European Queerness

Viva Romano Prodi!!!

2006-03-14T17:01:00.000-05:00

Tonight was the occasion of the first debate on TV between Berlusconi and Romano Prodi, the leader of the Italian left-wing coalition. The debate was dealing with economics and development.

I must say that PRODI RULES!

Indeed, while Berlusconi centered all his discourses on the past (especially the so-called failures of the previous left-wing governments), on the program of the left-wing coalition (named "l'Unione") and on the non appropriate character of the debate regarding the rules of the debate. It just acknowledged the vacuity of its own program. On the contrary, Prodi spoke about its program, about the future, respect (as Berlusconi does not know this word)and about HOPE. I was really inspiring, much more than Berlusconi that appeared tonight as the frightened Italy, the Italy that does not dare to move and go forward. Prodi spoke to the youth, expressing its will to give it more chances than it has now. He is looking forward, and as he expressed it, he has already been Presidente del Consiglio (the Italian Prime Minister) and President of the European Commission. He has nothing to prove, and we could feel that he was deeply interested in Italy's future.

Let's hope the elections of April, 9th will be in favor of L'Unione and Prodi.

Viva Italia!

P.S: The elections are concerning the Italian Parliament, which rules over the nomination of the Prime Minister. The Italian President is not elected by the Italians and he has almost no power. The Italian system is a parliamentary one. Basically the winner of the election will be the leader of the winning parties'coalition.

Happy Vday to you all non engaged people

2006-02-14T12:15:00.000-05:00

Get Fucked or Die Tryin'

2006-02-14T11:44:00.000-05:00

Why sex is fundamentally good:

1) Sex is an experience, understood in the Antic Athenian meaning of the word. Which means that, as all is about experience (social attitudes, education, sexuality, and so on), sex is an Art likely to be mastered. It's the foucauldian definition of Ars erotica, that is, society like the Athenian ones, which are dominated by pedagogy. Contrary to Scienta sexualis (our societies) which are dominated by the Christian heritage of the Confession, which has placed sex at the very core of societal control (associating it with negative values).

2) Sex is a performance, elevating the soul and the artistic part contained in each one of us. Threesomes, for example, due to their challenging aspect (to couple, to love,...) could be viewed as an artistic Art, as a performance.

3) Sex is pleasure. As basic as it may seem, I guess it is fundamentally good to allow oneself some pleasure in a society which tends to be more and more about self-repression and self-containment. The bedroom and sexuality more generally speaking tend to be more and more important places of freedom and Art marking.

2006-01-23T16:15:00.000-05:00

As I deeply fear a victory of the Conservative Party during the ongoing Canadian legislative elections, I can't help be hope that the Bloc Quebecois (and its leader, Gilles Duceppe, above) will win! I know it can sound weird but at least the Bloc Quebecois is left-wing, in the European sens of the word, contrary to the Conservatives and the Liberals, both economically at least right-wing. It would'nt mean the end of Canada as the independance of Quebec would be harder to obtain than it seems a priori as Quebec is deeply connected to others Canadian provinces, even Toronto! Lol, anyway, you go guys and try to make a choice which has meaning for you and your marvellous country. En ostie!

Brokeback Mountain.... I love you

2006-01-23T14:55:00.000-05:00

This movie is probably destined to be one of the best eveeeeer. Clever, subtle and NOT cliché, it combines and transcends the social subjects it raises. Homosexuality, heterosexuality as essentialized identities are highly questioned and challenged and this is as far as I am concerned, one of the most interesting parts of this movie.

This, and the love story between two human beings, filmed in a REALLY beautiful way, far from soap opera's prejudices. Jake Gyllenhaal is marvellous, Heath Ledger is almost a God (even though I'm atheist, there's something here I would worship wihout any problem).It is definitely a film to be seen and live. Enjoy!

P.S : This movie won a Gold Lion at the Venice International Festival Film. Italians have always have good tastes (I am not objective, I know, and then what?).

Familial Quarrel

2006-01-15T14:54:00.000-05:00

Speaking of Tarnation, a documentary/movie filmed, realised and produced by Jonathan Caouette about his own life, R. and I arrived at different points of view. While his main impression relied on the inconditional love Jonathan has for his mother despite all he has suffered and been through. On the contrary, from this movie, I focused much more on the destructive aspect inherent to families. I would (but only for myself) says that, briefly, this very good movie deals witht the self-destruction of an entire family and the subsequent destruction of its members. Love would only be a medication, a remedy to familial madness. I won't say more but you guys (who?) should see this movie. Nevertheless, prepare yourself on an emotional level. It's kinda violent.

An actor to be

2006-01-15T14:28:00.000-05:00

Jake Gyllenhaal rules. He is simply marvellous in Jarhead (2005). Despite the fact that I didn't really appreciate his play in Donnie Dark (2001), his interpretation of an american sniper during the first Irak's war of 1991 is surely both impressive and credible. I'm really expecting Brokeback Mountain, which I'll see tomorrow.

P.S : His sister, Maggie Gyllenhaal, is to be seen in Secretary (2002).

Playlist - January 2006

2006-01-05T16:54:00.000-05:00

Madonna - Confessions on a dance floor
Camille - Le Fil
Camille - Le sac des filles
Tiziano Ferro - Centoundici
Depeche Mode - Remixes

2006-01-05T16:49:00.000-05:00

An almost perfect pop album, as usual since Ray of Light... She's the Queen : if you haven't got it yet, get used to it.

2006-01-05T16:40:00.000-05:00

The first film I've seen in 2006, quite good actually. Very erotic, sexuality is suggested and unshown, which is much more sexier as far as I'm concerned. It's an Italian movie, the story of an Italian guy who inherits a hammam of Istanbul (Turkey) from his aunt, who he hardly knew as she moved to Istanbul when he was very young. She felt in love with the city and so does her nephew as he discovers the oriental city. But, as he stays in Turkey, he also gets more and more distant from his wife, stayed in Italy. And he gets closer and closer to a young turkish guy, a member of the lovely family who takes care of the hammam. A wonderful and very subtle movie, you have to see it!

UK rules!

2005-12-21T12:51:00.000-05:00

Gay marriage has been granted for gay and lesbian couple.I was kinda surprised, did anybody know before it was announced? In France, it was totally unknown until G-day. Anyway, as I do not have (yet) any opinion on gay marriage, I'll just tell a few words. Is it possible, as queer theorists are saying it, that by acknowledging the importance of marriage, LGBT people could be reinforcing one of the main heteronormative institutions eveeeeer? I agreed first with this statement, and I think I still agree with this. BUT, the fact that people have been granted rights they have been denied since a long time (ever?) AND their simple happiness are facts that shake my convictions. Maybe mariage should just be replace by somthing guaranting the same rights and effects BUT deprived of its symbolism and its religious connotations. Maybe exactly what the British have done some days ago. Maybe what could become in a couple of years (hopefully) the French PACS.
P.S : kitsch and Elton John could have waited some more...

2005-12-20T06:15:00.000-05:00

As usual, the association Act-Up (fighting against AIDS and helping the infected persons) has been a real genius. Act-Up is specialised in small but largely mediatisable actions such as the one designed by this picture. It's a clear warning against the danger represented by Nicolas Sarkozy, the actual French "Ministre de l'Int�rieur" (Police Ministry). President of the most important right-wing political party and the French personality most likely to become President in 2007. The caption involves a clear amalgam between the ideas of Sarkozy and those of Le Pen, who is the president of the extreme-right-wing "Front National". Which is actually quite true. A lot of thesis of Sarkozy concerns immigration and security, which are the main subjects with nationality defended by Le Pen. Sarkozy is now a real threat to liberties in France because of its present (and, unfortunately, maybe future) positions. So, be warned, I'm going into exile in 2007 if this individual is elected President of the Republic.

Daily oppression

2005-12-06T18:10:00.000-05:00

When you are walking in the streets that seem so familiar and known to you,
When you are reading your favourite magazines,
When you are talking to your best friends or parents,
When you are interacting with your girlfriend or boyfriend or other,

Don't you think that you may help what is actually oppressing you? Let's just pose it simply : just try to wonder whether or not what you're looking at (movie, picture, adverts) is increasing or challenging clichés about masculinity and/or femininity. Is what I am looking at or hearing or hearing a stereotype or not ? Somehow, it can change your whole vision of your daily life.

