Academic literature on the topic 'Couples – Sexualité – France'

En septembre 2011, le gouvernement français a instauré l'apprentissage du « genre » dans les manuels de sciences et vie de la terre en première L (littéraire) et ES (économique et sociale). Un an avant les débats autour de l'ouverture du mariage aux couples de même sexe, la France se divise sur le double sujet polémique de l'école et du genre. Cet article retracera cet épisode annonciateur des grandes manifestations homophobes que la France a connu en 2012-2013. Il portera son attention sur les programmes en tant que tel, mais aussi sur leur efficacité et sur ce qu'ils laissent entrevoir de la manière dont la France réagit aux questions de genre et de sexualité.

Cet article dévoile un portrait des besoins et des services en français en matière de sexopérinatalité perçus par 67 couples parentaux francophones en situation linguistique minoritaire d’Ottawa et de l’Est de l’Ontario. Les couples ont des besoins d’informations et de soutien ; pour eux, il est important d’aborder la sexualité pendant la période périnatale. Toutefois, le sujet est peu discuté avec les professionnels de la santé, et très peu de services sexopérinataux en français sont offerts, même s’ils sont souhaités par ces couples. Les discussions sur la sexualité qui se déroulent majoritairement en anglais constituent un obstacle supplémentaire pour une majorité des couples.

This article examines the development of the Pacte Civil de Solidarité (PACS) in France, a legal construct which provides recognition in law to a range of relationship forms, including same-sex couples. The PACS is used as a means of interrogating the continuing importance of republicanism in contemporary French political discourse. The PACS provides a microcosm of wider issues concerning citizenship, marriage, communitarianism, multiculturalism and the meaning of French national identity in the context of globalization and transnationalism. Finally, the article considers the role of republicanism in shaping the constitution of a gay identity in contemporary France, and the impact of the PACS on that identity.

AbstractFaced with the possible censoring of the film adaptation ofʿImarat Yaʿqubyan, the book's author, ʿAlaʾ al-Aswani, responded, “Why aren't Italy, France, or the United States defamed by movies dealing with homosexuality?” Implicit in his defensive question is a perceived distinction between First World gay rights and social conservatism in the Third World. My paper considers this conventional coupling of gay rights and civilizational discourse in the global reception ofʿImarat Yaʿqubyan. Against the author's remarks, I argue that the story is remarkable for staging an interplay between the putatively opposed characters of Hatim Rashid, an openly gay newspaper editor, and Taha al-Shazli, a young man lured into a terrorist group. By uniting these two characters along parallel tracks,ʿImarat Yaʿqubyanqueerly couples the seemingly antagonistic forces endemic to the civilizational discourse of gay rights and offers us a means for imagining new constellations of queer politics.

Abstract Since 2012, hundreds of thousands of people mobilized and demonstrated against a French law that made both marriage and adoption possible for same-sex couples. In these demonstrations, seemingly heterogeneous groups and political traditions came together against those they saw as common enemies, namely Jews, LGBT people and feminists. Are these paradoxical alliances new? How have they transformed the public space and the imaginary of citizenship? The analysis of these activist repertoires shows that the ethos of anti-modernism, which has historically characterized reactionary groups, expressed itself through an obsessive focus and fear of the alleged undoing of gender, which is seen as emblematic of a post-modern society. Whether online or in demonstrations, a collection of political actors, ranging from the far-right to post-colonial second-generation groups, join forces in denouncing mass media, capitalism, and human rights, which they believe to be avatars of the decadence of their postmodern world. Their activism has reshaped the French political landscape.

