“ That’s the problem with you homos and dykes, you want to eliminate us by force. » »
Before this year, Sophie* had never experienced the slightest homophobic comment in a decade of open space. “But with the current debate on GPA, people started to tell me that this was the last straw, that my ‘lobby’ had to stop, that ‘we’ wanted always more, that there was a desire to destroy the family. And this sentence…”
As with women, for whom a “backlash” (backlash, or the resurgence of sexist remarks and masculinist discourses) was observed after MeToo, a similar phenomenon is emerging against the LGBT community after decades of societal progress. “As if we didn’t have the right to happiness,” sighs Sophie, whose HR report did not result in anything: “Society is moving forward, but mentalities are moving backward in opposition,” she laments.
These cases are rare. But new, “as minority as it may be, this homophobic discourse has become much more relaxed and is more accepted than before in the world of work. In the cafeteria, colleagues will make comments or criticisms that they did not dare say before,” regrets Paul*, a 33-year-old banker. “It’s a minority, diffuse, but it’s there. » On the occasion of May 17, the international day against LGBTphobia, 20 minutes wonders about this resurgence.
Marriage for all and the homophobic surge
Flora Bolter, co-director of the LGBT+ observatory of the Jean-Jaurès Foundation, deplores the situation: “With each social gain or political debate on the rights of gays, lesbians, transgender people, such as the opening of the PMA for women, we is witnessing an increase in discriminatory acts.” The most notable example in recent history being marriage for all, adopted in 2013. “At that time, there was an explosion of homophobia, particularly in the professional context.”
A revelation for Alain*, a 35-year-old nurse, who saw the change that year in his clinic : “Many colleagues who until then had liked me showed distrust, even disgust, for me. I understood that people appreciated us, or rather tolerated us, as long as we did not have the same rights as them. Seeing us equal to straight people was unbearable to them. »
“It’s a minority, diffuse, but it’s there”
Since 2013, LGBTphobic actions and remarks have been on a constant increase. Another +13% in 2023 compared to 2022, according to the report communicated by the Ministry of the Interior published this Thursday. However, these figures are difficult to interpret – victims file more complaints thanks to a more open society, and attacks are better recorded, therefore more numerous in the statistics. It prevents. “We really have the impression that with each new law, 300 new assholes discover themselves homophobic. As if they had a self-defense reaction to too much tolerance,” laughs Paul.
In 2023, L’Autre Cercle, an association for the inclusion and management of LGBT+ diversity at work, estimated that a third of the people concerned would have been victims of at least one LGBTphobic attack in their professional organization, i.e. +4 points compared to 2020. Paul gives us a picture of comments heard on a daily basis: “These are not direct insults, they are not going to call me a ‘dirty faggot’. ”Just”, people will tell me that we’re doing too much around that, that it’s too much, that ”we”, the gays, take up too much space. »
“Homophobic discourse has become depersonalized,” analyzes Flora Bolter. It gives itself a veneer of legitimacy by evoking the protection of values, of childhood, of laughter, and by pretending not to target people. »
“I was told it was an invasion”
Catherine Tripon, spokesperson for L’Autre Cercle, adds: “The positive evolution of society brings the arrival of negationism, whether on anti-Semitism, sexism or homophobia. We are going to deny this discrimination now that it has finally been taken into account.” And this, even within companies that have implemented a “gay-friendly” policy: “Employees will say that it is boring to see a poor LGBT flag on May 17, that there are too many dedicated days, that the company does not have to comment on that…”
What Rémy*, 47, illustrates: “fifteen years ago, when I came out as trans at work, I was the attraction, the novelty. It wasn’t a perfect attitude, of course, but there was real listening, because it was so unknown that there was curiosity more than contempt. Now we’re going to roll our eyes and say, ‘Oh no, one more’. I have already been told that it was an invasion, an epidemic, or made fun of my transition: ”Another crazy woman”. »
A strange observation then arises: “Somewhere, we have almost become mainstream in the society. So much so that people find it impertinent, and therefore classy and stylish, to make fun of us. As if being transphobic has become a cool personality trait. »
A public debate that does not help
Another explanation: the smell – quite nauseating – of the current public debate, according to Catherine Tripon: “When the right-wing senators focus at length on the ban on transition for minors, that the book Transmania makes the media rounds, or that certain politicians speak of a woke wave or of threatened values, this legitimizes the speeches behind it. ”If it can be said in public space, I can say it in business”. »
It remains fundamental not to let anything slip by, the spokesperson points out. As for companies, “it is perhaps time to go further, to be more subtle also in LGBT policies friendlyrecalling that it is not a political movement, not an absurd demand, not too much to talk about his private life when straight people can do so at will. It’s just being yourself. »
*First names have been changed