I tried this, once. Just by looking at a beautiful picture, an add actually, for a new perfume. Despite my aesthetic judgment (gorgeous work, indeed), I couldn't help but felt myself disturbed by the way the girl and the guy on the picture were represented. I was trying to guess why the position of the girl looked both "normal" AND inappropriate to my own values. I found the word : SUBMISSION. The girl was deliberately represented as the object. Both for the guy of the picture AND the spectator. Gender's mainstream images (that is, submission and objectivisation of women) were enforced by this kind of Art. Personaly, I have always prefered challenges...

From this moment on, I couldn't help but questioned every day my perceptions of my direct environment and how it relates to my own perceptions of gender and sexuality (in its broad meaning). Try it, use it and challenge. You can call it "Day-to-day Resistance".

Have a nice challenging tomorrow.

Play list

2005-12-05T16:15:00.000-05:00

- C++, Orienté Objet
- Matafix, Signs of a struggle
- The Cardigans, Super Extra Gravity
- Goldfrapp, Supernature
- Françoise Hardy, Clair-obscur & Tant de belles choses
- George Michael, Older
- Arielle Dombasle, Amor Amor

Did you say good French music?

2005-12-03T15:38:00.000-05:00

I discovered this French pop band only a few days ago and it's just brilliant. Light on the music and hyper ironic within their lyrics. Chek it!

New postmodernist journal in Rennes (wtf?)

2005-12-03T15:15:00.000-05:00

Some weeks ago, Sijeka, Aurélie and myself decided to begin something quite unusual in France : a feminist and queer, postmodernist magazine (in the limits of Rennes). We're actually working on the first paper copy of it but the Internet support, a blog, is already available.

Name : Volte-face

Check it out!

It's mostly in French but some English articles will soon be available.

To sum up

2005-12-03T15:13:00.000-05:00

1) Came back from Bulgaria
2) Came back in Rennes (sic)
3) Came back in my French school
4) Got a McJob, quit it
5) Lost my bf
6) whatever

Surrealist wee-end

2005-08-16T11:31:00.000-04:00

This week-end, my coworkers (except the NERD) and I went on a road trip to Sofia. Beginning of a nice travel...we went through a lot of problems during all the zeek-end but they finally appeared more funnny than anything.

First, we had the good idea to leave Plovdiv without any reservation in a hotel...then no surprise if all the gloomy hostels that we visited were full! We searched during at least 2 fucking hours three places for the night and we finally found them in a dirrty, gloomy but free hotel called the Royal Hotel. We were already having a nervous breakdown, laughing for anything a little weird.

Then, after a good restaurant we didn't plan to go to (because the restaurant we wanted to go was NOT where the touristic guide was indicating it, of course), we came back to the hotel...I tried to sleep in a two-places bed with two girls. I said, I TRIED. It was fucking hot in the bedroom...then I tried to sleep on a coach, near the bed...no way, it was fuking uncomfortable. THEN, I tried to sleep on the floor (carrelage, don't know the English word). It was so fucking cold that, at something like 5.00am, I had to go back in the bed where I managed to sleep for one hour...

Guess what? I was fucking on my nerves the morning after!

We went to the Rila monastery, a beautiful building lost in the Bulagarian mountains, in the south of Sofia. I'm not religious but I must admit it was fucking nice.

I'm fed up...I'll tell you the end tomorrow!

First date with a Bulgarian guy...in 2 hours!

2005-08-11T08:53:00.001-04:00

It's official, my coworkers and roommates just put me on a date with a Bulgarian guy I don't know. Well, I almost don't know...

I've met this guy because he came at the French Alliance of Plovdiv, where I work, so as to meet French people and practice his French.

We just had a lunch two days ago, all together, and seemingly, the guy kinda felt in love with me...or almost.

What am I suppose to do??He's not my kind but I'm feeling kinda horny these days as I didn't have sex for 2 months...Fundamental question...

Websites of the moment

2005-08-04T04:15:00.000-04:00

Here are some websites I kinda like these times:

- yoox.com : best site ever for buying high-brand clothes to a "reasonable" price, even if I haven't yet ordered a single pair of socks with it.
- hi5: sympathetic site...OK, it's for dating but since I'm kinda single now...
- OkCupid: I love their stupid and teenager-spirited tests. Best stuff: the website is telling you who you're most likely to get along with. LOL.

Should I be ashamed?....Hell, no!

2005-08-04T04:07:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, something both funnny and embarassing happened to me.

My roommates and I were planning to spend some time doing nothing and watching the music videos I have in my computer.

I made the mistake to import in my WMPlayer all the videos I have on my computer.

I began to play some of them...

There was a file untitled 'Falcon blabla'. I was trying but couldn't remember what it could possibly be. What's this?

I made the mistake to click on "play". And guess what?

I had gay porn in my computer! I didn't remember that. As soon as the first image appeared on the screen, I thought "Bloody hell, ooooops".

It was one of the funniest scene ever! Of course, my roommates were laughing and I just didn't know where to hide myself... The thing is that the images were kind of VERY explicit.

Anyway, I had a blast and, just thinking about it make me smile now.

Best moment ever since a while.

When someone dares to tell you your truth

2005-08-02T08:51:00.000-04:00

Sometimes it hurts when someone you almost do not know tells you without any taboo what (s)he thinks about you... somethings you know but that you do not especially wanna hear about. From a conversation I had yesterday with one of my roommates and work colleagues, I know that I'm:

- "a whore". Because I have this particular "weakness" that is that I wanna be appreciated by a maximum of person, some people perceive my birthing friendship with other people as a betrayal. As a consequence, I'm an emotional whore.

- "a hypocrite". In the sale spirit than the whore, I'm a hypocrite because I get along with someone who's not appreciated. In this kind of situation, the lightest move is thought as a proof of complicity with the hated on.

- "easily influenced". That is, I've no personality of my own. This one was maybe the hardest one to hear...

While some of these remarks were partly true (I also have my defaults, I'm far from being perfect), to hear that from people who pretend to love U is quite hard, because you do not manage to hate them for that. You just wonder whether this is true or false. And in which proportion...

I'm still wondering...

Week-end in Varna

2005-08-01T05:36:00.000-04:00

This week-end was one of the best ones… We ran away from Plovdiv and its atmosphere (problems with work colleagues). I left the city with Meryl, one of my roommates whom I get along with, and Claire, one of her friends who just arrived in Bulgaria for some holidays.

The trip was quite weird…

We took the train to Varna at 23.05. We had to share our places, as we hadn’t reserved, with two British guys who were in holidays as well in Eastern Europe. They were quite cool: we had a conversation about the sense of the word ‘bourgeois’ in France, which is obviously different from its sense in Great Britain. While in France, it has a bad connotation, in England, it appears to be the contrary: it means classy, in the old-school way. For example, to have a coffee or French wine in London could be considered bourgeois, while in France it’s kind of normal. Anyway, in France, bourgeois means more ‘wealthy freak’. That is, someone who is rich, traditional, conservative, etc. Someone who don’t wanna know!

The weirdest part of the journey was kind of stressing. A policeman arrived in our room and, as he saw that we were obviously foreigners, he asked for our passports in the nice Bulgarian way (loudly). Of course, I didn’t have mine because I’m…. I’m too stupid I guess. Claire hadn’t it as well… The policeman, with whom it was quite hard to exchange because of the language barrier, made us understand that we would have to go through a police control at the next big train station…at 1.00am. This city was Stara Zagora. Of course, as we were kind of drunk, we didn’t mind: the idea to be blocked in a city lost in Bulgaria, in a Bulgarian police station where nobody speaks English at 1.00am while we were supposed to go to the beach was sort of cool… Mmmm, as we arrived in Stara Zagora, we weren’t happy anymore! Fortunately, we had the marvellous chance to have a cool policeman (the one who wanted to check our passport). Before we arrived in Stara, and as we were drunk, we made him laugh in the train; Claire was telling him absurdities in French and English, I was trying to speak in Bulgarian but wasn’t very successful but we were laughing and it just helped to relax the atmosphere, even if I was far from being relaxed…

Finally, at Stara, he just came to us (we were preparing ourselves to spend the night in the fucking police station as there wasn’t trains after…) and tell us to sit down. The train moved from the city: I felt soooo relieved! The guy came to us after so as to make us understand that we HAD to have our passport with us: he was cool afterwards…

We arrived in Varna at 6.00am and spend a wonderful day, lying in the sun, sleeping, smoking and bathing. On the Saturday night, we went to a Bulgarian club (the ‘Momo club’…no comment!) where Sandy Rivera, the Brazilian DJ was having a show. It was such a fucking great music. Drunk on the dancefloor, I enjoyed myself surrounded by fashionistas and wannabe-jet setters’ people. Not the kind of people I like usually but it was so surrealist that it finally seemed cool.