En décembre 1967 est votée en France la loi Neuwirth, qui légalise l’utili- sation de la contraception médicale. Or, à la surprise de la communauté catholique qui espérait qu’elle soit également autorisée par le magistère romain, paraît en 1968 l’encyclique Humanae Vitae, qui réaffirme l’opposition de l’Église à l’utilisation de ces méthodes médicales. La communauté catholique se divise alors entre une majorité de fidèles souhaitant pouvoir utiliser des méthodes contraceptives médicalisées et une fraction plus réduite participant au développement et au perfectionnement des méthodes d’auto-observation (MAO), seules méthodes autorisées par l’Église, et les utilisant. Cinquante ans plus tard, cet article a pour objectif d’expliquer les logiques contraceptives contemporaines des catholiques pratiquant·e·s et d’interroger l’étanchéité des positions à l’égard de la contraception, entre méthodes médicales et MAO, à partir de l’analyse d’une trentaine d’entretiens menés auprès de cette population. Il analyse la diversité des parcours contraceptifs et la pluralité des discours justifiant l’utilisation des méthodes médicales et non médicales, en montrant que la position de l’Église peut être mise à distance même par les catholiques pratiquant·e·s. Il resitue en particulier leurs choix en matière de contraception dans des représentations plus larges concernant le couple, le genre, la sexualité ou encore ce que serait la « nature », en mettant en évidence que le dogme religieux ne constitue qu’une justification parmi d’autres de pratiques diverses et pouvant évoluer au cours de la vie.

Abstract Background Sexual function is often affected in patients suffering from chronic diseases especially chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, the effect of COPD on sexual satisfaction is underappreciated in clinical practice. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of COPD on patient’s sexuality and the explanatory variables of sexual dissatisfaction. Methods Questionnaires were emailed to participants and they submitted their responses on the Santé Respiratoire France website. Data about sexual well-being (Arizona Sexual Experience Scale, ASEX), Quality of life (VQ11), anxiety, depression (Hospitalized anxiety and depression, HAD) and self-declared COPD grade were collected. Results Seven hundred and fifty one subjects were included and were characterized as follows: women—51%, mean age—61 years, in a couple—62% and 70%—retired. Every grade of COPD was represented. Out of 751 participants, 301 participants (40%) had no sexual activity and 450 (60%) had sexual activity. From the 450 participants, 60% needed to change their sexual life because of their disease (rhythm, frequency and position). Subjects often used medications to improve sexual performance (43% used short-acting bronchodilator and 13% -specific erectile dysfunction drugs). ASEX questionnaire confirmed patients’ dissatisfaction (diminution of sexual appetite for 68% and sexual desire for 60%) because of breathlessness and fatigue. Eighty one percent of the responders had an altered quality of life (VQ11 mean score 35) and frequent suspected anxiety or depression (HAD mean score 10.8). Ninety percent declared that sexual dysfunction had never been discussed by their doctors, while 36% of patients would have preferred to undergo a specialized consultation. Conclusion Sexual dysfunction is frequent among COPD patients and leads to an altered well-being, however being a cultural taboo, it remains frequently neglected. Sexual guidance should be a part of patient’s consultations improve quality of sexual life.

He is, surely, the only heterosexual male in the country who could get away with being photographed half-naked and smothered in baby oil for GQ and still come over as an icon of masculinity. (GQ October 2002. Article on Beckham as GQ’s Sportsman of the Year, 264) Indeed. Let us tear our thoughts away from the image of David basted in oil and consider the extract as one of innumerable examples of the media fascination with Beckham. Given his penetration in Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa, we can take as self-evident that Beckham is a quantifiably significant figure in contemporary global popular culture. By any measure of celebrity and any taxonomy of fame (Turner 15-23), Beckham qualifies as a striking example. He has inevitably appeared in a number of recent academic publications as an exemplar of celebrity and sports culture (Whannel, Turner, Cashmore and Parker) and, more notably in Cashmore’s book, as the focus of a social biography (Beckham). In his book Understanding Celebrity, Turner provides a comprehensive overview of the vast literature which has developed on issues of celebrity and fame, painting a broad picture of concerns divided between the significance of the apparent explosion in celebrity ‘culture’ and the focus on celebrities themselves. Within the literature on the social significance of celebrity culture, we can discern two key themes. First, celebrity culture is a manifestation of globalised commodity consumerism in advanced capitalism and second, its social function as a system of meanings and values which is supplanting traditional resources