Customer Reviews

Pederasts and Others: Urban Culture and Sexual Identity in Nineteenth Century Paris (Haworth Gay & Lesbian Studies)

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Don't let the title deceive you. There are cross-generational couplings discussed, but this is not a book on man-boy matters. In the 1800s and to this day, Francophones, of various opinions on gay rights, say "pederast" rather than "gay."

Lord Alfred Douglas' comment about "the love that dare not speak its name" really concerned the fin-de-siecle, Anglophone world. But its inapplicability to other countries and times hasn't changed the facts that little is known about other people we would now call "gays." So the author does a great job about letting us know about gay men in Paris more than a century ago. The author almost begins by saying, "This won't discuss elites like Gide and Proust, I'm speaking of the ordinary man." Thus, in a way, this is an anti-classist work. It speaks of those at the bottom of the class structure, at times.

I always thought France got rid of its sodomy laws a century before Britain does because Napoleon was being a nice guy. However, the author does a great job in saying how the philosophes and the French Revolution affected thinkings in France. Just as abolitionists didn't necessarily advocate miscegenation, antidiscrimination laws, or integrated neighborhoods, the philosophes could not be equated with modern supporters of gay rights. Just because the Francophone world lacked de jure homophobia didn't mean they didn't have the de facto type.

Still, this book falls short at times. The author writes in one sentence, "Judges would convict 'indecent' men because the offense was a misdemeanor and they wanted to focus on felonies." Okay, after he said that, then there was no need to have a chapter about judges actions; it's already been concisely stated. Next he has a whole chapter on wardens' or criminologists' thoughts on gayness, but it really only covers four books. It's great he had access to those books, but any college-educated person with similar access could have written the same chapter.

In obeisance to ideas on constructionism, the author never translates terms that could help modern readers. He mentions men who beat up gay clients, but never calls them "rough trade." He mentions men who only practiced homosexuality while incarcerated but never says "prison gay." Though Bray said Anglophones did not equate effeminates with sodomites until the late 1700s, this author quotes a man that used feminine nouns and adjectives to describe gay men and the author never comments upon it.

The examples in this book come at the end. Non-academic readers may want to start there or only read that portion of the text. These stories are not "respectable" in a Brokeback Mountain-type of way. They involve prostitution, public sexual activity, and other things that prudish readers may consider salacious. But hey, authors have to work with what they have and this author wanted to discuss those who got caught by police, not those who could successfully hide and thus not be written about.

Dr. Peniston's book gives an excellent overview of gay life in Paris during the 19th century.

Filled with references and fascinating details, this book can both serve as an excellent source for researchers and a great read for those interested in the issue.