Shockingly, for decades afterwards, homophobic songwriters continued to target those homosexuals who were burned at the stake at the Place de Grève in Paris, including public figure Benjamin Deschaffours, executed in 1726, but most particularly Jacques Chausson, who was convicted of sodomy for the attempted rape of a young nobleman. Even though his execution took place in 1681, Chausson’s name appeared in songs right up until the Revolution, some of which were extremely
violent
. Throughout the eighteenth century, songs continued to target well-known sodomites such as King Frederick the Great, whom Diderot once mocked: “
Et Sa Majesté prussienne, / Jamais à femme n’a touché / Sans même excepter la sienne
.” (And his Prussian majesty / Has never touched a woman / Not even his own wife.) Well-known lesbians, too, were now referred to in songs, including actress Françoise Raucourt and singer Sophie Arnould.
From the Specific to the General
During the course of the eighteenth century, songs generally stopped attacking certain individuals and religious and social groups and instead targeted categories of people defined purely by their sexual tastes, as shown in this song by Collé that seems sympathetic to these “gentlemen”:
Gentlemen, leave your lackeys behind, / And the sentinals; / And you, bright and fresh pages, / Return to the pretty women, / And come back to the threshold / Of our church of the cunt, / Sorry, infidels! / Though I do not mean to suggest / That you abandon Sodom, / I can permit, here and there, / That one must screw one’s man! / But I say that it is brutal / To make one’s fortune / As they do in Rome.
Many
sottisiers
of the eighteenth century (books which collected together saucy tales, epigrams, and bawdy songs), were made up in large part of pieces that were extremely positive toward homosexuality; the most well-known of these books were
Le Recueil du Cosmopolite
(1735) and
Les Muses en belle humeur
(1742). Some of the songs included in them were practically arguments in favor of sodomy, while others offered names of personalities known for indulging in it.
The eighteenth century ended with satires such as
Les Pantins des boulevards
(The buffoons of the boulevards), a stage play with songs that for the most part were favorable toward homosexuals; at the same time, another satire appeared featuring the kind of hostility not seen since
L’Anti-Rousseau
, in response to the increased visibility of homosexuals. Entitled
L’Ode aux bougres
(Ode to the buggers), it began: “
Monstres que la nature enfante parmi nous! / Bardaches bardachés, objet de
mon
courroux
;
/ Exécrables pêcheurs d’excrémens à la ligne, / Dont je vois tous les jours croître la race indigne
…” (Monsters that nature spawns among us! / Foppish fops, object of my wrath; / Execrable fishers of excrement on the line, / Whom I see everyday adding to their indignant race …).
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, songs that ridiculed an entire class of people through a stereotype became more common, as shown by Pierre Jean de Béranger’s “L’Hermaphrodite,” about effeminate homosexuals: “
Admirez à la promenade / Ce petit être tant joli, / Qui près des jeunes gens est fade, / Près des dames n’est que poli. / Son teint reluisant de pommade, / Par le carmin est embelli, / Joli petit fils, petit mignon, / Mâle ou femelle, je sais ton nom
” (Admire on the promenade / This pretty little thing, / Who is so wan when next to young men, / And next to ladies is but polished. / His complexion shines with pomade, / And is embellished with crimson, / Pretty little boy, dainty dear, / Male or female, I know your name). Despite this tendency toward generalization here and there, songs could still be found that defended sodomy through humor, such as “Bougre” and “Panier aux ordures,” which declared: “
Non, le con de Vénus / Ne vaut pas un anus
” (No, not even the cunt of Venus, / Is worth as much as an anus). Another phenomenon worth noting is that an increasing number of songs mentioned lesbianism, such as those found in
Parnasse satirique du dix-neuvième siècle
(1863) and its sequel,
Le Nouveau Parnasse
… (1866). These collections were a treasure trove of homophobic and lesbophobic songs depicting realistic scenes of lesbian romps and male prostitution.
By the middle of the nineteenth century, allusions to homosexuality started to appear in written pieces by authors such as Béranger, Gustave Nadaud, or Paul Emile Debraux. Usually hidden away inside comprehensive editions of their work, these pieces typically took a benign approach toward practices that were “out of the ordinary.” The same attitude could be found in the anonymous songs of the
carabins
(medical students) in which any subject matter was permissible, unlike songs meant for the general public and thus subject to
censorship
, which was reintroduced to France by the Minister for Education and the Fine Arts in 1874. However, lyricists found ways of getting around it by incorporating saucy subtexts into their songs; the fact that homosexuality itself was not mentioned made them stand out all the more.