for self and social identities in late modern culture, including structures such as class, gender/sexuality, ethnicity and nationality. Whilst the authors mentioned above both draw on and contribute to these arguments, their focus remains broad, citing Beckham as a key manifestation of the complex interdependence between globalised sports and media industries, and transformations in gender and consumption. For example, although Cashmore’s book is solidly researched on the impact of media finance on football and has a sound argument on the significance of consumerism, he is prone to generalisations about the transformations in masculinity and celebrity culture which he suggests are central to understanding Beckham’s significance. Turner suggests that there needs to be more focused empirical work on the specific construction of celebrity since ‘modern celebrity…is a product of media representation: understanding it demands close attention to the representational repertoires and patterns employed in this discursive regime’ (8). This is how this short piece offers a contribution to the literature – drawing on a qualitative analysis of articles on Beckham, my discussion focuses on the meanings of Beckham’s celebrity and whether they can tell us something about the way the culture of fame operates. I have drawn selectively from my data, but a fuller discussion of both the data and grounded theory methodology can be found in a previous article (Rahman). Out of the six categories of meaning established through the grounded theory procedures used in the study, my contention is that masculinity is a core nexus in ‘cultural circuitry’ (Hall) – making the stories relevant, understandable, and often controversial. Moreover, the accompanying photo spreads often create a tension with the text, emphasising dissonant/controversial images which testifies to a dynamic of respect/ridicule in the representations. To be more precise, there is a construction of deference to Beckham’s professional status and to the Beckham family as the premier celebrity unit in the UK. Deference to and respect for their status is evident not only in those magazines which have paid for the privilege of access, but also the more gossip orientated celebrity weeklies such as Heat (18-24 May: 6-8): ‘those lucky enough to be asked to join David and Victoria enjoyed one the most extravagant soirees in recent memory. The sheer scale of the £350000 shindig was stunning, even by the standards of Celebville’s most extravagant couple’. Coupled with this respect is a sense of ridicule, often in discrete publications, but also within the same magazine and even sometimes the same article. Ridicule undercuts the celebrity credentials of extravagance and glamour with an implication of tackiness and vulgarity, and this gentle undercurrent becomes stronger when linked to Beckham’s fashion icon status: We’ve supported David through the highlights and lowlights of his various haircuts: the streaked curtains, the skinhead and his travis bickle style mohican. But this latest look is a ‘do too far’ – more village idiot than international style icon… (Heat 13-19 April: 24-5) This dynamic of respect/ridicule relies heavily on another dynamic; that of queer/normative invocation and recuperation. It is not only his fashion icon status being ridiculed here but also his status as a heterosexual masculine icon: People say you’re vain. Do you think so? You can see why people might think you’re a bit of a big girl’s blouse, because you have manicures, sunbeds and bleach your hair. You’re also one of the few footballers to become a gay icon. (Marie Claire June 2002: cover of Beckham, and 69-76) His gender/sexuality is anchored in hetero-family/masculine status but is somewhat dissonant in terms of vanity/grooming and gay icon status. ‘Queerying’ Beckham is not just a technique of ridicule (how very old fashioned that would be!) but also a deliberate destabilisation of ontological anchors which induces a sense of dissonance: An example from Heat (20-26 July 2002) has the cover byline ‘Phwoar! Another new look for Becks’ with a trail for a story on pages 18-20 which has a photograph of Beckham with his nail varnish highlighted and the text: David sported a new blonde barnet and a fitted black suit, and despite the controversy caused by his pink nail varnish he still managed to look macho and absolutely beautiful. This demonstrates some feminisation of Beckham but is counterbalanced by the very masculine anchor of ‘macho’. There is a recognition that the highlighted ambiguity in gender coding is potentially disruptive or controversial and hence it is recuperated – ‘he still managed to look macho’. GQ from June 2002 repeats the play on gender and sexuality, with a cover photo of Beckham lying down, bare torso but in a suit and hat, with one hand showing a ring and nail varnish, and the other in the waistband of his trousers. Inside, on pages 142-55, there follow seven full pages of photos and an interview conducted by David Furnish, a family friend of the Beckhams but also Elton John’s partner and so one of the most visible gay men in celebrity culture. However, rather than any danger of queering by association, the presence