Sunday: shopping. After a few time on the beach, we had to come back at the hotel of Vladimir, a French-Bulgarian guy who became our friend. I felt sad to live this place where I spent such a good week-end…

Right now, I’m in Plovdiv, trying to write an article about L’Oréal and its success…my life is surreal these days.

Life in Bulgaria

2005-07-27T05:33:00.000-04:00

Life in Bulgaria

My life in Bulgaria is quite different from what I’ve known in Montreal.

First of all: my work. While in Montreal, I was working for a f***ing good music festival with a lovely boss (my dear Raquel, special thoughts for you!), here I’m working for a French cultural organization called ‘Alliance française’. While it could seem to be interesting, I’m just basically writing articles for its next magazine which is about…gastronomy. Just to let U know: I barely know how to cook properly. You can imagine the result! Well, it’s going pretty well so far so I can’t really complain but it’s becoming quite boring. I’m kind of fed up because the last magazine was about Europe and the next one is about fashion….I’d have loved to do it! I’ll just be preparing some of the articles of the next issue. My boss is ok…even if he’s in holidays right now which is sooooo damned practical when you want to know whether you’re doing what is waiting from you or whether you’re writing some stupid articles. Well, seemingly, I’m writing good stuff but too “serious” according to my colleagues. “You’re supposed to write for Bulgarians who barely know French…”. Ok! Basically, I have to write something for dummies. Great…

My roommates (which are also my work colleagues BTW) are ok. But as I barely know them, it’s quite hard to share what I used to share with my previous roommates of Montreal. Anyway, except one guy who is a total freak, the 3 girls I’m living and working with are nice. We’ve already gone to several places such as Varna and Sozopol, some place along the Black Sea.

The life here is so cheap, it’s almost weird. A pack of 20 cigarettes is 0.80€ while in France it’s worth 5€! It’s amazing! And the clothes are all cheap as well: a T-shirt Versace is 17€. Of course it’s a false one but, whatever!, I’m becoming crazy when I see that!

Bulgarian boys are not really good-looking (euphemism). They have a sort of problem… They have strong faces in the bad way. They look rude in fact, not the kind of people to whom you’d say “hello I love your hair cut”. They are all dressed in Diesel or Energie but they are wearing this kind of clothes with summer shoes and socks…We name this kind of people rednecks I think…

I think I’m going to enjoy myself…before my return in France and the 40 fucking hours of bus I have to undergo before that.

Email from Bulgaria

2005-07-27T05:31:00.000-04:00

As soon as I arrived, I emailed this to all my friends so that they could know what happened to me. Sorry for those who do not understand French:

"Salut tout le monde,

Je suis bien arrivé en Bulgarie après un voyage de 40 heures en bus
bien galère grâce à mes charmants amis d'Eurolines.
Je suis donc parti de Paris à 8h30 du matin à bord d'un bus avec des
chauffeurs ne parlant ni francais ni anglais mais seulement bulgare...
autant dire que ca se présentait bien...n'ayant ni argent mais
seulement trois paquets de biscuits et de bars de céréales j'ai dû
entamer une grève de la faim bien involontaire. Arrivé en Allemagne le
bus s'est rempli de Bulgares et j'étais donc le seul Francais du bus!
Par chance j'ai réussi à rencontrer des Bulgares parlant français.
Après donc un voyage de 40 heurs avec un voisin bulgare ronflant comme
un moteur hors bord et un passage par lq Slovénie, la Croatie et la
Serbie, je suis arrivé à Sofia puis j'ai pris un bus vaille que vaille
vers Plovdiv; la destination finale.

Arrivé; il n'y avait personne pour m'attenre vu que j'étais en avance.
Au bord de la dépression nerveuse j'ai donc pris un taxi jusqu'à
l'hotel le plus proche où j'ai passé ma soirée à fumer et à regarder
la fete de la musique. Pour une fois j'étais même content de regarder
les pires artistes français s'égosiller! J'ai bien dormi...

N'hésiter pas à m'écrire depuis que je suis arrivé sain et sauf en Bulgarie!!!!

Je vous aime, don't leave me alone; I'm begging you!!!!!!

Lovexxx

Boris"

Welcome to France...isn't it depressing?

2005-07-25T10:20:00.000-04:00

Of course, it's not a surprise to write that the arrival in France was kind of harsh.

The first challenge was to make the passport controler smile...no way! He was desesperatly stupid. I was already missing my dear Montrealers. Then, sijeka and me had to undergo a loooooong time so as to get our luggages at the airport of Paris (Roissy-CDG). People were as nice as only Frencg people could be. That is...not! Anyway, as soon as we get out of the airport in order to smoke some 5 or 6 cigarettes, we stopped as several French policemen were arresting a Black guy at his arrival from whatever-country. No doubt! We were indeed in France, the country where everybody is your friend....HELP!

I spent the next month eating French food, drinking French wine and seeing family and friends. I felt good but also surprised and quite disapointed when I realized that, despite the fact that one year has passed since the last time I had seen them, I found them almost in the exact same situations I had left them before. I was feeling bad for them because, even if they evolved during the time I didn't see them, we had almost the same conversations as before. Like...like I wasn't gone. Maybe it's the fact that their "stayed-exactly-the-same" situation made me feel bad because it was, well! in my mind, a sort of denial of my year in Montreal.

Anyway, I stayed only a month. It was enough!

And, then, I left for Bulgaria and another trip (less important however) was beginning...

Good bye Montreal!

2005-07-25T10:04:00.000-04:00

It's been quite a while since I have written my last post. Well, I've been very busy both mentally and physically speaking.

My departure from Montreal, which happened at the end of May 2005, was one of the hardest time I had to undergo in my entire life... Fortunately, I was with my best friend, sijeka and it helped a lot!

To say 'good bye' to all the people you've known during 9 months is quite a hard stuff to go through. Of course, you say you're going to come back and see them. But you know that it's not true for all of them. Of course, the most precious fiends you've met, you'll see them again. But it's far from being true for everybody...

I'm going to miss (actually, I'm already missing) Montreal, its atmosphere, its way of life, the life I had there, what I've learned during these times, and my friends there. Nadia, Linda, Thu-Anh, Marie-Eve, Erik (my Catalan friend who is planning to stay in Montreal), I'm going to miss you all!

Anyway, I suppose Montreal will stay in me as long as I breathe (poetic, isn't it?). I'm going to try to avoid the pictures I've taken during the year. The last time I've watched them, I couldn't avoid to be badly depressed for the next 2 hours.

I'll try to come back ASAP but I've to go to Italy before! It's quite ridiculous: I pretend that it's my favourite country and I've never been there...But let's be reassured: the French who were in Montreal with me (my beloved roommates) are planning something. And I'll try to be in their plane when they'll take off.

2005-04-27T01:45:00.000-04:00

He has left us, he has come back to France...Thanks for all these wonderfull times Sébastien and you know I will like you forever. He has become sort of a brother for me during this 9 months spent together. With Kevin, my other roommates, he is the only straight guy who managed to change me and make me better than I came in. I wish you all the happiness you could reach,
Lovexxx

P.S: You even succeeded in making me cry, you bastard! Lol, good one though!

I will see you again

2005-04-26T12:00:00.000-04:00

Sebastien, one of my best friends and roommate, is leaving today for France. I am feeling pretty bad... The end of my year in Canada is approaching.

