Demonstrators take part in the Europride gay rights march 2013, on the Old-Port, in Marseille, southern France, Saturday, July 20, 2013. (AP Photo / Claude Paris) / MAR113 / 694387016167/1307201928 – Claude Paris / AP / SIPA
- Homoparental couple, Lucien and Léon are surprised at the kindness towards them on the part of their neighbors or the staff of their daughter’s school.
- However, all is not rainbow for LGBT + people in Marseille and “the confinements have worsened the situations”, notes the association Le Refuge.
- The town hall but also the Bouches-du-Rhône department are taking initiatives to change mentalities and fight against discrimination.
Lucien * and Léon * got married a few years ago, and are dads of a 5-year-old girl who lives with them half the time, with her mother for the other half. An unusual family configuration in a heteronormous society, which could provoke a lot of reactions on a daily basis. Well, not so much, according to the main stakeholders. “We have seen, for example, that, at school, both teachers and municipal employees are open-minded, which is comfortable for homoparental families like ours,” says Léon.
Better still: “Our neighbors, who are however a certain age, are very welcoming, which we did not suspect when we moved into our new apartment. They know, however, that we are a couple of men and that we are raising our daughter. »But then, Marseille would have become the paradise of homosexual couples? “After that, you are sure not to walk hand in hand on the Old Port or elsewhere, tempers Lucien. At the same time, I don’t see too many places in France where you can do it, except in the Marais, in Paris. “
And Léon’s enthusiasm will be completely showered by the words of Grégory Bernard, departmental delegate of the association Le Refuge, which welcomes young LGBTQI (people who recognize themselves in one of the terms lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or intersex) between 18 and 25 years old. “We have noticed a strong increase in requests for care since the start of the health crisis. We find the same logic as for domestic violence: confinements worsened the situations. “It’s not easy to live 24 hours a day with homophobic parents when you are either homosexual … And in the street, it is not necessarily better:” The young people whom we welcome and or follow are insulted, attacked, continues the delegate of the Refuge. We encourage them to be discreet when we go out. And it’s a hundred times worse for transgender people… ”
The efforts of the new municipality to catch up
We are therefore still far from the rainbow. But the firmament would still tend to brighten up for LGBTQI people. “There is no local Marseille specificity, slips Philippe Amidieu, co-president of Fierté Marseille organization, structure which oversees Pride, the next one will take place on July 3. But, as on the national level, we note an evolution of mentalities. “The activist to detail:” Here, there was perhaps a political delay, it lacked ambition – there was no LGBT center, for example – but he is being overtaken by the news municipality. “
Indeed, on the occasion of the World Day against homophobia, transphobia and biphobia, on May 17, the town hall announced the dissemination of the poster campaign “To be and to love”, promoted the Flag application! which makes it possible to report sexist and LGBT-phobic acts, and identifies businesses where victims of homophobic and transphobic aggression can take refuge. Finally, the civil status forms should soon no longer mention the terms “father” or “mother” but “first parent” and “second parent”.
Creation of an LGBT House
“We can feel an evolution,” argues Théo Challande-Névoret, deputy mayor in charge of the fight against discrimination. And we will feel it more and more in the months and years to come. The dynamic is engaged so that all people are respected. This is played out beyond the public space, in terms of the acquisition of equal rights for transgender people, for homoparental families… ”
On the side of the department too, the situation has evolved with the opening last December of the Departmental House for the Fight against Discrimination (MDLD), dedicated “to the reception, information and guidance of all victims of discrimination. “. It declined throughout the month of May, on the occasion again of the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, a program linked to this theme. The opening of this place, however, disappointed local LGBT associations that participated in the development of the project. Never mind: the town hall announced last September the creation of an LGBT House.
In the meantime, the organizers of Pride fully intend to make their demands heard in early July. “There are still a lot of prejudices and stereotypes about assisted reproduction and gestation. [PMA et GPA], as well as on the right to transidentity, indicates Philippe Amidieu. The double discrimination suffered by racialized and LGBT people will also be highlighted. In short, we are trying to change the standards… ”
* The first names have been changed.