Cabaret shows were not affected by censorship until 1897, so songs in these shows occasionally dared to touch on the subject of homosexuality. In 1891, in
Ailleurs,
Maurice Donnay wrote a rather caustic monologue about turn-of-the-century habits. This theme was repeated by Yvette Guilbert, later set to music: “
Elles ne sont point prolifiques / Mes unions évidemment / J’assiste aux amours saphiques / Des femmes qui n’ont point d’amant
” (They are far from fruitful / My relations, obviously / I take part in Sapphic loves / With women who have no lovers).The following year, Léon Xanrof, another patron of the establishment, presented a sketch of elegant, effeminate boys living dissolute lives:
Les P’tits crevés.
Gender Ambiguity
At the beginning of the twentieth century, Félix Mayol was the most famous star of the
café-concert
(cafés that also served as performance spaces) scene in France. He helped to crystallize the image of the
folle
(effeminate male), wearing a wig, a corsage on his lapel, and carrying a handkerchief; he performed with his back arched and made effeminate gestures. The
folle
became a main target of songwriters and (often crude) impressionists, to the great enjoyment of the general public.
The
Eulenberg affair
, the scandal in
Germany
over accusations of homosexual conduct among prominent members of Kaiser Wilhelm II’s cabinet and entourage between 1907 and 1909, was apparently the subject of only one satirical song in Berlin, written by Otto Reuter (“Der Hirschfeld kommt,” [Hirschfeld comes], recorded in 1908). In Paris, however, the scandal had a much bigger impact on French songwriters, who could not let this opportunity to satirize Germans pass by. Jean Péheu marked the occasion with a song entitled “Scandale teuton” (Teutonic scandal); another musician named Soubeyran recorded “Les Petits Soldats de Guillaume” (Guillaume’s little soldiers). As well, the Folies-Bergères revue of December 1907 included a satirical piece on the subject; the highly anti-German lyrics illustrated France’s highly vengeful attitude toward Germany since 1870.
The theme of the effeminate male continued to appear in songs and music-hall shows. Singer Charlotte Gaudet, a specialist in saucy verses, recorded “Le P’tit Jeune Homme” (The l’il young man) in 1909, whose lyrics contained a number of not-so-subtle plays on words: “
Il a des petits mouchoirs brodés / et tout son linge est marqué P. D
.” (He has little embroidered hankies / And all his shirts are labelled F. A.G.) and “
Il achète pour sa santé / de la vas’line de première qualité
” (For his health he buys / Only the finest quality Vaseline). Meanwhile, Mayol, after announcing to the press his faux engagement to a woman, became a popular target for song-writers; no less than five songs were composed, such as “Les Fiançailles de Miss Tapette” (The engagement of Miss Fairy) and “Mayol reste jeune fille” (Mayol remains a young lady). Tired of being made the butt of jokes, Mayol devoted several indignant passages on the subject in his 1928 memoir: “Can a single entity truly be malignant enough to claim that it can govern the
private
lives of others? An artist should only be accountable to his clientele for his public performances, which are strictly limited to the role of the artist…. I do not believe I need to justify myself to anyone; I owe them nothing, nothing at all, when it comes to my private life.”
After World War I, it was the
garçonnes
(modern women with hair cut short) who became the subject of satire regarding sexual ambiguity. In 1923, Georgel published
La Garçonne
(modelled somewhat after La Régia, a female entertainer who often wore a smoking jacket when performing): “
La garçonne / se donne l’allure d’un garçon [
…
]/ Elle croit, ça c’est certain / être du sexe masculin / La garçonne
” (La
garçonne
/ dresses herself up like a boy […] / She believes, it would seem / To be of the masculine sex / La
garçonne
). Some songs, inspired by the latest clothing styles, went much further than simply describing appearance, evoking the subject of androgyny. In 1925, the comedian Dréan exclaimed, “Is it a man, or is it a woman?” Two years later, Gaston Gabaroche (himself a married man, yet openly homosexual) sang “Les filles c’est de garçons” (Girls can be boys), which highlighted the feminist aspect of the
garçonnes
, which posed a threat to heterosexual men. Sexism and homophobia, hand in hand.