I feel weird

2005-04-23T17:53:00.000-04:00

While in France a BIG debate is presently going on about the European Constitution (a referendum will be held on this point on May 29th), I can't help but feeling weird.
According to recent polls, the "NO" in France to this European Constitution may be the winner of the referendum. Of course, as an European, I will vote "YES" for this constitution because this text which has been written in 3 years by Europeans of different countries, cultures, political regimes, political organizations, blabla, is a real chance for Europe. It will allow the EU (25 countries) to function properly and it's the first time a real POLITICAL aspect is added to the economic side which has always been privileged before. Anyway, 55% of the French voters are likely to vote NO...and especially those who define themselves as left-minded. And the majority of the right-wing voters are likely to vote YES. It's the first time I feel myself more on the right-wing side...Of course, a lot of leftists are going to vote YES as well but still...I feel weird about that.
A lot of left-wing politicians are fighting against this constitution. I don't get it: according to them this consitution is liberal. Excuse me? This consitution recognizes a lot of social rights, such as the right to strike, that even the French constitution does not recognize... I feel it's just a very selfish way of obtaining some advertisement.
A bizarre thing is also the fact that extremist left-wing parties and extremist left-wing parties are all fighting against the European constitution (with different arguments though). But this only fact is enough for me: this Constitution represents progress and liberties and, as usual, extremists could not agree with this... This point by itself legitimize this constitutional text for me.
I WILL VOTE YES!

More than just a friend

2005-04-12T19:48:00.000-04:00

The girl I would marry if I was not gay, muhahaha. I know she's going to kill me for putting such a picture here but I'm as ridiculous as she is...at least!Anyway, this girl (I'll keep her name hidden, she's such a star) has been my best friend for two years now. She's in Vancouver and, despite the fact that I've not seen her since last Christmas, I miss her as much as I miss my boyfriend. Because she knows me more than I would like, I just love her. An artist and a pseudo-hip intellectual, she is as tortured as I am when it comes to feelings and love stories. We also get along for this and so many other things.
Some times I just want to kill her because she has such a gift for discovering what you're really thinking ands why you behave in such a way and not another... she could easily get on my nerves for this. Until I realize she's right agaiiiiin.
And despite our separation this year, I think we have some more things in common now. First, we both have became alcoholic (the picture is just a proof), we both do not know what to do with our lives, we both wonder also if we have a life and what we should do about it, we both have complicated families, we both blablaaaa
And while I do not really enjoy what she listens to, when it comes to music she is the best. Wannabe-hip? Yes she is but not in the bitchy way. Wannabe loved? Yes but she is already, even if she tends to forget it sometimes.

Music I'm listening to these days

2005-04-12T19:07:00.000-04:00

- Requiem of Mozart
- Felt Mountain of Goldfrapp (at the moment)
- Baroque Music
- Highlights of Ranee Lee (Canadian jazz singer)
- Swing swing of Nicolas Repac (electro/jazz of the 1930s)
- American Life of Madonna

2005-04-11T14:14:00.000-04:00

Soélie and Sébastien...no comment, I love these guys and that's all!

2005-04-11T14:13:00.000-04:00

Gastronomy of Quebec. Here is what you can eat in a "cabane à sucre". From 3 to 8 o'clock, I felt myself FAT! No wonder why. It was good though. Maple sugar everywhere, mmmmm.

2005-04-11T14:12:00.000-04:00

Sebastien and me in the back of a car...why? It's not your business!

2005-04-11T14:11:00.000-04:00

End of birthday time and come back to Quebec. Here is a Poutine T-Rex, the grassest thing you could eat on earth...only in Quebec...

2005-04-11T14:10:00.000-04:00

Anita, Nadia and Linda. I've met the two on the right during my course called "Sexuality in visual arts". Except for my best friend who is now still in Vancouver, these girls are the best. Anita on the left is so nice too! I've met her thanks to Linda. Love you girls, I had such a blast!

2005-04-11T14:08:00.000-04:00

Booby and me, I guess we were already drunk: wine, vodka, rhum,... I'm definitely alcoholic now... I'll need at least two bottles of wine per week when I'll be back in France, ooops

2005-04-11T14:07:00.000-04:00

My birthday party with a good part of my Montrealer friends even if several are missing on this picture. Anita, Nadia, Linda, Valerie, Bobby and me...

2005-04-11T14:06:00.000-04:00

Myself in front of the Boris Bistro...so good.

2005-04-11T14:03:00.000-04:00

My roommates and myself after a French restaurant...an exquisite one of course. Basically we spent the whole time speaking about sex, surronding by CEOs speaking about whether or not they should buy Euros or Dollars, hahaha.

Oops

2005-04-11T13:57:00.000-04:00

I'm sorry, I have been soooo busy these days. I'll try to be more serious about this blog. Here are some pictures I have to post because the 8th of April was a very good day (birthday). It allowed me to gather all the people I appreciate here in Montreal (even if some were missing).
Good news: I'm going to Bulgaria for two months this summer!!!!!! Internship stuff...

Rebirth

2005-03-15T22:59:00.000-05:00

I haven't written for a while but things have been pretty complicated here. It's alright now. Today was the kind of day where everything around you seems to change in a better way. While the previous days were just stress, anger and pain, today brought me relieve, peace and happiness. For stupid reasons I may say. But today they seemed important. After a mid-term exam, I left school around 10pm and I didn't feel like taking the subway. So I decided to walk for a while.
I put my headphones on and begin to listen to Felt Mountain of Goldfrapp. I walked during 45 minutes in Montreal's streets at night while some snow was falling from nowhere... It was just terrific. I felt nostalgic of Montreal whereas I haven't left it yet. But I know I'm going to miss this city. While some days I just hated it for being so vain and North American, I also fall in love with it because it's a metropolis but it feels good to live here nevertheless. I know I won't find this in France and I don't want to leave only for this.
Today was good.

2005-02-27T12:04:00.000-05:00

Little party yesterday night, the theme of the party was supposed to be "international". Unfortunately we ended up with only three of us dressed as pseudo international guys. My two roommates Seb (on the right) and Kevin (not here) were dressed as Afghan and Japanese. I've tried to be just European (in the 30s). I know it's not the best but I don't care, I've finished the party drunk and it was just good. Vodka vodka vodka.

2005-02-27T12:01:00.000-05:00

Me, trying ice-skating with more or less success...well, it was a good day. I will miss this kind of souvenir when I'll be back in France.

2005-02-27T11:58:00.000-05:00

Utopia from Felt Mountain (Goldfrapp)

What I'm listening to these days

2005-02-25T00:13:00.000-05:00

I don't care if you don't like.

-Afrodisiac (Brandy)
-Felt Mountain and Black Cherry (Goldfrapp)
-The diary of Alicia Keys (Alicia Keys)
-La marche de l'empereur (Emilie Simon)
-It's about time (Christina Milian)
-Production (Mirwais)

One of the best songs ever

2005-02-25T00:10:00.000-05:00

Goldfrapp : Utopia (Album: Felt Mountain)

"It’s a strange day
No colours or shapes
No sound in my head
I forget who I am
When I’m with you
There’s no reason
There’s no sense
I’m not supposed to feel
I forget who I am
I forget
Fascist baby
Utopia, utopia
My dog needs new ears
Make his eyes see forever
Make him live like me
Again and again
Fascist baby
Utopia, utopia
My dog needs new ears
I’m wired to the world
That’s how I know everything
I’m super brain
That’s how they made me
Fascist baby
Utopia, utopia"

Is Canada lost?

2005-02-16T01:15:00.000-05:00

Just because those sorts of things make me wonder why I love Canada:
1) Today, in my course of International Organizations, a student asked if FoxNews was left-wing...no comment.
2) Another one said that US television was a good means of information...what the fuck?
3) The teacher, even if he was opposed to this by principle, actually lobbied for the adoption by Canada of the US project of Missile Defense System (you know : the stuff that does not work and costs a lot). His argument : from an economic point of view (as Canadian exports go for 85% to the USA), Canada could not afford to refuse such a thing to the USA. The USA does not want Canada to pay, they just want it to morally accept the project...As they represent the main trade partner of Canada, as far as my teacher is concerned, the risk that the USA could economically punish Canada was a good reason for accepting the US "proposition". Who said Canada was a sovereign country?

2005-02-10T23:39:00.000-05:00

Just a new pic so as to change the old one of my profile...

French politics

2005-02-10T23:29:00.000-05:00

Another point this week struck me, this time in France.

Socialists are becoming crazy...the debate in France about the European Constitution (basically : for or against?) is leading to a divide of the Socialist Party. Even if this debate is also mixed with conflicts between politicians (who is the leader?), this fact is also true for the main right-wing party called UMP. As a matter of fact, the European debate is dividing the French political parties in two sides radically different...I don't know if they will be able to face these divisions : maybe it will just lead to the creation of new parties? I really don't know...the problem is that this confusion within the political world is all the more confusing for French people as the European debate is itself very complex.

