Representations of homosexuality in 1990s mainstream French cinema

Abstract

This paper will consider recent developments in depictions of homosexuality in mainstream French cinema of the second half of the 1990s against, and as both reaction to and reflection of, a rapidly evolving social and political backdrop. Alongside contemporary political debates on gay rights, antidiscrimination laws and the PaCS, on-screen visibility of the gay community in France has developed from an apparent concentration on sexuality and sexual activity to a wider, more accessible consideration and depiction of gay issues within mainstream French culture and society. Focusing on four films (Josiane Balasko's Gazon maudit, Alain Berliner's Ma vie en rose, Valérie Lemercier's Le Derrière and Gabriel Aghion's Belle Maman), this article will examine, on the one hand, representation of such ‘gay interest’ issues as gay parenting, the PaCS and questions of transgender and, on the other hand, the emergence of an apparent trend in recent French mainstream comedies to highlight, whether explicitly or implicitly, questions related to gender construction and gender identity.