ABSTRACT

This chapter analyzes the global and local articulations of same-sex identities for these French homosexual citizens by illustrating how various French expressions and images related to concealment and disclosure compete with Anglo-American expressions for a place on the French cultural and linguistic terrain. It conducts an analysis of French gays' and lesbians' use of various English- and French-language based expressions in their coming-out stories in order to draw out larger issues concerning Frenchness. Some Anglo-American scholars have started to question the notion of the closet as a monolithic experience for contemporary gays and lesbians. These French homosexual citizens discuss their ability or inability to manage sexual identity in a variety of situations, and hence illustrate the notion of sexual self-management. Indeed, these French homosexual citizens make an effort to construct a world that is positive, pleasant, to their own liking, and absent of inauthentic performances.