The Front homosexuel d'action révolutionnaire () (FHAR) was a loose Parisian movement founded in 1971, resulting from an alliance between

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. 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 nouns with female homosexu ...

feminists Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

and

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

male activists. The movement had no official leaders, but

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, France, and was educated at the Lycée Lakanal in Sceaux and the Ecole Norm ...

and

Françoise d'Eaubonne Françoise d'Eaubonne (; 12 March 1920 – 3 August 2005) was a French author, labour rights activist, environmentalist, and feminist. Her 1974 book, ''Le Féminisme ou la Mort'', introduced the term ecofeminism. She co-founded the Front homos ...

were among its most prominent representatives, while other members included Christine Delphy,

Daniel Guérin Daniel Guérin (; 19 May 1904 – 14 April 1988) 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 Anarchism'' in which h ...

, and . It had disappeared by 1976. Surviving early activists also include painter and surrealist photographer Yves Hernot, now living in Sydney, Australia. The FHAR was known for giving radical visibility to homosexuals during the 1970s in the wake of student and proletarian uprisings of 1968, which had given little consideration to the liberation of women and homosexuals. Breaking with older homosexual groups, which kept a lower profile and were sometimes conservative, they asserted the subversion of the

bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and Aristocracy (class), aristocracy. They are tradition ...

and hetero–

patriarchal Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of authority are primarily held by men. The term ''patriarchy'' is used both in anthropology to describe a family or clan controlled by the father or eldest male or group of males, and in fem ...

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

, as well as the inversion of chauvinistic and

homophobic Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...

values common on the

left Left may refer to: Music * ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006 * ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016 * ''Left'' (Helmet album), 2023 * "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996 Direction * Left (direction), the relativ ...

and

far left Far or FAR may refer to: Government * Federal Acquisition Regulation, US * Federal Aviation Regulations, US * Florida Administrative Register, US Military and paramilitary * Rebel Armed Forces (Spanish: '), a defunct guerilla organization ...

. The outrageous behavior (from the authorities' point of view) at the male sexual encounters held by the group and the increasing prevalence of men (which inevitably distracted from feminist and lesbian issues), eventually brought about the group's disintegration. In its wake appeared the (GLH) and the

Gouines rouges The ''Gouines Rouges'' ("Red#Use by political movements, Red Dyke (slang), Dykes") are a French people, French radical feminism, radical feminist lesbian movement. The Gouines Rouges were founded in April 1971, out of a wish to assert themselves w ...

within 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 mov ...

(MLF).

Birth and beginning

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

Arcadie The Association Arcadie, or simply Arcadie, was a French homophile movement, homophile organization established in the early 1950s by André Baudry, an ex-seminarian and philosophy professor.Neil Miller (writer), Miller, Neil. Out of the Past: Gay ...

organization, who were joined by gay men in February 1971. The foundations for an organization had been laid when posters for the "Comité d'action pédérastique révolutionnaire" (English: ''Committee of Revolutionary

Pederastic Pederasty or paederasty () is a sexual relationship between an adult man and an adolescent boy. It was a socially acknowledged practice in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, Rome and elsewhere in the world, such as Homosexuality in Japan#Pre-Mei ...

Action'') were put up at the Sorbonne during May 1968. The group organized meetings at the

École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in nor ...

in Paris. On 5 March 1971, the FHAR interrupted a meeting against the right to

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

, and on 10 March it attracted public attention by disrupting and stopping a

Radio Luxembourg Radio Luxembourg was a multilingual commercial broadcaster in Luxembourg. It is known in most non-English languages as RTL (for Radio Television Luxembourg). The English-language service of Radio Luxembourg began in 1933 as one of the earlies ...

broadcast by Ménie Gregoire on the topic of

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...

. The name they gave themselves, "Front homosexuel d'action révolutionnaire", with the

initialism An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial letter of each word in all caps wi ...

