Arcadie

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The Association Arcadie, or simply Arcadie, was a French pro-homosexual organization established in the early 1950s by André Baudry, an ex-seminarian and philosophy professor.[1]

As homosexuality between adults had been decriminalized in France at the time of the Revolution, the main purpose of a pro-homosexual movement was to campaign to abolish the age of consent, to gratify ephebophiles and pedophiles, who dominated the group. Its leaders argued for legalizing pederasty and attacked age-of-consent laws.

From the mid-1950s until the mid-1970s, Arcadie played a role in the lives of French homosexuals as both a political and a social organization.[2]

Founding

The Association Arcadie was founded in 1954 by André Baudry, with the support of Jean Cocteau and Roger Peyrefitte. It was the first homophile group in French history.[1][3] The goal of the organization was "to present homosexuals as respectable, cultured, and dignified individuals deserving of greater social tolerance".[2] The Arcadie association also aimed to "educate adult homophiles, who, too weak and lacking knowledge, could not on their own live with dignity" through social activities and through its publication, Revue Arcadie.[2] Baudry was a conservative in politics, and did not like the word “homosexuel”. He agreed with André Gide that there were three types of homosexual, “the pederast, the sodomite and the invert” and the group campaigned to liberate all of them. Writing in the homosexual magazine, Gaie Pied, Baudry attacked the child protection laws, arguing that children were not always passive victims and paedophiles not always seducers. He asserted that there could be an equal relationship. Guy Hocquenghem also contributed similar ideas to Gaie Pied.[4]

Revue Arcadie

The Association Arcadie began publishing the literary review Arcadie: revue littéraire et scientifique, which became the most important French homosexual publication of its time, in January 1954,[5][6][7] though some sources claim that it began publication in 1957.[1][3][8] During its years of operation, Arcadie became popular amongst a number of prominent French intellectual figures; Jean Cocteau contributed a drawing of a boy to the first issue of the review.[1][6]

Revue Arcadie remained in continuous publication until 1982 when the laws regarding homosexual conduct were changed to be identical with those relating to heterosexual behavior.[9] Its emphasis on "dignity" and "respectability" lead the Revue Arcadie to be increasingly out-of-step with the more extremist organizations for homosexuals in France. The editors decided to cease publication.[10]

Club Arcadie

In 1957, the Club Arcadie secured a clubhouse in Paris,[1] from which it sponsored social gatherings, talks and cultural outings.[11]

The club strove to present homosexuals as conventional members of French society. Historian Michael Sibalis describes the belief of the group "that public hostility to homosexuals resulted largely from their outrageous and promiscuous behaviour; homophiles would win the good opinion of the public and the authorities by showing themselves to be discreet, dignified, virtuous and respectable."[12] As such, Arcadie prohibited overt demonstrations of romantic affection such as kissing on its dance floor.[1]

At various points in its history, Arcadie also sponsored activities in the French provinces and in Belgium. The Arcadie club was also known as the Club littéraire et scientifique des Pays Latins (CLESPALA) and the Paris-Club.[11]

Evolution and disbanding

The Club Arcadie disbanded in 1982 and publication of the Revue Arcadie ended shortly after age of consent for homosexual behavior was reduced to fifteen.[9]

In a final letter to the readers of Arcadie published in the May 15, 1982 issue, the leaders of the association explained their reasons for closing the club and ceasing publication of the review:[10]

[Arcadie], created in 1957, decided upon its dissolution during a gen-
eral meeting on May 13. The goals that each of us had fixed upon
[Arcadie's] creation have been a constant concern during its twenty=five
years of activity, and regardless of what has happened, they gener?
ally have been kept. Times have changed, far too much, some would
say. The painful declaration was made over the last months that this
club could no longer justify itself, from the time when it became for
most uniquely a space for pleasure, for frivolity, and for far too few a space for reflection, for courtesy, for respect, and for friendship. It was not created just to provide a better environment for unique weekend
dances. The so-called cultural activities are dead. Those of you in Paris
who are reading this, moreover, did NOTHING to maintain them by
participating even a little through your presence. . . . This world of
permissiveness, of irresponsibility, of frivolity, of obscenity - and the
homophile people beat the records in this sad domain - breaks down
our energies and makes the continuation of activities that no longer
correspond to those of the club's founders entirely futile. 

--quoted in Gunther (2004)

Bibliography

  • Jablonski, Olivier. « Arcadie », Dictionnaire des cultures gays et lesbiennes, Larousse, 2003.
  • Jackson, Julian. « Arcadie : sens et enjeux de « l'homophilie » en France, 1954-1982 », Revue d'histoire moderne et contemporaine, No. 53-4, 2006.
  • Jackson, Julian T. « Sur l’homosexualité en France au XXe siècle (entretien avec Hervé Baudry) », La Ligne d'ombre, nº 2, 2007.
  • Jackson, Julian. « Arcadie », La vie homosexuelle en France, de l'après-guerre à la dépénalisation, Editions Autrement, Paris, 2009.
  • Miles, Christopher. « Arcadie, ou l'impossible éden », La Revue h, No. 1, 1996.
  • Miller, Neil. Out of the Past: Gay and Lesbian History from 1869 to the Present. New York: Vintage Books, c1995.
  • Sidéris, Georges. « Des folles de Saint-Germain-des-prés au fléau social », in E. Benbassa et J.-C. Attias, La Haine de soi, Bruxelles, Complexe, 2000.

Further reading

Archival Resources

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Miller, Neil. Out of the Past: Gay and Lesbian History from 1869 to the Present. New York: Vintage Books, c1995, p. 392
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  4. André Baudry, “Des homosexuels sous condition” (interview), Gai Pied 38 (May 1982)
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  8. An image of the front cover and table of contents of the first issue of the Revue Arcadie in Jackson (2009), p. 74 clearly shows that the date of the first issue of the review was January 1954.
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  11. 11.0 11.1 Guide to the Arcadie Records, 1956-1979
  12. Sibalis, Michael, 2005. Gay Liberation Comes to France: The Front Homosexuel d’Action Révolutionnaire (FHAR), French History and Civilization. Papers from the George Rudé Seminar. Volume 1 PDF link