The front homosexuel d'action révolutionnaire ( en, Homosexual Front for Revolutionary Action) (FHAR) was a loose Parisian movement founded in 1971, resulting from a union between lesbian

feminists Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male poi ...

and gay activists. If the movement could be considered to have leaders, they were

Guy Hocquenghem Guy Hocquenghem (; 10 December 1946 – 28 August 1988) was a French writer, philosopher, and queer theorist. Biography Hocquenghem was born in the suburbs of Paris and was educated at the Lycée Lakanal in Sceaux and the Ecole Normale Supéri ...

and Françoise d'Eaubonne, while other members included

Christine Delphy Christine Delphy (born 1941) is a French feminist sociologist, writer and theorist. Known for pioneering materialist feminism, she co-founded the French women's liberation movement (Mouvement de Libération des Femmes, or MLF) in 1970 and the j ...

Daniel Guérin Daniel Guérin (; 19 May 1904, in Paris – 14 April 1988, in Suresnes) was a French libertarian-communist author, best known for his work '' Anarchism: From Theory to Practice'', as well as his collection ''No Gods No Masters: An Anthology of ...

, and Laurent Dispot. It had disappeared by 1976. Surviving early activists also include painter and surrealistic photographer Yves Hernot, now living in Sydney, Australia. The FHAR are known for having given radical visibility to homosexuals during the 1970s in the wake of student and proletarian uprisings of 1968, which had given little space to the liberation of women and homosexuals. Breaking with older homosexual groups which were more hidden and sometimes conservative, they asserted the subversion of the

bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...

and

hetero Heterosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction or sexual behavior between people of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to ...

–

patriarchal Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of Dominance hierarchy, dominance and Social privilege, privilege are primarily held by men. It is used, both as a technical Anthropology, anthropological term for families or clans controll ...

state, as well as the inversion of chauvinistic and homophobic values common of the

left Left may refer to: Music * ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006 * ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016 * "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996 Direction * Left (direction), the relative direction opposite of right * L ...

and

extreme left Far-left politics, also known as the radical left or the extreme left, are politics further to the left on the left–right political spectrum than the standard political left. The term does not have a single definition. Some scholars consider ...

. The outrageous aspect (vis-à-vis the authorities) of the male sexual encounters which were held, and the increasing prevalence of the men (which inevitably gradually obscured the feminist questions and lesbian voices), eventually brought about the group's disintegration. In its wake appeared the Groupe de libération homosexuelle (GLH) and the

Gouines rouges The ''Gouines Rouges'' ("Red Dykes") are a French radical feminist lesbian movement. The Gouines Rouges were founded in April 1971, out of a wish to assert themselves within both the feminist movement and the homosexual movement, and the fear th ...

within the Mouvement de Libération des Femmes (MLF).

Birth and beginning

The group was originally formed by an alliance of feminists of the MLF and lesbians coming from the association

Arcadie The Association Arcadie, or simply Arcadie, was a French homophile organization established in the early 1950s by André Baudry, an ex-seminarian and philosophy professor. Miller, Neil. Out of the Past: Gay and Lesbian History from 1869 to the Pres ...

, who were joined by homosexuals in February 1971. But the trigger would be a poster of "Comité d'action pédérastique révolutionnaire" (English: ''Committee of Revolutionary Pederastic Action'') posted at the Sorbonne during May 1968. The group organized meetings at the

École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts The Beaux-Arts de Paris is a French ''grande école'' whose primary mission is to provide high-level arts education and training. This is classical and historical School of Fine Arts in France. The art school, which is part of the Paris Science ...

in Paris. On 5 March 1971, the group interrupted a meeting against the right of

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

, and on 10 March it attracted public attention by disturbing and stopping a broadcast of Ménie Gregoire on the topic of the homosexuality being broadcast on Radio Luxembourg. The name which they gave themselves, "Front Homosexuel d'Action Révolutionnaire", reduced to

initialism An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

FHAR, was nevertheless registered officially as "Fédération Humaniste Anti-Raciste". The group also communicated through the

leftist Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

newspaper, ''Tout''. It asserted the

sexual freedom A sexual norm can refer to a personal or a social norm. Most cultures have social norms regarding sexuality, and define ''normal sexuality'' to consist only of certain sex acts between individuals who meet specific criteria of age, consanguinity ...

of all individuals. A declaration refers to Manifeste des 343 salopes (English:

Manifesto of the 343 sluts The Manifesto of the 343 (), was a French petition signed by 343 women "who had the courage to say, 'I've had an abortion. It was an act of civil disobedience, since abortion was illegal in France, and by admitting publicly to having aborted, they ...

): This work was seized by the

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

, and the director of publication,

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and litera ...