of Furnish seems only to enhance the mega-celebrity and hetero status, since he is careful to sound all the right notes of family, football and fatherhood in his questions in the text. Rather, it is the photospread which induces the queerness in this example, with four of Beckham’s naked torso in baby oil, of which one is him in unbuttoned cut-off denim shorts on a weights bench – very retro 1970s gay. In his history of male sports celebrities, Whannel suggests that Beckham is an exceptional figure, both because he is one of the few footballers in the UK to achieve full celebrity status, but also because he transgresses the discipline and work ethic associated with sporting bodies, indulging himself through conspicuous and narcissistic consumption (212). Whannel notes Beckham’s emergence during the development of a men’s style press in the UK, documented thoroughly in Nixon’s study of men’s magazines, which provides an account of the historical moment from 1984-1990 which saw the emergence of ‘new man’ imagery. Drawing on Mort’s contention that this is the first period which showed men being sexualised – a representational strategy previously applied only to women – Nixon concurs with Mort that this moment marks the beginning of men being addressed as a specific gender. However, these images of Beckham push at the boundaries of ‘new man’ constructions and ‘respectable’ images of sporting bodies, suggesting that the deliberate, indelicate and delicious sexualisation of Beckham’s body derives its power from the ‘danger’ this presents to sporting masculinity as well as simply heterosexual masculinity. Thus we need ‘family, fatherhood’ and ‘football’ to anchor the ‘queer’ Beckham. Given these and more recent images (Vanity Fair cover in July 2004, for example), we might be tempted to agree with Cashmore and Parker and Whannel that Beckham is indeed a ‘postmodern’ or ‘hybrid’ celebrity, appearing singularly able to float free of context and to signify many different meanings to many different groups. But the brief examples of the queer/normative dynamic presented here suggest that this is too glib an answer, precisely because there seems to be an explicit recognition of this dynamic: the editor of GQ says of Beckham that ‘he is in touch with his feminine side, but he is so obviously heterosexual that he can afford to be’ (Hot Stars 2-8 Nov. 2002: 36-9). The deliberate induction of dissonance suggests a reflexivity about the constructedness of these representations; a knowing indication that queerying Beckham’s masculinity is not the reality of Beckham, but rather that the queerying is perhaps a hyper reality as Baudrillard might have it. Beckham does not float ‘free’: dialectical signs are precisely mapped onto him. Dyer argues that film stars could be read as signs for specific versions of individuality, but crucially, that these signs reflect the dominant ideological constructions of class, ethnicity and gender/sexuality. In one example, he demonstrates how the sexually transgressive and potentially lesbian elements of Jane Fonda’s star persona are recuperated through the emphasis on her nationality and ethnicity, her ‘all-Americanness’ (81). Similarly, Beckham’s queerness is deliberately deployed as a sign, to be neutralised by heterosexual signs, thus recuperating the ideological dominance of a heteronormative culture. Beckham’s masculinity can be read as a ‘sign’, divorced from traditional referents and re-marked into a queer sign, specifically to promote consumption through the heady mix of respected status and apparently exciting transgression as a key aspect of this status. But this is a simulation, not indicating any ‘real’ queering of either the subject, or indeed of the assumed audience who have to make sense of the sign. Rather, the potential to remark Beckham as ‘queer’ seems to indicate that whilst heterosexual masculinity can be a sign, so perhaps too does queer itself become a sign, similarly divorced from its traditional referents. The ‘reality’ is thus simulated through pre-determined codes of representation, and one such code seems to be that gender transgression is culturally significant. Dialectical signs are mapped onto a reality/hyper reality dynamic, with queerness presented knowingly as the hyper real – after all, the reality is that Beckham is ‘so obviously heterosexual…’ It is possible to argue that the dynamics at work in making these representations effective can be understood as dialectical since there are opposing momentums at work in the construction of celebrity and fame. The respect/ridicule dynamic demonstrates that constructions of celebrity cannot be uncritically deferential. The gentle and knowing ridicule is a collusion between the media(tors) and the audience: an indication that this relationship is the true romance of celebrity culture rather than that between fans and icons. And why should this be so? Precisely because the media needs to continue to feed the desires of the audience but there is no guarantee that the desire will continue when an icon’s star wanes – unless of course, watching the decline is as much part of the romance as building the respect. Marshall argues that celebrity legitimises the individuality