Politics

2005-02-10T23:08:00.000-05:00

As I'm feeling more political these days, some things have struck me.

First this whole debate around Iran...is the main debate about the Iranian nuclear armamment itself or about this shitty try from the USA to renew with Europe? As usual, Europeans are using the diplomatic way and the USA are threatening Iran with military arguments. The question is, as far as I'm concerned : is this fact a proof of US imperialism again or a proof of European weakness? According to Le Monde, European diplomacy does not produce a lot of results as the European propositions done to Iran appear to be too unattractive to the Iranian government. So, the European countries involved in the process (Germany, UK and France) are asking for US support in the negotiations. Pb: the Usa actually refused this solution and prefer to threat Iran (its way to help diplomacy I guess). Iran does not seem to be willing to cooperate though and does not appreciate US threats according to the speeches of the Iranian president. As the USA could not afford to engage in military operations against Iran because of its current difficulties in Irak, I don't see the points of their threats. But a solution could be the European army. As diplomacy could not entirely work without coercitive means (not to be used but to serve as a dissuasive means), Iran just does not care of European diplomacy...if Europe has an operative European army (not yet the case), maybe Iran could take European propositions more seriously into account and this whole debate could be put to an end faster.

Fuck Science Po Paris...

2005-02-07T21:18:00.000-05:00

Sometimes, differences between some schools seem amazing... My French school is of the same type as the well-known Science Po Paris school (Insitute of Political Sciences, a harvest for NERDS) but the difference between my school and the one in Paris is called "prestige". While my school welcomes sometimes unknown French politicians, Science Po Paris will welcome soon Condoleezza Rice, the new US State secretary...

2005-02-06T18:13:00.000-05:00

Thinking of Vancouver, its landscapes and my best friend.

Do you speak French?

2005-02-02T22:18:00.000-05:00

If you visit the website http://www.tasante.com and if you speak French, you're going to be surprised! French language is dead...I don't want to appear old-school bourgeois French but French youth just doesn't know how to speak French anymore. The number of English terms and "verlan" words are just so numerous that it's getting hard (and funny by the same way) to understand. This website is full of shitty test on your sexuality like: "How many women are you going to fuck this next summer?". Amazing...The worst is that this site is supposed to be about health...

French paradox

2005-02-02T22:10:00.000-05:00

Preparing a paper about the European army that has been develeloping these last years, I realized that France is actually selling submarines to Pakistan! Great! So my country, this so-called home of human rights is selling warships to a dictatorship with nuclear power and a country which has always tensed relations with India... I just don't get it! Economy I guess is, one more time, superior to politics.

Should I stay or should I go?

2005-01-30T19:16:00.000-05:00

These days, I've been thinking more and more of stopping to depend financially on my parents. Given the fact that the relations between my parents are getting even more complicated and insane than before (summary: my father is an asshole with my mother) and given the fact that my father does not give a shit about what I'm doing in Canada, saying to him "fuck you, I'm not going to keep on having a relationship with you just for your fucking money".
I know this post could seem like a shitty complaint of a young wannabe-rebel teenager but I just need for my psychological health to get rid of any relation with my father for a certain period of time. Given the fact that I'm a burden for him (as he has made me understand it), it won't be a problem for him.
It'll be hard at the beginning but, as regards the French systems of sholarships, I could be able to survive without his help. A job will be required but that's not a pb. I just have to wait until I'm back in France...

While I was thinking about this, I just realized that Family is a burden that society does not help you to get rid of. As soon as you want to study, you rely on your parents in an important part (if not the entire part): financial help for the State are determined in function of your parent's wealth even if they're not giving you money anymore (!) and it's a fucking long process for being recognized at independent from your Family and then have some financial support from the State. I've always hated family values because they're so conventional and imposed upon oneself since one's childhood that they're nothing but tyranny. The point is maybe that family is the place where each of us could be (except for some) his/herself and it is therefore the place where the lowest human behaviours could be expressed.

Canadian disapointment

2005-01-24T19:00:00.000-05:00

These days have been the occasion of a reevaluation of my perception of Canadian culture.
First I have learned that 1 young people upon 3 in Quebec is analphabet or quasi-analphabet. I was just shocked.
Second, I learn today that only 40% of Canadians, according to a study of the Institute of Canadian Studies, are able to say how many people died in the nazi death camps. And only 70% actually know that Jews were the first targets of the Holocaust.
What is wrong with that country? I thought before coming to Canada that it was one of the most important supporting country for education. Seemingly, this is not true. Maybe the problem is eslewhere. As education does not depend on the federal state but on provinces, one could suppose that it is the responsability and the fault of each state if its population does not know enough. But it's Canadian interest to have a properly educated population.
Well, I was just highly disapointed.

Is the United Nations useless?

2005-01-18T23:58:00.000-05:00

This is the question I had to ask myself after my course about International Organizations. The teacher is supposed to learn us how these organizations work and what they are actually doing but it turned into a harsh criticism of the United Nations as a useless organization. The teacher pointed out that it has permitted the avoidance of another Global War but he was seemingly convinced that, except for the symbolism of the institution, it was just pointless.
I just had a problem with that. It is true that the United Nations just sucked in a lot of conflicts. The last one was the Iraq War. The USA just refused to let the organization determine what they were supposed to do. It is also true that the UN troops are just sometimes easy targets for terrorists and rebels as they don't have any power.
However, these organizations are only what the States want them to become. It is indeed true that the UN should be reformed from an institutional point of view BUT if it does not work, it is only because countries such as the USA just do no respect the obligations written in the Charter of the UN. When they ratified the Treaty which created the UN, the USA acknowledged that they would respect the written duties of the Charter. Pb: they only respect that text when it advantages them. The problem is also that no country is courageous enough to say fuck to the USA, the only superpower of the world right now. One solution for some people is that we just have to wait for the appearance of other superpowers such as China, India or the European Union. But right now, it's the shit and the image of the UN does not deserve this destiny.
The UN is actually doing a lot through their different agencies such as the World Trade Organization that obliged for example the USA to stop its taxes upon importations of European iron (or coal?). The UNESCO and the UNICEF are other examples of successful organizations of the UN. I do believe that the world is better with the United Nations.

Sooooooo

2005-01-18T11:08:00.000-05:00

It's official: the official temperature in Montreal today is -23°C and the real temperature (including the effect of the wind) is -34°C!!!!!!! I'm going to stay home all day long and that's all...

Scissor sisters rule!

2005-01-17T14:46:00.000-05:00

The concert was just great! The band is soooo charismatic, especially the female singer and one of the guitarist. Their look was especially original and marvellous. If the 1st part of the show (the Japanese girl called MU) was cancelled, the Scissor Sisters were worth it. I just became fan, there is a whole disco side of the band which is not that obvious when listening to their album: just G-R-E-A-T and trash. I loved it!

Performance on Sunday!

2005-01-15T01:46:00.000-05:00

I'm going to see the Scissor Sisters on Sunday in Montreal! I'm so excited about it, I just can't wait. Their album was great and this band is all about performance. The first part of the show will be the work of a Japanese artist called Mu: she's totally fucked up seemingly, in an electro-manga aspect. Well, at least it will be great music, for once!

2005-01-15T01:39:00.000-05:00

Surprise...I finally decided to add something else to my pseudo-hype personality. I'm ok with it for the moment, and, for once, I loved the feeling to be pierced. I loved the relieving aspect of it.

Some people sometimes disturb me...

2005-01-12T20:44:00.000-05:00

I was in a café with a friend of mine yesterday and our conversation really disturbed me. The guy was falling in love and the way he told me that totally disturbed me. The fact is that I was happy for him because I just felt he hasn't had this sort of feeling for a very long time. But my point is that the fact that he was soooo sure about his feelings about the guy ("I love him"), even if their encounter was pretty new, really made me wonder about myself. I'm never sure of my feelings about someone when it comes to love (I hate this word probably because of the fact that I'm so unable of knowing what it does mean). I mean, I've never known what it is to be in love. I suppose I've been in love but I'm not sure of it, whereas my friend was saying he's in love with this guy he almost does not know. As far as I'm concerned, my relation with my ex I'm supposed to have loved and I'm still supposed to love is not that clear. I suppose I've loved him and I supposed I'm still loving him but I'm not sure of it. How do people know?

