Gouines Rouges
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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 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...
Dykes") are a
French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...
radical feminist Radical feminism is a perspective within feminism that calls for a radical re-ordering of society in which male supremacy is eliminated in all social and economic contexts, while recognizing that women's experiences are also affected by other ...
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 ...
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 mov ...
(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 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 ...
then launched a campaign for free
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
birth control Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth control only be ...
. The
Front homosexuel d'action révolutionnaire The Front homosexuel d'action révolutionnaire () (FHAR) was a loose Parisian movement founded in 1971, resulting from an alliance between lesbian feminism, feminists and gay male activists. The movement had no official leaders, but Guy Hocquengh ...
(FHAR, "Homosexual Front for Revolutionary Action"), a radical movement rejecting reforms in favor 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 ...
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'', '' Sapphic'', '' Uranian or Urning'', '' homop ...
organization
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 ...
. 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. Offi ...
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 Woman, women or girls. It is a form of sexism that can keep women at a lower social status than Man, men, thus maintaining the social roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been wide ...
" 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, France, 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 Pigal ...
and
Chez Moune Chez Moune is a Parisian nightclub that originally opened as Le Fetiche in 1936 in the Place Pigalle. It has been described as the first lesbian bar, lesbian club with dancing and cabaret in Europe. Since the late 1980s, it has been a nightclu ...
. In June 1971, a party at
Les Halles Les Halles (; 'The Halls') was Paris' central fresh food market. It last operated on 12 January 1973 and was replaced by an underground shopping centre and a park. The unpopular modernist development was demolished yet again in 2010, and replac ...
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 in 1959 to describe a range of art-related events. History Origins Allan Kaprow first coined the term "happening" i ...
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 The Maison de la Mutualité (; often shortened to la Mutualité) is a conference center at 24 Rue Saint-Victor, 5th arrondissement of Paris, France. The closest métro station is Maubert-Mutualité. It is the headquarters of the federation of ...
on 14–15 May 1972. Meetings of the Gouines rouges then became more infrequent, despite the encouragement of
Monique Wittig Monique Wittig (; 13 July 1935 – 3 January 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 groundbreaking work is titled '' The ...
.


Membership

The group included
Monique Wittig Monique Wittig (; 13 July 1935 – 3 January 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 groundbreaking work is titled '' The ...
, Christine Delphy,
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 caree ...
,
Dominique Poggi "Dominique" is a 1963 French language popular song, written and performed by Belgian singer Jeannine Deckers, better known as Sœur Sourire ("Sister Smile" in French) or The Singing Nun. The song is about Saint Dominic, a Spanish-born priest an ...
,
Catherine Deudon Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Christian sa ...
,
Évelyne Rochedereux Evelyn may refer to: Places Australia * Evelyn County, New South Wales, a cadastral division * Electoral district of Evelyn, an electoral district in Victoria * Evelyn, Queensland, a locality in the Tablelands Region Canada * Evelyn, O ...
,
Cathy Bernheim Cathy Bernheim (10 April 1946 – 8 April 2025) was a French novelist and an influential feminist activist. She started off the Mouvement de Libération des Femmes (Women's Liberation Movement or MLF). She was also a member of the Gouines Rouges ...
and
Josiane Gamblain Josiane is a feminine name of Hebrew origin. It's a derivation of the name Joseph. It was first officially recorded in France, in 1909.https://www.parents.fr/prenoms/josiane-44617#:~:text=Le%20pr%C3%A9nom%20Josiane%20est%20tr%C3%A8s,filles%2C%20123% ...
.


Bibliography

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


References

{{Lesbian feminism Lesbian feminist organizations Lesbian history in France Feminist organizations in France LGBTQ organizations based in France Organizations established in 1971 Radical feminist organizations Lesbian organizations based in France 1971 establishments in France