As Edgars Rkēvičs be the first openly gay print Latvia’s history, here’s a glimpse at other openly gay heads of state om around the world.
Contents:
10 GREAT FRENCH GAY FILMS
How do you say "gay" French? Learn the French LGBTQ+ vobulary, wh explanatns and English translatn + cultural thoughts. * lgbt in french *
To refer to sexual, romantic or emotnal attractn, you’ll see both spellgs ed French: the English “gay” as well as the French “gai(e)”. We also e the word homosexual to scribe a sexual, romantic or emotnal attractn to someone of the same sex: “un homosexuel”, “une homosexuelle” (short: “homo”).
A bear (slang) scrib a hairy, heavy-set (sometim mcular) gay or bisexual man: “un ours” (do pronounce the fal “s”)non-bary person: somebody who intifi as neher male nor female, or some batn of both: “une personne non-baire”, “une personne bi-genrée”. The LGBTQ+ muny: (f) “la munté LGBTQ+”sexual orientatn: (f) “l’orientatn sexuelle”homosexualy: (f) “l’homosexualé”heterosexualy: (f) “l’hétérosexualé”gay rights: (m) “l dros s homosexuels”gay marriage: (m) “le mariage gay”homoparental adoptn: (f) “l’adoptn homoparentale”misgenrg: (v) “mégenrer” or “malgenrer”genr dysphoria: a state of unease or generalized dissatisfactn wh life – Genr dysphoria is experienced by people whose genr inty do not align wh their assigned sex: (f) “la dysphorie”sex assigned at birth: (m) “le sexe assigné à la naissance”breast bdg: (v) “se banr l ses”sex reassignment surgery: (f) “une chirgie réassignatn sexuelle”ttosterone shots: (f) “s jectns ttostérone”to be the closet: to be gay but whout sayg openly: “être dans le plard”, “être secrètement homosexuel”, “ne pas révéler s préférenc / son inté sexuelle(s)”to e out: to announce publicly that you are gay: “faire son g out” be outed: when someone else divulg your sexual orientatn or inty whout your nsent: “révéler l’orientatn ou l’inté sexuelle quelqu’un ntre son gré”. Depuis que je suis pete, l dros s homosexuels m’ont térsée, et j’ai toujours pensé que to l typ d’amours vraient être acceptés, tant que tout le mon t nsentant.
Sce I was a ltle, gay rights have been an tert of me, and I’ve always thought that all typ of lov should be accepted, as long as the all people volved are nsentg. C’éta assez surprenant pour moi, et j’ai souvent défendu l dros homosexuels dans la ur d’éle, quand j’entendais s enfants utiliser s sult me “pédé”.
LATVIA BE 7TH NATN TO BE LED BY AN OPENLY GAY HEAD OF STATE
"I wouldn’t want people to say I am fightg agast 'LGBT-ee' zon bee I am European affairs mister, I mt fight for tolerance.” * lgbt in french *
It was pretty surprisg for me and I often spoke up fense of homosexual rights the school yard when I heard kids g sults such as “faggot”.
At that time beg gay, or even talkg about was still que a taboo France, and I admire Aznavour for takg the risk to sg about that subject and create such a betiful, sensive, rpectful and lovg song, pecially sce he was not gay himself. I live alone wh MomIn a very old apartmentOn Sarasate StreetI have to keep my panyA turtle, two nariAnd a psytSo that mom n rtI very often do the grocery shoppgAnd the okgI clean, I wash, I swipeOcsnally I also sewOn the sewg macheWork don’t sre meI’m a b of a ratorA b of a stylistBut my real jobIt’s at nightthat I do transvteI’m an artistI have a very special showThat ends fully nakedAfter strippgAnd the showroom I n see thatMal n’t believe their eyI’m a homo Like they sayAround 3AMWe go out to eat among iendsOf every genrIn a random barAnd there, we have a blastAnd whout any plexWe gossip the tthAbout people we n’t standWe stone themBut we do wh humorWrapped punsWet wh acidWe meet stupid peopleWho to amaze their tableWalk and waveMimickg what they thk is Coverg themselv, the poor foolsWh ridiculeThey gture and speak loudThey act like divas, tenorsOf stupidyAs for me, their bad jok and mean wordsDon’t get to me, sce is teI am an homoLike they sayAt the time when a new day I go back to fd my routeLonelsI take off my eyelash and my hairLike an old clown sadof wearsI lay down but I don’t sleepI thk about my unhappy lovSo ludicroAbout this boy handsome as a godWho did nothg yet sat fireTo my memoryMy mouth will never dareAdm to him my sweet secretMy tenr dramaBee the reason of all my tormentsSpends most of his timeIn women’s bedsno one tly has the rightTo blame me, to judge meAnd let me pot outThat is ed naturewho is the only rponsible ifI am an homoLike they say. That’s why ’s time to dive to the French laws that protect and support members of the gay muny and the policians who have put the work to make them happen.
We look back at the bt French gay cema. * lgbt in french *
Homosexualy was crimalized France 1791, followg the French Revolutn, though members of the gay muny were still subject to social vlence and discrimatn (for parison, sodomy was a felony the Uned Stat until 1962). Gay marriage was legalized France 2013 unr print François Hollan, spe aggrsive anti-gay marriage protts om French nservativ and relig extremists. When gay marriage was legalized, so was adoptn by gay married upl, though red tape has ma this aspect of the law more symbolic than practil.
* lgbt in french *
Startg 2016, gay men were allowed to donate blood after a year of abstence, which was shortened to 4 months, effective this year. An elected member of the regnal uncil of the Greater Paris area sce 2010, lawyer Carole Méry first built her reer as one of the great legal advot for gay rights France. When Bègl mayor Noël Mamère fied French law 2004 and performed the first gay marriage ceremony France, Méry fend both him and the uple qutn urt.
In December 2022, Bene me out as gay and joed the Terroir Progrès party, while remag termed to support Polish queer muni and reprent European affairs Poland’s notor ‘LGBT-ee zon. ’ In an terview wh Têtu, France’s leadg LGBTQ+ magaze, Clément Bene said, “I wouldn’t want people to say I am fightg agast ‘LGBT-ee’ zon bee I am gay. La Cage x Foll (1978)Tradnally France has been seen as one of the most liberal untri the world, and boasts an enviable rerd on gay rights, spe the ocsnal rantgs om Brigte Bardot.
We’ve kept the list to films that are easily available to watch the UK, but honourable mentn should go to The Ostrich Has Two Eggs (1957), a dated farce that at least has a sympathetic gay son, albe one who never appears on screen, and L Amiés particulièr (1964), set a boys’ boardg school. Un chant d’amour (1950)French wrer Jean Ge is one of the key figur of gay culture, whose novels (cludg Querelle of Brt), plays and says have been champned by gay and straight rears alike. There’s nothg explicly gay here, but any film that shov Jacqu Perr a sailor su, squeez Gee Chakiris to tight whe troers and rat self wh lavish, lurid sets fely has a queer eye.