The ''Gouines Rouges'' ("

Red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

Dykes") are a French

radical feminist Radical feminism is a perspective within feminism that calls for a Political radicalism, radical re-ordering of society in which male supremacy is eliminated in all social and economic contexts, while recognizing that women's experiences are al ...

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

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 that lesbians were in danger of disappearing.

History

In April 1971, the

Mouvement de libération des femmes The Mouvement de libération des femmes (MLF, ) is a French autonomous, single-sex feminist movement that advocates women's bodily autonomy and challenges patriarchal society. It was founded in 1970, in the wake of the American Women's Lib move ...

(MLF, "Women's Liberation Movement") had existed for two and a half years. Three hundred women who were coming regularly to its general 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 ...

then launched a campaign for free

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

birth control Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth contr ...

. The

Front homosexuel d'action révolutionnaire 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 and gay activists. If the movement could be con ...

(FHAR, "Homosexual Front for Revolutionary Action"), a radical movement rejecting reforms in favor of

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

that they deemed inadequate or timid, had been created a month earlier on the initiative of MLF activists and some members of the

homophile Terms used to describe homosexuality have gone through many changes since the emergence of the first terms in the mid-19th century. In English, some terms in widespread use have been sodomite, Achillean, Sapphic, Uranian, homophile, lesbian, g ...

organization

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 ...

. The "alliance between the MLF girls and the FHAR gays" seemed so obvious that no one questioned the FHAR's gender-mixing. Members of both movements felt victimized by "phallocracy" and wanted "the free disposition of

heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Officiall ...

body. " Anne-Marie Fauret, in issue #12 of the leftist newspaper ''Tout'', sums up this position: "Our place is at the intersection of movements that will free women and homosexuals. The power that we claim is our self-realization." But the appearance of ''Tout'' #12, in which gays and lesbians publicly spoke out in a far-left newspaper for the first time, tipped the balance between the sexes over to the male side. With men flocking to the FHAR, the lesbians felt marginalized, their number remaining substantially the same. Feminist activists felt dispossessed by the FHAR. Finally, the militant lesbians held a meeting against the FHAR's "

misogyny Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women. It is a form of sexism that is used to keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the societal roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practiced fo ...

" in the Beaux-Arts auditorium. Some fifty activists, aged between twenty and thirty-five, founded the Gouines rouges. The name was taken from the invective of a hostile passerby during a demonstration. The movement became known through leafleting at the entrances to women's clubs in the

Quartier Pigalle Pigalle () is an area in Paris around the Place Pigalle, on the border between the 9ème arrondissement, Paris, 9th and the 18ème arrondissement, Paris, 18th arrondissements. It is named after the sculpture, sculptor Jean-Baptiste Pigalle (1714� ...

and Chez Moune. In June 1971, a party at

Les Halles Les Halles (; 'The Halls') was Paris' central fresh food market. It last operated on January 12, 1973, after which it was "left to the demolition men who will knock down the last three of the eight iron-and-glass pavilions""Les Halles Dead at 200 ...

was organized "to celebrate with joy the beginning of our rebellion, to come out of our ghettos, to finally live our love in broad daylight." Shortly afterward, the group split off from the FHAR to rejoin the MLF, meeting as an informal discussion group. Concepts such as "becoming lesbian by political choice" were introduced or discussed there. The Gouines rouges asserted themselves within the MLF with "

happening A happening is a performance, event, or situation art, usually as performance art. The term was first used by Allan Kaprow during the 1950s to describe a range of art-related events. History Origins Allan Kaprow first coined the term "happen ...

s" in the general meetings, with themes like "Are lesbians women?" or "Our problem is yours too," or during the "Days of denunciation of crimes against women," held at the Maison de la Mutualité on May 14–15, 1972. Meetings of the Gouines rouges then became more infrequent, despite the encouragement of

Monique Wittig Monique Wittig (; July 13, 1935 – January 3, 2003) was a French author, philosopher and feminist theorist who wrote about abolition of the sex-class system and coined the phrase "heterosexual contract". Her seminal work is titled ''The Straigh ...

Membership

The group 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 ...

Marie-Jo Bonnet Marie-Josèphe Bonnet (born 1949 in Deauville) is a French specialist in the history of women, history of art, and history of lesbians. She has also published books in the history of the French resistance and occupation. Biography Academic career ...

, Dominique Poggi, Catherine Deudon, Évelyne Rochedereux, and Josiane Gamblain.

Bibliography

, « Les Gouines rouges », ''Ex-Aequo'' #11, October 1997. * Marie-Jo Bonnet, ''Les Deux amies'', Éditions Blanche, 2000.

References

{{Lesbian feminism Lesbian culture in Europe Lesbian feminist organizations Lesbian history Feminist organizations in France LGBT history in France LGBT organizations in France Organizations established in 1971 Radical feminist organizations Lesbian organizations based in France 1971 establishments in France