Learn the French LGBTQ+ vocabulary and practice your French with this bilingual article. Show
Our daughter Leyla has always been a gay right activist. The other day, we were talking about it and she started using French LGBTQ+ terms I didn’t understand. She explained them to me, and we spoke about the non binary pronouns in French. I thought it would make a good article for people who want to learn the LGBTQ+ French vocabulary. How To Say Gay In French?Just like in English, the adjective “gai(e)” means merry, colorful. We also use it to say “tipsy”. To be honest, my Mom would say that… I wouldn’t! To refer to sexual, romantic or emotional attraction, you’ll see both spellings used in French: the English “gay” as well as the French “gai(e)”. We also use the word homosexual to describe a sexual, romantic or emotional attraction to someone of the same sex: “un homosexuel”, “une homosexuelle” (short: “homo”). It can be a noun or an
adjective. Not everybody within the LGBTQ+ community uses precise terms and/or pronouns. Usually, texts of LGBTQ+ associations such as a sports club will be very careful to use an all inclusive language. Yet, among people themselves, not everybody agrees. Some may use mostly the word “gay” as a “summary” of all the possibilities. 30 LGBTQ+ French WordsAs you’ll see, many of the terms we use in French are the same as in English. I’ve added a short definition for people who may not know what the LGBTQ+ terms mean in English. Although I did my best to use the correct terminology, it changes pretty fast and I’m not an expert. A reliable resource for up to date vocabulary is this site.
Non Binary Neutral French PronounsIn English, when you don’t want to misgender someone or if someone doesn’t identify as male or female (non-binary or other), you use pronouns like ‘they’ and ‘them’. Example: Look at Chris! They look happy today! I’m going to ask them if they want to join us later. In French, there is not neutral pronoun, but inclusive people use a new French pronoun like “iel”, “ielle” (pronounce it like [yell] in English) or even “ille” (any of these 3 are fine). Some people use “ul”, “ol”, “ael” or “ele”. We sometimes also use “on”. Examples :
The French possessive pronouns “mon” or “ma” are sometimes replaced by “mo” “maon” and “man” and the demonstrative pronouns “celui” and “celle” by “cellui” as well as “celleux” or “ceuzes”. “Toustes” is used instead of “tous” or “toutes”. “Ellui” is used instead of the object pronouns “lui” and “elle”. If you’re talking about multiple non identified people, add an “s”. Things are also changing about the adjective agreements. For example, you could add a “.e” or “/e” to be inclusive. Chacun.e fait comme iel veut ! The French language being so stuck on feminine / masculine (everything has gender, even things…) using “iel” etc… is not very common yet. And it’s a bit complicated. Even among the LGBTQ+ community, people don’t agree. Some people really push for the changes, some feel being that inclusive hurts the language. Unfortunately, all kind of inclusive writing is so far being rejected by l’Académie française. Maybe it will change one day! I have to admit I’ve never heard “iel” used myself… Again, not much opportunity here in Paimpol! Here is an article (in French) which will explain, or at least give you a good look at the French neutral pronouns and adjective agreements. LGBTQ+ French PronunciationLGBTQ+ is pronounced like enunciating the letters of the alphabet in French: [el, gé, bé, té, cu, pluS – do say the final S] Being LGBTQ+ in FranceUse the floating blue icon in the bottom right to hide/reveal the English translations below or just click here. Bonjour, moi c’est Leyla, je suis la fille de Camille et Olivier de French Today, je suis bilingue français-anglais, et je vais bientôt avoir 15 ans. Hi I’m Leyla, I’m Camille’s and Olivier’s daughter, I’m French English bilingual, and I’m almost 15 years old. Depuis que je suis petite, les droits des homosexuels m’ont intéressée, et j’ai toujours pensé que tous les types d’amours devraient être acceptés, tant que tout le monde est consentant. Plus tard, j’aimerais peut-être être avocat ou législatrice dans ce domaine. Since I was a little, gay rights have been an interest of mine, and I’ve always thought that all types of loves should be accepted, as long as the all people involved are consenting. When