far its subversive elements can be accommodated by the ‘elastic closet of French republicanism’ (p. 126), and how France might further develop a distinct queer identity. While the study might have explored further the impact of globalization and the Internet, in general Gunther’s lucid and engaging account makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the legal, political, and media dimensions of homosexuality in France. It is well illustrated with archive material, interviews, and discourse analysis, is fully accessible to anglophone readers, and will no doubt appeal to readers in French studies as well as comparative sexuality and gender studies.