First day of school....

2005-01-10T20:01:00.000-05:00

Ooooof, first day of class and I've already met one French guy. Am I so unlucky? Is it written on my face that I'm French? Argh! Anyway, the program of the second semester seems to be cool even if I've decided to do homework as less as possible: Politics of Africa, International organisations, Italian and Representation of sexuality within art (this one is the interesting one, or is supposed to be interesting!). We'll see...

What am I supposed to do?

2005-01-09T16:07:00.000-05:00

Since some days, my heart does not know what to do. I have to find an internship after my academic year, here, in Montreal. Pb: I want to go to Italy like never before. I just want to finally know this country I feel attracted to without any reason. So? What should I do? Should I have an internship in Montreal because it's more practical or should I find something in Florence where maybe I'm going to spend 4 years of my life because there's a school there where I want to go? Aaaaaaaah! I think I'm going to try Florence...

I'm back from Vancouver

2005-01-05T13:48:00.000-05:00

I spent the majority of my holidays in Vancouver with Jessica, my best friend. As I could not find a single picture taken during these holidays of Jessica and me not drunk, I am not sure you will be able to see her. Well, I guess I will place a good-looking picture as she has hundreds of them despite the fact that she thinks she's not sexy (most ridiculous thought ever).
My vacations in Vancouver were ok: the city is great, clean and Jessica is living on Davie St ("the coolest place in town" according to her and the gay street by the way). My only problem with the city is its clean aspect. It's the same for the inhabitants: everybody is nice and polite but it's just not credible. You feel the city wants to free itself from this politeness that is too strict. Well, why do I say that? Because everybody there smokes pot, I don't think that this reflects a joy of living. It's the same feeling I have in Montreal: everybody is nice and polite on the one hand and, on the other hand, the suicide rate is just the highest in the world with Sweden I think. There's hypocrisy in this country that is subjective but everyone can feel it.
Anyway, despite this, Vancouver is a nice place to live...and to get drunk and stoned too! Despite the fact that I was sick the last days, I really appreciated these holidays. Thanks Jessica!

2004-12-17T23:10:00.000-05:00

It is amazing the power of the red colour sometimes, I do not have the same face with it...

2004-12-17T23:09:00.000-05:00

Thinking about my journey to Vancouver...I'm going to see my best friend Jessica there and it will be nothing but a lot of crazy fun.

2004-12-17T23:07:00.000-05:00

When you feel lost and do not know what to do...sometimes the best thing to do is trying to pretend to be an artist. I said try, ok?

Did you say queer rappers?

2004-12-09T18:50:00.000-05:00

Here is one of my essay, the more interesting one I think.

Queerness and Hip Hop culture

"I am a Negro faggot, if I believe what movies, TV and rap music say of me. My life is game for play. Because of my sexuality, I cannot be black. A strong, proud, 'Afrocentric' black man is resolutely heterosexual, not even bisexual."
- Marlon Riggs, Black Macho Revisited: Reflections of a SNAP! Queen, p.2

Hip hop culture, mainly through its must popular and known form, rap music, appears to be paradoxical. On the one hand, it seems to be progressive against racism as it emphasizes values such as Blackness (against racism), and, on the other hand, it represents also a regressive, or at least conservative element as it strongly condemns homosexuality. Of course, one should not over generalize as all rappers are not homophobes but homophobia appears to be, nevertheless, a strong aspect of Hip Hop.
The 1990s have seen the important development of hip hop, and rap music, as cultures coming from Black communities. Rappers aim at describing Black life within a racist system (such as the USA but not only, France is also concerned for example) and at denouncing the problems that Black people face in every day life. It is indeed a cultural reaction of Black populations to oppression. As such, rap music has developed and reinforced Black mainstream conceptions of a lot of issues, including sexuality and gender. The debate here is not to determine whether rap music is homophobic or not but rather, to determine why it is perceived as such. If one takes a close look at the lyrics of some songs of mainstream rappers such as Ice Cube, Eminem or Snoop Doggy Dogg, one can not deny that they are indeed homophobic as they use pejorative terms such as “faggots” and others. These examples have diffused the idea that hip hop is fundamentally homophobic. The question is why? As hip hop promotes a very masculine and stereotyped image of the Black male (Blackness), some authors such as Marlon Riggs have pointed out that this hyper masculine image, related to conceptions of Black manhood developed in the 1950 and 1960s during the civil rights period, does not allow any place for queerness as it is here understood as feminine, weak and in consequence, non-Black. Homosexuality is mainly perceived in Black communities as anti-Blackness because, still from this point of view, homosexuality is linked with femininity and emasculation. Here is the idea that Black and Queer are two incompatible identities.
However, very recently, some queer rappers have appeared in the USA and in Europe (mostly in Great Britain). The most famous is Caushun, a young rapper self-named as ‘the gay rapper’. Indeed, this phenomenon appears to be a strong challenge for hip hop culture because of its traditional rejection of homosexuality. This new trend has lead to the creation of a new term: “homo hop”. That is, hip hop by queer artists. Here is the mix of sexuality with music. The invention of such as term in itself proves that these artists represent an important novelty in the world of hip hop. Given the fact that hip hop is also a strong issue within the wider topic of race, homo hop concerns both the issues of sexuality and race.
This new phenomenon triggers off a lot of questions about rap music and its so-called homophobia. First of all, what are the oppressive mechanisms which concern hip hop and homo hop? Do they have to deal with them in different ways? How does homo hop interact with mainstream hip hop? The main point is to know how these two categories deal with the oppressive structures that are surrounding them.
First of all, queerness seems to share more common elements with hip hop than it could first seem, despite the strong homophobia present in this culture (I). Then, it appears that homo hop represents, paradoxically both a challenge to heteronormativity within hip hop, and continuity as it does not question some of its fundamental aspects (II) related to sexuality and gender such as sexism for example.

I. The Paradox of Hip Hop
While rap music and hip hop culture more generally speaking have developed a stereotypical image of Black masculinity (A), some aspects in these currents could be interpreted as homoerotic (B). It appears then that queerness and hip hop are both about resistance (C).
A. Homophobia

Black masculinity has been constructed, especially through discourses and theories developed during the civil rights movements of the 1950s and 1960s, as a hyper masculine identity with strong gender prejudices. Black bionationalism, as explained by Wesley Crichlow, has succeeded in marking Black male bodies with particularly gendered stereotypical notions. Indeed, Black theorists have emphasized upon the differentiation between the two genders, if one supposes that there are only two genders. As a consequence, what is feared in Black communities from Black queers is their ability to cross the boundaries between these two genders. In classic discourses, homosexuality (more than lesbianism as these discourses target men in this particularly patriarchal community) is therefore associated with the feminine. That is, the weak and the emasculate. Queers are perceived as a threat to blackness because, through their sexual activities with same-sex partners, they challenge this gender division. As a result, they are seen as betrayers of Black community: they are no more perceived as “real” Blacks as they do not fit the expected behaviour of their biological sex.
The argument of Afrocentricity is also a strong one in Black nationalist discourses so as to discredit homosexuality. The myth that homosexuality is a White disease brought by the European settlers as it did not exist in Africa before is often emphasized. As Professor Griff of the rap group Public Enemy has explained it in an interview:

You have to understand something. In knowing and understanding Black history, African history, there’s not a word in any African language which describes homosexual, y’understand what I’m saying? You would like to make them part of the community, but that’s something brand new to Black people.

Despite the fact that homosexual acts could probably occurred without any word identifying them as different, as a consequence Black queers are seen as betrayers, not only from a gender point of view as explained earlier, but also from a racial point of view because they are thought to be linked with White population. The fact that many Black queers “seek refuge” in gay and lesbian communities (mainly composed of White people) confirms this impression from this Black nationalist point of view.
Homophobia in hip hop comes mainly from these conception of Black manhood as this cultural movement comes itself from Black communities and is a mirror of their experiences and theories.

