When considering the LGBTQ presence in Le Marais it is important to highlight the commercial aspect that initially drew in the LGBTQ community. Businesses in Le Marais were open to the LGBTQ public, accepting them as customers and displaying the…
In 1978 the first gay bar opened in Le Marais. The bar was open during the day and during the night, and it provided a new alternative for the LGBTQ community that had been living in the shadows of the city. Sadly, this bar no longer exists and it…
For as long as we know women have lived in a world dominated by men and forced to live under strict rules. Oppression has reduced women and forced them into what women, gender, and sexuality scholars call a double bind. On one side, if a woman…
When people think about France they associate the country with less conservative values and greater acceptance of others. However, it did not use to be this way and there is still a long way to go until homophobia is no longer a reality. Although…
The Centre LGBT started out as an initiative to fight against the HIV/AIDS crisis in the late 1900’s. It was originally named House of Homosexualities and it was renamed Center gay and lesbian CGL of Paris in 1993 (Eribon). What started out as a…
If you were walking down the street and saw Le Comptoir de Mathilde you would immediately be drawn in by the unusual structure of the shop, since the outside is modeled like a Medieval Parisian house. The shop gives the illusion that it has a timber…
While I was researching about LGBTQ life in Le Marais I stumbled across an article titled “Ten Things You Didn’t Know About Gay Paris.” One of the items that captured my attention was a bakery in the neighborhood that sold phallic-shaped baguettes…
Le Marais has evolved throughout the years and many are surprised to learn that the neighborhood is not only the center of Jewish life in France, but it is also the home of the LGBTQ community. During the rebellion of May 1968, students and the…
