Queer French

Book excerpt: In this book Denis M. Provencher examines the tensions between Anglo-American and French articulations of homosexuality and sexual citizenship in the context of contemporary French popular culture and first-person narratives. In the light of recent political events and the perceived hegemonic role of US forces throughout the world, an examination of the French resistance to globalization and 'Americanization', is timely in this context. He argues that contemporary French gay and lesbian cultures rely on long-standing French narratives that resist US models of gay experience. He maintains that French gay experiences are mitigated through (gay) French language that draws on several canonical voices - including Jean Genet and Jean-Paul Sartre - and various universalistic discourses. Drawing on material from a diverse array of media, Queer French draws out the importance of a French gay linguistic and semiotic tradition that emerges in contemporary textual practices and discourses as they relate to sexual citizenship in 20th- and 21st-century France. It will appeal to an interdisciplinary readership in gender and sexuality studies, cultural studies, linguistics, media and communication studies and French studies.