At Sciences Po, all the exchange students enrolled in the Buddy Programme, where the exchange students are paired with full time Sciences Po undergraduate students. My buddy, Youssef, reached out to me at the beginning of the semester. We wanted to meet up for coffee, the first week of school, but classes and things pertaining to school kept getting in the way. (I think college would be so much easier if it wasn’t for these pesky classes). It is four weeks into the semester and we finally made time to meet… well… kind of; he was tabling (i.e. sitting at a tabling talking to passing students) for Sciences Po Environment on campus and he told me I could stop by and say, “hi”.
I am very bad with faces and I did not recognize him in the main hall. To be fair there were a lot of people and he had glasses on (none of his Facebook photos showed him in glasses). We finally met with him sitting on one side of the Sciences Po Environnement table and me standing on the other. It was not the most comfortable conversation, but we connected at last. We spoke for about an hour and our conversation ranged from efficacy of petrological models to nationalism amongst immigrants in France.
One topic we spoke of, that struck me as quite odd was France’s relationship with the LGBT community. Youssef self identifies with the community, so I asked him about the history and view of the LGBT community in France. He explained how in the 1990s homosexual acts were decriminalized, in the early 2000s there was a type of domestic partnership available to same sex couples, in 2013 gay marriage was passed and adoption became legal for same sex couples. However the current debate is over a law banning lesbian couples access to reproductive technology (such as in vitro fertilisation or IVF).
I was shocked. I was adopted in the 1990s by a same sex couple in the United States; how could same sex adoption be legalized only in 2013 for France?!?! I just assumed that France would be an oasis for liberal ideology, where the socialists flock with the sexually liberated (a bit of a hyperbole, but you get the point). I thought to myself, “ How can a country where Picketty is seen as leftist but not extreme and leaders are known around the world for their extramarital affair, be the same country that does not allow lesbians to use IVF or surrogate mothers?”
Youssef explained how France is not as Puritanical as the United States and no one questions a women’s right to have an abortion. However, France still has cultural norms and taboos. His is personally against the use of surrogate mothers because of the rights of the surrogate mother. In other words I think Youssef means that he feels that it is unethical to farm out a person’s body in such a way. For me the ethics of using IVF and surrogate mothers was never suspect. Then again, I grew up in Connecticut which is a fairly progressive state when it comes to reproductive and LGBT rights. As well I was always surrounded by a diverse group of families; I even knew some children who were conceived via IVF.
In 2016 there was a 20% increase in the number of reported anti-LGBT hate crimes in France. Organizations such as SOS Homophobie called for the government to invest greater efforts into understanding the scope of hate crimes committed against LGBT individuals. It also suggested that politicians personal beliefs about LGBT rights are hindering their willingness to pursue cases of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity (i.e. if a politician does not believe LGBT people should be protected, when they are presented with a case of discrimination, the politician might not respect the gravity of the case).
In an attempt not to be overly damming of France’s stance toward LGBT individuals here are some statistics from a Eurobarometer poll conducted in 2015:
- 72% of people surveyed in France believe that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is widespread (EU 28 average was 58%).
- 62% felt discrimination based on gender identity was widespread (EU28 average was 56%).
- 81% totally agreed with the statement that LGB people should have the same rights as heterosexual people (EU 28 average was 71%).
This study implies that there is greater public acceptance of those who identify as LGBT than other European nations. Comparing the Equity Index ratings of France and Connecticut (the state which I call home), it seems like Connecticut is more progressive than France. This conclusion seems to “fit” with my experience and conversations with people from France and Connecticut.
During the 2017 French Presidential elections there were several candidates who ran on platforms to rewrite the Taubira law and prohibit same sex marriage and adoption. While the opposition to same sex marriage seems to be dying down in France there is still the very controversial issue of IVF. President Macron (a member of a central-liberal party) promised to “update France’s laws on assisted procreation, which currently limit the practice to heterosecual couples.” January 17, 2018, six months of talks involving scientists, medical practitioners and legal experts from across France commenced to educate the country’s legislation on bioethics. I am unsure what the results of the talks will be though it seems like the tides of public opinion are turning. According to the Local, “60% of French citizens are now in favour of allowing single women and lesbian couples to become pregnant with medical help.”
Going back to the Equality Index, I looked at the United States and I was surprised by the protections (or lack thereof) provided to the LGBT community at a federal level. It was less than four years ago that the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same sex marriage and adoption (Obergefell v. Hodges). Also, there are still some strange restrictions placed on the LGBT community in the United States, such as gay men not being permitted to give blood.
I thought it was pertinent to share this anecdote and the history of LGBT rights in France because it reminded me that I grew up in a very progressive state. I think going to a liberal university and being from a very progressive state means that sometimes I am trapped in a “liberal bubble”. I forget that where I go to school and where I am from, is exceptional and not emblematic of the rest of the United States or of the world. I feel that I am occasionally complacent about LGBT rights and do not rally to secure protections for LGBT people within the United States and abroad. Sometimes I need to be reminded by people such as Youssef that everything is not “ok.”
I think the moral of the anecdote transcends LGBT issues and affects various aspects of my life, where I can forget to “check my privilege”, e.g. half of Americans do not have $400 in savings and only a third of Americans have a bachelor’s degree level of education.
Editor’s Notes:
I apologize in advance if my terminology offends anyone. I use words with which I am comfortable, but I recognize that terminology can be a touchy subject.
I used the words “same sex” and “homosexual” interchangeably. When I used the term “LGBT” I am commonly referring to the “LGBTQIA+” community as a whole. In my conversation with Youssef, he used the terminology “LGBT,” for consistency, I decided to carry though this language.
I recognize that it is problematic to “lump” all non-cisgender, non-heterosexual, and non-heteroromantic people into one category of LGBTIA+ and that each community is nuanced with their own struggles for acceptance and legitimacy.
Finally, I want to make clear that I am not trying to make value judgements on the LGBT community or those who support or disapprove of the LGBT community. When I say something remarkable, I mean that it is different from what I thought, expected, or different from my home (Connecticut). In this piece, I do not try and speak for anyone or any group of people. I only attempt to share what I see and think.