B. Hip Hop culture as homoerotic

In one of his articles, Touré develops a very interesting and original idea: he describes the homoerotic elements involved in rap music. He first points out that, as this musical style is a male one (female rappers are very few and devalued) rap music could be interpreted as “a very public celebration of intense black male-to-black male love”. If this love is not necessarily sexual, it is nevertheless a demonstration of male relationships. Emotions in rap music are in a dominant way a male concern and links between rappers (hatred or love) are extremely developed. Rappers often declare their attachment to their band and there are several rap groups in rap involving celebrities who do want to stay in these groups. The most famous are D12 (with Eminem), G-Unit (with 50 Cent), the Neptunes (with Pharrell Williams), Mos Def and so on.
Touré establishes a comparison between rappers and drag queens in their relation to performance. The approach of the body for example in rap concerts/videos and in drag queen shows could be compared: in both case there is a stylization of the body (in two opposite directions though) and gendered markers are emphasized as much as possible. From this point of view, hip hop could be seen as queer because it is based on the notion of performance. Queer people perform through the stylization of their bodies with specific kinds of gender-marked clothes for example. This phenomenon is the same in rap music: if one watches rap videos, the place of gender-marked symbols such as clothes have a huge importance in order to specifically mark the performers as masculine and Blacks. This brings to the idea that rappers and queers have, through performance, a common point: the resistance to oppression.

C. Resistances

Both hip hop and queerness, as performances, aim at weakening oppressive structures. The former targets racism or White supremacy while the latter targets heteronormativity or heterosexual supremacy. The main problem appears that their struggles, while laying on the same model (performance of the body), are likely to develop oppositions. While hip hop attacks racism, via its strong prejudices upon Black masculinity it also reinforces heteronormativity. And queerness is also likely to develop some forms of racism. So these movements could become in conflict on these issues. This is due to the fact that each focuses on the criterion that is fundamental for its oppression: race for Black individuals and sexuality for queer people. This focus on only one element of oppression leads to the exclusion of other categories of oppressed people, mainly those who have several identities such as Black queers.
As Doug Norman underlines it, both homo hop (queer hip hop) and hip hop represent disidentification processes, in Muñoz’s sense, through performance. Trough their actions, these artists create what Muñoz calls ‘minoritarian counterpublic spheres”. That is to say that, through their performance, hip hop artists for example challenge traditional ideas about Black people: the idea is to deconstruct racist ideas by exposing themselves. The same is true for queer rappers: through their simple presence, first, and their work, then, they aim at deconstructing received ideas on both queerness and hip hop. They demonstrate that hip hop is not intrinsically homophobic with their presence. They deconstruct prejudices upon queerness in Black populations because they adopt masculine attitudes, contrary to the idea in Black nationalist theories that gay people are weak and effeminate. By doing so, they prove that rappers could be both queer and Black (in the nationalist meaning of this world). The only problem of this approach is that it does not challenge these structures of thinking that are at the base of oppression (see next chapter).

Given this paradoxical character of hip hop culture toward queerness, homo hop, this brand new trend in hip hop music represents both a strong challenge to the hip hop world and, paradoxically reinforces oppressive structures present in hip hop culture.

II. The paradox of Homo Hop

While homo hop appears to be an interesting example of a subculture within another subculture strongly challenging traditions (A), homo hop seems to be paradoxically very respective of oppressive cultural structures within rap music such as sexism (B). Finally, the economic aspects of this new trend highlight some interesting elements of this subculture (C).

A. A strong challenge to hip hop

By their simple presence in hip hop, queer artists challenge the idea that queerness and hip hop culture are not compatible, that the two identities exclude each other. Homo hop constitutes the perfect example of the reappropriation of a mainstream concept by a minoritarian group. In this case, Black queers adapt hip hop to their own values and transform it in ‘homo hop’. There, one element of oppression of Black queers (rap music) is transformed as a support for queer rappers such as Caushun or Dutchboy so as to express themselves. Surprisingly these movements of resistance in rap culture not only come from boys but also from some girls such as Queen Pen who created the first lesbian rap song. Seemingly, such polemical actions by women in rap are less taken into account, probably because it is a male-dominated society where women have no (or almost no) place.
The appearance of queer artists in rap music is a strong refusal of the concepts of Black bionationalism. As Black queers are investing rap music, a strong component of Black identity, they affirm their ‘blackness’, different from the oppressive definitions of Black nationalist discourses but blackness still. They then reject the racist idea that homosexuality is a White disease. In the same way, by being very masculine in their performances, they deconstruct prejudices according to which queerness is effeminacy and weakness. Here, the notion of style appears to be decisive: behaviour, clothing, music are components of this concept. As Dick Hebdige explains it:

The meaning of subculture is, then, always in dispute, and style is the area in which the opposing definitions clash with most dramatic force…it ends in the construction of a style, in a gesture of defiance or contempt, in a smile or a sneer. It signals a Refusal.

Homo hop could be seen as one symbol of resistance to oppression from the Black queer community toward the more general Black community.

B. Traditional clichés

While on the one hand homo hop appears as a challenge to hip hop, on the other hand it could be interpreted as a very conservative and traditional performance of hip hop. Indeed, if one took a close look at the way queer rap artists performs on scene, they do not question the traditional codes of clothing and behaviours which characterize mainstream rappers. By doing so, queer rappers do not seem to challenge other oppressive structures than sexual oppression. For example, by accepting and emphasizing the hyper masculine aspect of gay male rappers, queer artists imply a strong distinction between men and women has to be maintained. Therefore, sexist codes in hip hop are not challenged. So, if from a queer point of view, queer hip hop appears challenging, from a feminist point of view, it could be seen as conservative as regular hip hop. They succeed in questioning sexual oppression but not gender oppression. This triggers off the question of legitimacy and representation.
Are current queer rappers representative of Black queer populations? If Caushun named himself “the gay rapper”, some protests have been expressed by other rappers: by using “the”, Caushun reduces the Black rap community to him. But, of course, as queers, rappers have a lot of different personalities to perform. The main characteristic of queerness is its diversity: one could not reduce it to a style, an attitude. The queer rap community seems to offer such diversity. The fact that Caushun is not present in GHH (Gay Hip Hop) group may be interpreted as a refusal of any generalization on queer rap.

C. Economic aspects

Homo hop is both a social and an economic phenomenon as it occurs in the music industry. As a brand new phenomenon, homo hop is likely to become surrounded like its mainstream counterpart in an important economic system of marketing. This fact, combined with the increasing importance of the concept of ‘pink money’ and of the gay niche market may be the reasons for a foreseeable economic development of this particular market. This issue is important because, as marketing is the image-maker of artists, queer rappers will have an important part of their public image determined by it. How are the record companies going to make gay rappers selling? As a polemical subject, gay rappers are likely to have access to press and to some publicity. Paradoxically, one could be surprised that the artistic productions of these artists seem quite hard to obtain, except via their websites. So, even if gay rap represents a strong commercial potential, it seems that they are not as helped as one could first think. If these artists interest because they represent a polemical phenomenon, one gets the feeling that their work is not valued. Does this fact implies that the polemical aspect submerge the production of queer artists? It is too early to answer this question yet.

As a conclusion, homo hop appears to be a very interesting phenomenon because of the issues it gathers. Homo hop is new and underground today but one could imagine that it would soon become a popular music, like a lot of musical styles such as disco which came from Black queer communities. Nevertheless, its role concerning the oppressive structures in Black communities such as homophobia and sexism should be carefully taken into account.

Sources:

1) http://www.phatfamily.org/dadislist.html ‘Da Dis List’: created by Phat Family (rap group), this list repertories all the homophobic lyrics in hip hop/rap songs.
2) Buller Men and Batty Bwoys: Hidden Men in Toronto and Halifax Communities, Wesley Crichlow, University of Toronto, 2004.
3) Hip Hop Comes Out, Derrick Mathis, The Advocate, May 13th 2003.
4) Black Macho Revisited: Reflections of a SNAP! Queen by Marlon Riggs, in Traps: African American Men on Gender and Sexuality (edited by Rudolph P. Byrd and Beverly Guy-Sheftall, Indian University Press, 2001).
5) Hip Hop’s Closet: A Fanzine Article Touches a Nerve by Touré, in The Greatest Taboo: Homosexuality in Black Communities (edited by Delroy Constantine-Simms, 2001).
6) The Identity Politics of Queer Hip Hop by Doug Norman (www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~norman/papers/QueerHipHop.pdf)
7) http://www.thegayrapper.com/, website of Caushun
8) http://www.gayhiphop.com, website of a union of queer rappers
9) A Feisty Female Rapper Breaks a Hip-Hop Taboo by Laura Jamison, The New York Times, January 18th 1998. In The Greatest Taboo: Homosexuality in Black Communities (edited by Delroy Constantine-Simms, 2001).
10) Subculture : The Meaning of Style by Dick Hebdige, London: Routledge, 1988.