I grow up, I may want to become a lawyer or legislator in that domain. Quand j’habitais à Boston, aux États-Unis, on était entourés de personnes qui faisait partie de la communauté LGBTQ+. Mais quand on a déménagé dans une petite ville de Bretagne en France, plus du tout ! C’était assez surprenant pour moi, et j’ai souvent défendu les droits homosexuels dans la cour d’école, quand j’entendais des enfants utiliser des insultes comme “pédé”. When I lived in Boston in the States, we we’re surrounded by people that were part of the LGBTQ+ community. But not anymore when we moved to a little town in Brittany, France! It was pretty surprising for me and I often spoke up in defense of homosexual rights in the school yard when I heard kids using insults such as “faggot”. Selon moi, l’acceptation des homosexuels est en train d’évoluer en France. In my opinion, gay acceptance is evolving in France. Comparé à la génération de mes grand-parents, être ouvertement gay ou même de sexe inidentifiable est beaucoup plus accepté qu’avant. C’est un sujet de conversation dont je peux discuter avec mes amis sans problème, et rappelez-vous qu’on habite dans une petite ville ! Compared to my grandparents’ generation, it’s now much more accepted to be openly gay, or even fluid gender wise. It’s a subject I can discuss with my friends without any problem, and remember we live in a small countryside town! Mais je pense que pour beaucoup de personne, être homosexuel, ça passe, tant que ça ne concerne pas la famille ou les amis proches. Yet, I feel that for many people, being gay is okay as far as it’s doesn’t concern their own family or close friends. En d’autres mots, ils acceptent le concept, tant que cela ne concerne pas leurs proches. In other words, they accept the concept, as far as it doesn’t hit home. J’espère que cela changera bientôt. I hope this will change soon. À Moi Paris Audiobook Method A new approach to learning both traditional and modern French logically structured for English speakers. More Details & Audio Samples 4 Gay French ExpressionsTo say someone is gay, one may say “il/elle/iel est de la jaquette” or “il/elle/iel est du bâtiment”. Among the community, it’s common to hear “il/elle/iel est de notre paroisse” or “il/elle/iel est de la famille”. Homophobic French InsultsI hate to have to write these down but I think they are important for educational purposes. If you were to hear them in a French movie, you’d need to understand them. DO NOT use these, they’re hurtful but they’re in this list so you can recognize them and get away from the people using them! French Insult to Say “Gay”
French Insult to Say “Lesbian”
Unfortunately, there are many more, but I don’t think it’s necessary to list more here. I repeat, these are hurtful, so don’t use them. French Song About Gays & Transvestites – Charles AznavourI wanted to finish this article on a more positive note and thought about sharing this beautiful song by French singer Charles Aznavour, released in 1972. At that time being gay, or even talking about it was still quite a taboo in France, and I admire Aznavour for taking the risk to sing about that subject and create such a beautiful, sensitive, respectful and loving song, especially since he was not gay himself. Note the play on words: “Je suis un homme, oh! Comme ils disent”. I think this may have been to avoid potential censorship (homosexuality was still illegal in those days) yet it’s so poetic!
The lyrics are copyright, but I hope he won’t mind me sharing them here with you. Aznavour also sang this song in English (called “What Makes A Man” but I don’t find the English version as poetic even though it rhymes nicely. So I translated it the best I could. “Comme Ils Disent” de Charles Aznavour – French LyricsJ’habite seul avec maman “Comme Ils Disent” de Charles Aznavour – English TranslationI live alone with Mom I hope this French LGBTQ+ vocabulary will be useful to you. My parents will be monitoring this article very closely and will turn off the comments section if need be. Please refrain from any hurtful, preachy or disrespectful remarks – we will remove them, blacklist your IP and report you as spam. If you’d like to help me and suggest some words for the French LGBTQ+ vocabulary list, I’ll be happy to add some: please provide the English word, the French word and if need be an English explanation. Merci! |