central to the lock between consumer capitalism and liberal democracy and the respect/ridicule dynamic exemplifies this function. The necessary continuation of consumption produces a dialectical dynamic, wherein both respect and ridicule exist to permit easy shifts in emphasis whilst maintaining the attention on the celebrity, which promotes continued consumption. Beckham’s own demonisation and rehabilitation in the wake of France 98 testifies convincingly to the necessity for continuity of producing items for consumption, no matter what the spin. Furthermore, the recent scandals over alleged infidelities has generated a production spike in the amount of images and words produced, whilst this time, not directly attacking Beckham. The queer constructions of Beckham amplify respect/ridicule along a specific dimension, supplying a dialectic of its own. The modes of meaning surrounding Beckham do indicate a shift in the possible effective constructions of masculinity, with the incorporation of a feminised interest in fashion (hairstyles, nail varnish, presentation in general) and the affirmation of gay icon/object of desire. It is in these constructions of dissonance that the de-essentialising of masculinity occurs, which may be the productive moment of disruption for those receiving the images and texts, and incorporating them into their own meaning systems around Beckham, footballers, masculinities, heteronormativity. The fact that these queer moments are possible may be testament enough to Beckham’s social significance; he is in the right place at the right time (with the right body and profession) to be our cultural lightning conductor for contemporary anxieties around gender/sexuality. However, the dialectic of queering Beckham has a synthesis which suggests that the route into queerness is not as important as the route out. These are only fleeting materialisations of the queer David Beckham – flashes of fleshy dissonance glimpsed briefly before the recuperation into the heterosexual subject, coded by footie, family and fatherhood. The newer dissonant properties of masculinity are literally contextualised within ideological codes of heterosexuality. The evident theatricalisation and appropriation may appear to signal a productive route into queerness – from heterosexual to queer (the pink nail varnish, the oiled fashion shoots, the gay gym denim cut offs shot), but what if it is actually working in reverse? What if the cultural effectivity is achieved by appropriating and theatricalising from gay/transgender to heterosexual? – de-essentialising ‘queer’ for productive dissonance and amusement, but safe in the knowledge that there is a secure and policed route out of ‘queerness’ – the encoded red carpet of heterosexual masculinity. The possibilities of a queer visibility are thus denied through the recuperative effects of the dialectics at work. The ridiculing of his gender transgressions may be necessarily gentle, in order to walk the tightrope of respect/ridicule, but they nonetheless assume that transgressions are problematic. Furthermore, the reality/hyper reality dynamic deploys queer as a ‘sign’ precisely in order to effect a recuperation of a normative version of ‘reality’. It seems that the weight of a predominantly heteronormative culture reinforces the dialectics in celebrity culture, making the unproblematic visibility of queer subjects improbable. After all, in these examples – focused one on the world’s premier celebrities – ‘queer’ itself is not actually cool – it seems that only the simulation of queer is cool. Within contemporary fame, perhaps straight is really the new queer? References Cashmore, E. Beckham. 2nd ed. Oxford: Polity Press, 2004. Cashmore, E., and A. Parker. “One David Beckham? Celebrity, Masculinity and the Soccerati.” Sociology of Sport Journal 20.3 (2003): 214-31. Dyer, R. Stars. 2nd ed. London: BFI, 1998. Hall, S. “Encoding/Decoding.” Reprinted from original 1977 publication at Birmingham Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies. Culture, Media, Language. Ed. S. Hall. London: Unwin Hyman, 1990. Marshall, P.D. Celebrity and Power: Fame in Contemporary Culture. London: U of Minneapolis P, 1997. Mort, F. “Boy’s Own? Masculinity, Style and Popular Culture.” Male Order. Unwrapping Masculinity. Eds. J. Chapman and J. Rutherford. London, Lawrence and Wishart, 1998. 193-224. Nixon, S. Hard Looks: Masculinities, Spectatorship and Contemporary Consumption. London: UCL Press, 1996. Rahman, M. “David Beckham as a Historical Moment in the Representation of Masculinity.” Labour History Review 69.2 (Aug. 2004): 219-34. Turner, G. Understanding Celebrity. London: Sage, 2004. Whannel, G. Media Sport Stars: Masculinities and Moralities. London: Routledge, 2002. Citation reference for this article MLA Style Rahman, Mohmin. "Is Straight the New Queer?: David Beckham and the Dialectics of Celebrity." M/C Journal 7.5 (2004). echo date('d M. Y'); ?> <http://journal.media-culture.org.au/0411/15-rahman.php>. APA Style Rahman, M. (Nov. 2004) "Is Straight the New Queer?: David Beckham and the Dialectics of Celebrity," M/C Journal, 7(5). Retrieved echo date('d M. Y'); ?> from <http://journal.media-culture.org.au/0411/15-rahman.php>.