Oops...bad day

2004-12-08T13:38:00.000-05:00

3 days ago was the worst day since I've been in Montreal.
I did not almost die but, anyway, it was a REALLY bad day.
It began well however: I had a nice lunch with a guy of my university I met on the Internet. The day before I spent 1H30 on the phone with him, quite impressive for me (especially in English!). Anyway, he was very nice and I had a really good morning thanks to him.
Then I went to the health services of my university as I was feeling that I was not really good. Indeed I was scraching myself more than usual (not that I scrach myself a lot but...oooh). And, guess what? The doctor (a nice one by the way) told me that I had...itch (or scabies, I don't know the exact term)! I guess that I get it when I was in NYC, the hotel was not of the best hygiene. Anyway, second bed news: when I came back home, I had a love letter from my ex-boyfriend with whom I've stayed four months, quite great for me...
So, really great!
Anyway, I'm feeling better in spite of all the work I have to do for the exams but let me tell U sth:
I believe love is one of the more oppressive concepts coined by mankind for mankind. Given the number of people who suffer from this feeling, those who do not know what it is and so on, it could seem surprising that this invention has not become obsolete. The notion of "true love" developed during the 19th century, despite the partial success of the sexual revolution of the 1960s and 1970s has still a strong influence on our behaviours and our life expectations. Why? We should be able to get rid of it but, no, we are made always reminded that LOVE is everywhere and has to be everywhere! Look around you, if this is no oppression, then what is it? Movies, music, ads, books, public policies, and so on are conditioning us in a very strong way. And, no matter what is your religion, your identity (sexual, racial, gender, blabla), you just CAN'T escape it. Isn't this scaring? I wish I could.

2004-12-03T14:49:00.000-05:00

First day of snow in Montreal two days ago...it was both beautiful and depressing. Today, it's -10 degrees (celsius of course). Well, I won't say I don't enjoy some snow but I don't like the ice just under it. Montreal is so full of surprises... Anyway, I will try to survive.

2004-12-02T01:48:00.000-05:00

Hey! I'm back, I have finally access to the Internet once more. I'm doing many research essays these days and I will be able to put them on the internet soon hopefully. Maybe some will interest you. They are for the most part related to queer theory and other studies on sexuality.

Oops...

2004-11-24T16:09:00.000-05:00

I'm sorry, as I don't have access to the Internet at home, my posts have been rare these times. Despite the fact that I'm not an administrative organization:
"We are sorry to inform you that the service could not be provided because of a failure of the system. Please, try later."
Lot of work these times, I'll be back when I'll have done all this homework (research essays...).

Journey to NYC

2004-11-10T01:28:00.000-05:00

New York city was, as I've already said it, impressive. All these buildings: Empire State Building, Trump Tower, Chrysler Building, and so on. The French word that could best applied to this city is "grandiose". One could easily feel all the prestige and the power of New York while entering Manhattan via Brooklyn Bridge. I have just a little problem with this: one could also feel that this aspect of the city does not hide sth more interesting behind. I mean, the "bling bling" aspect of the city seems to be the only one. New York is looking for a history and this is obvious. The city has a soul, this is not the problem. But it's brand new and the historic side of European cities is missing. Maybe it's because I'm European and used to these historical backgrounds of all the cities I've lived in, but I really felt sth was missing and that NYC itself felt it. Like the city is searching for some sort of legitimization through an history that does not exist yet. It's obvious while visiting the MET: most of the collection comes from the Old World. The city that never sleeps feels maybe alone in its bed.

2004-11-10T00:21:00.000-05:00

What I believe in. I know this sentence is naive but, except the European Union, the UN are the organization that I respect the most. Of course, its inefficiency for peace-keeping is well-known but its activities through the UNESCO for example is all the more respectable. And at least, the UN are one of the rare organizations that care about AIDS.

2004-11-10T00:18:00.000-05:00

I must say I've never seen so many US flags before. Everywhere, it was unbelievable. I'm sick of it now! It's quite disturbing for an European guy to see so many symbols of nationalism in a Western country as European countries have, for the most, stopped to be nationalist as this idea is associated to extreme right-wing parties.

2004-11-10T00:15:00.000-05:00

The Metropolitan Art Museum was one of the best visits I've done. Its collection is quite impressive. I have mostly visited the Egyptian sectian and the European section composed of paintings for the most part. Favourite ones: David, El Greco, Panini (I didn't know it before, this Italian painter is impressive, its paintings are full of amazing details, especially the one representing the "Basilique St Pierre de Rome"). Some culture in the heart of NYC, it feels good to me.

2004-11-10T00:11:00.000-05:00

The symbol of freedom, this present offered by France to American people a long time ago...It makes me sad when I think at what the USA has become compared to what they symbolized a few years ago...The American dream, politically speaking (because the economically speaking, the American dream still exists), does not exist anymore.

Yasser Arafat

2004-11-05T11:13:00.000-05:00

As you probably heard it, the President of the Palestinian Authority, Yasser Arafat, is in France for health treatments, and, according to the media, he is about to die. According to French doctors, he was yesterday in a state of "mort cerebrale" (brain death?). This event triggers off many issues: who is going to lead the Palestinian government? How Israel and their supporter, the USA, will react? Does this announced death represent a chance for a political solution to the conflict between the Palestinian people and the Israelis or is it the beginning of a more important political chaos?
While the more important part of North-American press is focusing on the US presidential elections, one must not underestimate the importance of such a death, if he really dies. The Middle-East is the most "hot" place in the world these days. The events that occur in the Palestinian territories are likely to have a huge impact on the whole region.

Good beginning...

2004-11-05T10:51:00.000-05:00

Sometimes, things just do not make any sense and you can do absolutely nothing against it... this morning for example: arriving in my classroom, I realize that I have no course or maybe the course is somewhere else? As I have a paper to give on this day, I check gmail in order to see if the teacher emailed me or something...gmail does not work this morning! Such a surprise! Aaaaah! I'm supposed to go to NYC in a few hours, I hope the end of the day will be better than the beginning.
I think I have a theory for such events: "bad news never come alone". We'll see if the reality confirms the theory.

Me, myself and I

2004-11-04T23:37:00.000-05:00

As I am quite narcissist (at least I acknowledge it!), I will put some pics of me sometimes... This one is not the best but it's good enough...I hope. Others will follow soon! And, yes!, I will really try to be less self-centred but that's harder than I first thought.

2004-11-04T23:23:00.000-05:00

Zazie..classy, isn't it? You could check her website for more information, it is quite weird but you could listen to her last song "rodéo" : http://www.zazieonline.artistes.universalmusic.fr/ (Ze web).

2004-11-04T23:19:00.000-05:00

By the way: my three lovely roommates...

American Dream

2004-11-04T11:48:00.000-05:00

In spite of the results of the presidential elections within the USA, I have decided to go to NYC this week-end, one of my dreams. I am going to the part of the country which voted mainly for Kerry at least... I hope to find in new work interesting people (that is, no Texans) . Well, maybe I will be able to take some photographies of the city and post them on this blog. Soooo excited. I'm going there with European people...as Bush has been reelected, I hope France (me!) will be able to go through the border between Canada and the USA...

P.S: Don't expect me to comment on the US elections, I am already angry about that shit! No comment... Americans are definitely stupid, for the main part at least. How could they legitimate the errors of the Bush administration. I'm thinking of the persons who have encouraged to vote against Bush like Michael Moore or Madonna. They maybe will emigrate...I would do that I think if I was American.

New album

2004-11-04T02:03:00.000-05:00

The new album "Rodéo" of Zazie, a French artist who is becoming more and more electro in her sounds, will be available (only in France for the moment unfortunately) this month. Her realizations are less made for the radio than before and this is maybe a good point. Her texts were her more important argument before but as she moving towards electro music, the result is more than great. I'm totally fan and I invite you to discover one of the more important artists.

Like a virgin

2004-11-04T01:18:00.000-05:00

Since I am in Canada for the academic year (studies related to sexuality) and as I feel comfortable enough with my English now, maybe this is the right time to begin a blog about Queer issues, European politics, Arts, and so on. I hope you will not be disapointed.