Because Pride is lived as much in books as in the streets, têtu· has selected essays that tell our gay history, question our LGBT identities, and nourish our struggles.
By Laure Dasinieres, Florian Ques and Marine Pattyn
Favorite
Usually, Olivia Laing writes cultural critiques for the Guardian and the New York Times. Then a breakup leads her to discover loneliness, the real one, the loneliness that ends up making any contact with others painful. This gives rise to the idea for this investigation into artists who, although living in the heart of New York, have experienced it as well. Andy Warhol, Klaus Nomi, Edward Hopper, David Wojnarowicz… So many solitudes brought into dialogue in this essay, nourished by substantial documentation work that does not erase the sensitivity. Without turning isolation into a romantic refuge, the book seems to seek consolation from Susan Sontag, Maggie Nelson, Nan Goldin, or Sarah Schulman, queer artists and authors who, too, tell their stories by exploring others, and vice versa. From this it follows that the absence of others can prove a creative engine as much as a burden, even a tragedy. Along the way, Olivia Laing dissects the roots of her subject: precarity, grief, homophobia, violence, mental disorders, illness… Her quest especially lingers on the HIV/AIDS epidemic, whose ravages on the New York artistic community are well known. Between art history, intimate exploration and political reflection, this book digs and stirs. Magnificent.
>> Lonely City, by Olivia Laing. Gallimard Editions.
Pop
A friend of rap culture, journalist Nicolas Rogès turns his attention to his most gay figure, the Californian Frank Ocean, with this singular biography where the grief narrative of a friend intertwines with a careful decoding of an elusive artist, and whose influence lights up an entire music industry.
>> The Boys Never Cry, by Nicolas Rogès. JC Lattès Editions.
Memoir
A figure in ACT UP-New York until she left to cofound the first Dyke March in 1992, Sarah Schulman traces the history of the HIV/AIDS activism organization, based on nearly 200 interviews. A fascinating work of oral history.
>> Let the Record Show, by Sarah Schulman. Libertalia Editions.
Illuminating
“Faggot”, “dyke”, “monster”… What are we really doing by turning the stigma of the insults hurled at us? In a short and brisk essay, Anthony Vincent rethinks the question about his craft, shining the updated fire of our era on it. A useful examination, also to offer to the “dirty bitches”.”
>> The Insult – From Insult to Solidarity, by Anthony Vincent. Les Liens qui libèrent Editions.
Proud Pair
A double scoop for the publishing house La Meute, which releases two “clarifications” as sapphic as they are necessary: It’s Because You Haven’t Found the Right One Yet, a witty and liberating essay by journalist Marie Kirshen on lesbian coming out, and You Can’t Do That at Home, No?
>> It’s Because You Haven’t Found the Right One Yet, by Marie Kirshen
>> You Can’t Do That at Home, No?
Collective
Who are bisexuals in France in 2026? Between joy at fluidity, self-affirmation and a place that is not always easy to find, the Bi·es collective, notably composed of Amandine Gay, Pauline Harmange and Morgan N. Lucas, offers an informative state of play capable of moving from laughter to tears.
>> Bi·es, coordinated by Camille Regache. Points Editions.
Oval, Yes
When rugby rubs shoulders with drag, the answer is yes twice. Photographer Blandine Vives, a contributor to têtu·, questions masculinity and gender stereotypes in sport, with portraits of players in makeup and of queens in the locker room… or the reverse, we can’t tell anymore.
>> Rugby Queen, by Blandine Vives.
Erudite
If Eurovision can trigger the greatest passions, no Francophone scholarly work had yet been devoted to it. This has now been done with this collection of articles that brings humanities and social sciences into dialogue to analyze the contest’s stakes.
>> Understanding the Eurovision, edited by Lisa Bolz and Sébastien Appiotti. MKF Editions.
Didactic
Targeted at cisgender and heterosexual people, a small work to understand, act and resist as allies of queers with concrete tools: a glossary of words to know and those to avoid, ways to respond and to support on social networks, at home, at work or in public spaces.
>> The Little Guide for Allies – Supporting and Defending the LGBTQIA+ Community in Daily Life, by Marie Furlan. First Editions.