Un couple est d'abord sexuel puis conjugal et parfois il devient aussi parental. La relation sexuelle contribue à la construction identitaire de chaque partenaire, mais aussi à la construction de leur conjugalité. Certains couples par la suite font le choix d'avoir des enfants et de devenir parents; d'autres s'y refusent. La procréation est devenue, elle aussi, élective. Grâce à la sexualité contrôlée par la contraception, les partenaires peuvent décider du meilleur moment pour avoir un enfant. La parentalité est un choix de vie alors qu'il y a encore quelques décennies, elle était la finalité inéluctable d'un couple. Comme pour les modèles de conjugalité, nous nous trouvons confrontés de nos jours à un pluralisme de formes de parentalité qui est étroitement lié à l'émergence de nouveaux modèles familiaux. La sexualité conjugale n'aura pas le même sens ni la même signification selon le modèle de conjugalité dans lequel les individus s'inscrivent mais aussi selon le genre et le contexte socio culturel dans lequel ils vivent. Ces couples qui décident de devenir parents vont connaître des changements dans leur relation sexuelle et conjugale, mais peu d'études traitent de ce sujet tant il semble banal : il s'agit d'un phénomène que connaissent à un moment donné de leur vie la grande majorité des couples hétérosexuels et que nous ne sommes guère enclins à interroger tant il va de soi qu'un couple conjugal a pour objectif de devenir un couple parental. L'interrogation qui initie ce travail peut dès lors s'énoncer en ces termes : comment la sexualité conjugale des couples (de classe moyenne) français et vénézuéliens est-elle « affectée » par la venue d’un enfant ?
Some couples choose to get children and therefore become parents; others refuse to do it. Thanks to contraception which controls the sexuality, both partners can decide when the right time has come to get a baby. Parentality is nowadays a choice of way of life, whereas this was the inevitable finality of a couple some decades ago. These couples who decides to become parents are going to face some changes in their sexual and conjugal life, but few studies are dedicated to this topic since it seems going without saying: this is a phenomenon that most of the heterosexual couples know at any stage of their life but which we are not inclined to investigate since it is just normal that a heterosexual couple aims to become a parental couple. And yet, the individualization of the paths reinforces the role of the sexuality, and the access to parentality can make the couple more vulnerable. Getting a child can sometimes generate some changes in the behavior but also in the representations of the partners as regards their sexuality, their conjugal life, but also their own individuality. This is the reason why we tried to find out in this dissertation how becoming parents can affect conjugal sexuality and conjugal life, keeping in mind that this work at the crossroads of family sociology and sexuality sociology is questioning a point that goes without saying for many people. So, in order to stand back and move a bit away from this point of view, we led the investigation in two different socio-cultural contexts: France and Venezuela

Cette thèse de doctorat porte sur « La vie de couple : Étude comparative entre les couples syriens, français et franco-syriens ». Cette étude met en évidence l’importance d’une relation qui forme le coeur de la première cellule dans la société qui est la famille. C'est la première étude qui tente d’explorer ce sujet à fond. La thèse s'intéresse à l’analyse de la construction du couple dans deux sociétés et deux cultures (France-Syrie). Elle permet de mieux cerner le rôle de l’environnement social et familial dans la stabilité ou les difficultés que traversent parfois les couples. L’échantillon de la recherche est composé de 55 couples (110 sujets). Il est réparti en quatre groupes : 30 couples syriens vivant en Syrie, 13 couples syriens vivant en France, 7 couples franco-syriens vivant en France ainsi que 5 couples français vivant en France. Les outils de la recherche sont les entretiens semi-directifs, le questionnaire de l’entente conjugale et le T.A.T. Les résultats de cette étude sont que les variables étudiées démontrent une différence significative et importante entre les quatre groupes de l’échantillon de la recherche sauf pour deux variables : l’entente conjugale et les activités partagées dans le couple qui ne montrent pas de différence significative. En conclusion, cette étude contribue à déterminer les facteurs de la réussite du mariage, de convergence dans le couple, de la mésentente et les causes de tension et de conflit. Elle fournit des bases afin d’élaborer un programme de consultation visant à améliorer la relation au sein du couple