The 1920s marked the beginning of a period in France in which male homosexuality was affirmed (especially in Paris). Events such as the Carnaval Interlope (a gay masquerade ball in Paris that started in 1922), the publication of
Sodom and Gomorrah,
a fourth volume of
Remembrance of Things Past
by Marcel Proust, followed by
Corydon
by André
Gide
; and the short-lived gay publication
Inversions
all provoked reactionary responses from songwriters, a phenomenon similar to that in Harlem, in that the development of a minority subculture resulted in a homophobic response from the majority. In 1923, comedian Gaston Ouvrard composed a song entitled “Titi … toto … et Patata!” (Titi, Toto, and Patata!) about three flamboyant young men in underground Paris: “
Titi,Toto et Patata / Font des petit’s manières et marchent toujours comme ça. / Ils poussent des ouh! Ils font des ah! / Des chichis des esbroufes et des tas de fla-flas
” (Titi, Toto, and Patata / Carry themselves in a special way and always walk like this / They exclaim, Ooh! / They cry out, Ah! / Fussy, pretentious, and making everything a big deal). Sandrey, a specialist in bawdy humor, recorded a song entitled “La Java des étourdis” (Scatterbrain java) in 1928, a caricature of homosexuals who frequented the
bals musette
(cafés where one could dance). That same year, Maurice Chevalier created “Si j’étais demoiselle” (If I were a girl), with lyrics by Albert Willemetz.
In 1929, the operetta
Louis XIV
debuted at La Scala, composed by Philippe Parès and Georges Van Parys, with lyrics by Serge Veber. In it, historical references to King Henri III were derisive: “
Pourquoi n’aimes-tu pas les femmes? Henri! Henri! Henri, c’est pas gentil
…” (Why can you not like women? Henri! Henri! Henri, it’s just not nice …).
In the tradition of the
café-concert
, most songs with refrains were constructed according to extremely rigid formulas: e.g., the comic verse, the patriotic verse, and the bawdy verse. But the pervading culture engendered the development of a new style, the effeminate verse. A few notable titles were “Je n’suis pas celle que vous croyez” (I’m not the girl you think I am), 1925; “Quand on n’en a pas” (When you don’t have any), 1925; “Le Bilboquet” (The cup-and-ball), 1930; “Emilienne,” 1931; “La Tapette en bois” (The wooden beater), 1933; “Quand un vicomte” (When a viscount), 1935; and “Ca vaut mieux que d’attraper la scarlatine” (It’s not as bad as catching scarlet fever), 1936. This form of ridicule was believed to have amused even the
folles
themselves, given the acceptance of homophobia in French society through its tradition of
humor
, in much the same way as racism or anti-Semitism (both of which were also frequent subjects of satirical songs) were accepted.
The duettists Gilles and Julien, part of the avant-garde music scene of the 1930s, were more sanctimonious. Their lively hits such as “Dollar” and “Le Jeu de massacre” (Knock ’em down game), as well as the homophobic “En serez-vous?” (Will you be one?) depicted the era’s
decadence
; in one verse, homosexuality is equated to something fashionable, like the yo-yo, which was all the rage that year in the capital: “
Car en être ou ne pas en être / C’est la question qui s’pose à tous. / N’en étant pas, demain peut-être
/
En serez-vous? / Si vous en êtes, faut reconnaître / Qu’à notre époque, ça mène à tout. / Pour réussir, il faut en être
/
Un p’tit effort, Zou! En serez-vous?
” (To be one, or not to be one / Is the question everyone asks. / If not one today, then tomorrow perhaps / Will you be one? / If you are one, you must admit / That today, it goes a long way. / To succeed, you must be one / Just try a little, hey! Will you be one?). Gilles and Julien were not “ones,” but during this period, militant left-wingers considered homosexuality to be a bourgeois vice, a symptom of class (and, in a larger sense, society’s)
degeneracy
. This trend of male duettists blossomed in the 1930s often for reasons that were more intimate than artistic (Charles and Johnny, for example).
The entertainer Georgius got into the swing of things with “Imprudentes!” (How imprudent!), a song recorded in 1933, describing the nightlife in the Bois de Boulogne, complete with an encounter with an effeminate boy (“a bouquet of pea flowers”) and with a “big bearded giant.” This appears to be the only song of the era which explicitly made reference to homosexual encounters, not to mention fashionable transvestites and high society gays. The author of more than 1,500 songs, Georgius was unique when it came to acerbic songs. No subject was safe from him, and homosexuals were among his favorite targets. Many of his songs contained allusions to the subject, such as “Si ça lui plait” (If it pleases him), 1926; “Qu’est-ce qu’il faut faire pour gagner son bifteck!” (What does a man have to do to bring home the steak!), 1927; “Tais-toi!” (Shut up!) 1927; “Le Genre de la maison” (The way things work”), 1928; “La Pi-pipe en terre” (Little clay pipe”), 1932; “Les Frères siamois” (The Siamese brothers), 1938; and “Dans la cave de ma maison” (Down in my cellar), 1939. He rarely if ever targeted lesbians; indeed, the subject was remarkably absent from song lyrics in the 1930s, with the exceptions of such standard-bearers as Suzy Solidor, who sensually approached the topic in “Ouvre” (Open up) in 1933.