, was prosecuted. However, the FHAR dropped in on the

Constitutional Council Constitutional Council might refer to: * Constitutional Council (Chad) * Constitutional Council (France) * Constitutional Council (Ivory Coast) * Constitutional Council (Sri Lanka) * Constitutional Council (Cambodia) * Constitutional Council (Kaz ...

to declare the attacks on

freedom of expression Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...

unconstitutional, and in July 1971 the investigation was stopped. FHAR denounced heterosexism and the medicalization of homosexuality. In 1971, they disturbed the international Congress of

sexology Sexology is the scientific study of human sexuality, including human sexual interests, behaviors, and functions. The term ''sexology'' does not generally refer to the non-scientific study of sexuality, such as social criticism. Sexologists app ...

in Sanremo. They also intervened in

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

political meetings, in particular with Mutualité where

Jacques Duclos Jacques Duclos (2 October 189625 April 1975) was a French Communist politician who played a key role in French politics from 1926, when he entered the French National Assembly after defeating Paul Reynaud, until 1969, when he won a substantial p ...

said to them: "Allez vous faire soigner, bande de pédérastes, le PCF est sain!" (English: Go get yourself cured, you band of pederasts; the PCF is healthy!)

Dissension

The growing power of men in the group led many women of the FHAR to break off, forming the

splinter group in June 1971 ("gouines" is slang French for "Lesbian"), with the aim of fighting more against

sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers primari ...

and it

male chauvinism Chauvinism is the unreasonable belief in the superiority or dominance of one's own group or people, who are seen as strong and virtuous, while others are considered weak, unworthy, or inferior. It can be described as a form of extreme patriotism ...

androcracy Androcracy is a form of government in which the government rulers are male. The males, especially fathers, have the central roles of political leadership, moral authority, and control of property. It is also sometimes called a phallocracy or and ...

. Other groups became conspicuous: Gazolines, the newspapers ''Fléau social'' and ''Antinorm''. They still published a ''Rapport contre la normalité'' in 1971 (reed. QuestionDeGenre/GKC, 2013) and one thick special number of the review ''

Research Research is "creativity, creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular att ...

'' directed by Félix Guattari in 1973. All these groups were, however, recognized under the slogans of the FHAR ("Prolétaires de tous les pays, caressez-vous !" / ''Workers of the world, caress yourselves!'' ("caressez-vous" also being a French slang expression meaning "to masturbate"), "Lesbiennes et pédés, arrêtons de raser les murs !" / ''Lesbians and fags, let us stop keeping a low profile'') and the fight against the "hétéro-flics" (

– cops).

Decline and posterity

Members of the group started to leave:

because of excesses by Gazolines on the occasion of the burial of a

Maoist Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Ch ...

killed by a vigilante in 1972, but also Françoise d'Eaubonne, who saw it as no longer anything but a place for flirting. The police banned the meetings at the école des Beaux-Arts in February 1974, and FHAR gave up its spectacular actions. The FHAR has descendants. Its claims, quite different from the call for social tolerance by the group

Arcadie Club The Association Arcadie, or simply Arcadie, was a French homophile organization established in the early 1950s by André Baudry, an ex-seminarian and philosophy professor. Miller, Neil. Out of the Past: Gay and Lesbian History from 1869 to the Pres ...

, were followed by homosexual associations and groups in the 1980s, such as Universités d’été euroméditerranéennes des homosexualités and Comité d'Urgence Anti-Répression Homosexuelle (CUARH) in 1979, or the magazine ''

Gai pied ''Gai pied'' or ''Gai pied hebdo'' was a monthly, then weekly (hence the name Hebdo), French gay magazine, founded by Jean Le Bitoux. Its name, which literally means "Gay foot", is a homophone of ''guêpier'', which means a hornet's nest or, figur ...

''. The movement's radicalism and high politicisation were also taken up by

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

movements in the 1990s, inspiring in part the current

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Beginning in the lat ...

movement in the United States of America and France.Le Zoo, ''Q comme queer'', Lille, GKC, 1998.

References

* ''Bleu, blanc, rose'' (2000), documentary by Yves Jeuland on the French gay movement * ''My Super 8 Season Ma saison super 8'' (2005), directed by Alessandro Avellis (2005), a drama inspired by the FHAR * ''The revolution of desire La révolution du désir'' (2006), documentary directed by Alessandro Avellis

Bibliography

Stemming from FHAR

« Libre disposition de notre corps »
''Tout'', n° 12, 23 avril 1971. * FHAR, ''Rapport contre la normalité'', Paris, Champ libre, 1971. Reed. QuestionDeGenre/GKC, 2013.
Dossier « Trois milliards de pervers. Grande encyclopédie des homosexualités »
''Recherches'', mars 1973.

On the FHAR

* Jacques Girard, ''Le Mouvement homosexuel en France, 1945-1981'', Paris, Syros, 1981. * * ''Masques, revue des Homosexualités'', n°9/10, Paris, 1981. * Françoise d'Eaubonne, « Le FHAR, origines et illustration », ''la Revue h'', n° 2, 1996. * Didier Eribon, « FHAR », ''Dictionnaire des cultures gays et lesbiennes'', Larousse, 2003. * Michael Sibalis
« Gay Liberation Comes to France: The Front Homosexuel d’Action Révolutionnaire (FHAR) »
''French History and Civilization'', 2005.