This thesis focuses on « the life of couples: comparative study between Syrian couples, French and Franco-Syrian ». This study highlights relationship of the family which is considered as a crucial cell that builds society. This study is the first of its kind that attempts to explore this issue thoroughly. This thesis is interested in analyzing the structure of couples in two diffrent societies and two cultures in both Syria and France. This study focuses on the importance of the role of the family and social environment in either stability or instability cases and in the difficulties that couples are passing through sometimes. The research sample consists of 55 couples (110 sujets), which was divided into four groups as the following : 30 Syrian couples living in Syria, and 13 Syrian couples living in France, 7 Franco-Syrian couples living in France, and 5 French couples living in France. The reserch is based mainly on undirected interviews containing questions about couples life, marital understanding, and projective test TAT. Search results : The studied variables shows a quiet signifiant difference between the four groups in the sample, while there are two variables which are the marital understand and the joint activities between the couple that did not show any differences. In conclusion, this study helps in defining the marriage success factors in terms of matching and agreement between the couple and disagreement between them. Also defining the causes of tension and conflit and provides bases to develop a consultation program to improve the relationship between the couple

Les paysages religieux et sexuels se caractérisent, en France, par des mutations communes, caractérisant la dynamique plus large de sécularisation de la société française. Ils sont traversés par des processus de diversification des pratiques, de pluralisation des répertoires d’action et d’individualisation des normes, tout autant que par le maintien de cadres sociaux régulant les conduites. Le contexte religieux français est marqué par la perte d’influence institutionnelle de la religion catholique et par la diminution des appartenances catholiques, par l’importance croissante des individus ne déclarant aucune appartenance religieuse, ainsi que par l’affirmation de l’islam. Il s’agit en effet d’une religion jeune, dynamique, et souvent socialement minorée et racialisée. Ces évolutions – tout autant que l’histoire différente du catholicisme et de l’islam en France – interrogent la forte visibilité publique et médiatique d’une frange religieuse mobilisée autour de questions de genre et de sexualité. Pour mieux comprendre ces phénomènes, le travail de thèse questionne l’articulation entre genre, sexualité et religions en France depuis les années 1970, en s’appuyant sur les pratiques et représentations sexuelles des catholiques et des musulman•e•s. L’analyse utilise deux types de matériaux : trois grandes enquêtes de population sur la sexualité en France (1970, 1992, 2006) et une sur la conjugalité (2013), ainsi que des entretiens biographiques auprès de personnes se déclarant catholiques et musulman•e•s. Le croisement de ces deux matériaux permet d’étudier, dans une perspective comparative, l’évolution des conduites sexuelles des femmes et des hommes selon leur religiosité. Le répertoire sexuel des individus, qu’ils soient catholiques, musulmans ou sans religion d’appartenance, est diversifié et étendu. Les pratiques sexuelles se rapprochent entre catholiques et personnes sans religion (âge d’entrée dans la sexualité, masturbation, pornographie), tandis que la sexualité des musulman•e•s est marquée par des écarts de genre importants et des pratiques en lien leur position minoritaire dans l’espace social (comme le recours à la prostitution pour les hommes). Les représentations associées à la famille et à l’homosexualité se résument à trois grandes configurations, selon l’attachement des personnes au couple, à la procréation et à l’hétérosexualité. La religion détermine en partie ces positionnements, qui s’inscrivent toutefois dans des parcours biographiques et des expériences sexuelles plus larges. La thèse montre de plus comment s’imbriquent les trajectoires religieuses et sexuelles des femmes et des hommes à partir de leurs parcours de vie et de leur position dans les rapports sociaux (de classe, de genre, de race). La religion apparaît, selon le contexte, comme une ressource (culturelle, sociale ou symbolique) pouvant être utilisée dans la recherche d’un•e partenaire et euphémiser ou renforcer des logiques de sélection sociale. Les entretiens éclairent les manières dont les individus s’approprient leur religion, tant dans leurs discours que dans les discours sur leurs pratiques, mais aussi les façons dont ils subjectivent les normes et les (re)constituent a posteriori, en relisant leurs expériences biographiques. In fine, la thèse apporte des clés pour mieux comprendre le processus de sécularisation en France. La sexualité des catholiques et des musulman•e•s offre un point de vue original sur la manière dont les individu•e•s se constituent comme sujets. Elle apporte un nouveau sur les formes que prend la normativité sociale, dans une société sécularisée, au sein de laquelle les sources normatives sont nombreuses et peu hiérarchisées. Enfin, elle démontre que la religion renvoie à des rapports sociaux combinés, dans une société traversée par des inégalités de genre, de classe, de race et de sexualité