FHAR, was registered officially as "Fédération Humaniste Anti-Raciste". They 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 age criteria, nonconsangui ...

of all individuals. The group also communicated through the leftist newspaper '. A statement by the group published in the paper's twelfth issue referred to the

Manifesto of the 343 The Manifesto of the 343 Women () is a French petition penned by Simone de Beauvoir, and signed by 343 women, all publicly declaring that they had had an illegal abortion. The manifesto was published under the title, "" (), on 5 April 1971, in iss ...

, a 1971 petition signed by 343 women publicly declaring that they had had an abortion, then illegal in France: 10,000 copies of ''Tout !'' were seized by the police due to the contributions from the FHAR it contained, and the publication's editor,

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary criticism, literary critic, considered a leading figure in 20th ...

, was prosecuted. However, the FHAR dropped in on the Constitutional Council 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 rights, right to freedom of expression has been r ...

unconstitutional, and in July 1971 the investigation was closed. The FHAR denounced

heterosexism Heterosexism is a system of attitudes, bias, and discrimination in favor of heterosexuality and heterosexual relationships. According to Elizabeth Cramer, it can include the belief that all people are or should be heterosexual and that hetero ...

and the

medicalization Medicalization is the process by which human conditions and problems come to be defined and treated as medical conditions, and thus become the subject of medical study, diagnosis, prevention, or treatment. Medicalization can be driven by new evi ...

of homosexuality. In 1971, they disrupted the international Congress of

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

Sanremo Sanremo, also spelled San Remo in English and formerly in Italian, is a (municipality) on the Mediterranean coast of Liguria, in northwestern Italy. Founded in Roman times, it has a population of 55,000, and is known as a tourist destination ...

. They also intervened in

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

political meetings, in particular with Mutualité where

Jacques Duclos Jacques Duclos (; 2 October 189625 April 1975) was a French Communist politician and member of Communist International (Comintern) who played a key role in French politics from 1926, when he entered the French National Assembly after defeating ...

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

("Red Dykes") splinter group in June 1971, with the aim of combatting

sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but primarily affects women and girls. It has been linked to gender roles and stereotypes, and may include the belief that one sex or gender is int ...

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. The ''Encyclopaedia Britannica'' describes it ...

, and androcracy. Other groups became prominent, including ''Gazolines'' and the newspapers ''Fléau social'' and ''Antinorm''. They published a ''Rapport contre la normalité'' in 1971 and a thick special edition of the review ''

Research Research is 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 attentiveness to ...

'', edited by

Félix Guattari Pierre-Félix Guattari ( ; ; 30 March 1930 – 29 August 1992) was a French psychoanalyst, political philosopher, Semiotics, semiotician, social activist, and screenwriter. He co-founded schizoanalysis with Gilles Deleuze, and created ecosophy ...

, in 1973. All these were, however, recognized by the slogans of the FHAR ("Prolétaires de tous les pays, caressez-vous !" / ''Workers of the world, caress yourselves!'' ("caressez-vous" being a French slang expression meaning "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" ( hetero– cops).

Decline and legacy

The group began to lose members. Daniel Guérin left because of excesses by Gazolines during the funeral of a

Maoist Maoism, officially Mao Zedong Thought, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed while trying to realize a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic o ...

killed by a vigilante in 1972, while Françoise d'Eaubonne, who believed it had become nothing more than a place for flirting, also quit. The police banned the meetings at the École des Beaux-Arts in February 1974, and the FHAR gave up its publicity stunts. It was disbanded in the same month. Nevertheless, the FHAR left a substantial legacy. Its positions, quite different from the calls for social tolerance by the Acardie association, were taken up 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, and 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, fig ...

''. The movement's radicalism and politicisation also influenced

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

movements in the 1990s, partly inspiring the current

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...

movement in

the United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguou ...

and France.Le Zoo, ''Q comme queer'', Lille, GKC, 1998.

References

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

Bibliography

Stemming from the FHAR

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