The French religious and sexual landscapes share certain mutations that characterized a larger dynamic of secularization. They are structured not only by processes that diversify practices, multiply the available choices for action, and individualize norms, but also by the persistence of social frameworks that regulate behaviour. The state of religion in France is characterized by the Catholic faith’s loss of institutional influence and a reduction in church membership, a growing number of people stating no religious affiliation, and the specific position of Islam. The latter is a young, dynamic religion that is often understated and racialized in social space. These changes—and the differing histories of Catholicism and Islam in France—explain and interrogate the high public and media visibility of a religious fringe concerned with questions of gender and sexuality. To better understand these phenomena, the thesis examines the links between gender, sexuality and religion in France since the 1970s, on the basis of the sexual practice and representations of Catholics and Muslims. My analysis uses two types of material: three major population surveys on sexuality in France (1970, 1992, 2006) and one on conjugality (2013), together with biographical interviews with respondents who identify as Catholics and Muslims. The combination of these research materials provides a comparative perspective on the development of sexual behaviour among women and men according to their religiosity.The range of sexual behaviour among individuals, whether Catholic, Muslim or non-affiliated, is wide and diversified. Practices (first sexual experience, masturbation, pornography) are becoming more similar between Catholics and the non-affiliated, while Muslims’ sexuality is characterized by major gender differences and practices related to their minorized position in social space (such as men’s use of prostitutes). The perceptions of family and homosexuality fall into three major patterns, according to the respondents’ attachment to life as a couple, childbearing and heterosexuality. Religious commitment to some extent determines these positions, which are also situated within broader life stories and sexual experience.The thesis also demonstrates how women and men’s religious and sexual trajectories are connected on the basis of their life stories and place in power relationship (class, gender, race). In some cases, religion may be a resource (cultural, social or symbolic) for finding a partner and underplaying or reinforcing processes of social selection. The research interviews throw light on the ways in which respondents appropriate their religion, in what they say about it and about their behaviour, and the ways they subjectivate norms and (re)construct them in hindsight as they review their life experiences.The thesis offers new insight into the process of secularization in France. The sexuality of Catholics and Muslims provides an original view of the way men and women establish themselves as subjects. It sheds new light on the various forms of social normativity in a society where normative sources are multiple and non-hierarchical. Finally, it demonstrates that religion is only socially significant in a society structured by gender, class, race, and sexual inequalities

Cette thèse de doctorat étudie les mouvements LGBT en Belgique, en France et en Espagne à travers une double comparaison (entre les cas et à travers le temps) qui intègre également les échanges et influences transnationaux et internationaux. Elle examine l’émergence et le développement de la revendication d’ouverture du mariage civil aux couples de même sexe dans ces pays, analysant les convergences en termes de contenu des demandes et de timing des mobilisations. Par conséquent, elle porte sur des convergences au niveau des mouvements sociaux, à l’inverse de la majeure partie de la littérature, qui se concentre sur les convergences de politiques publiques. Cette situation impose de construire une grille d’analyse basée sur la littérature sur les mouvements sociaux, les politiques publiques et les relations internationales (influence des normes internationales). Le développement des revendications relatives au droit au mariage a été retracé de manière généalogique depuis la fin des années 1980. La comparaison repose sur la méthode du most different systems design et un travail empirique important combinant analyse documentaire et entretiens a été réalisé. Cette thèse confirme l’importance de l’étude des échanges et des influences internationaux et transnationaux pour comprendre la politique domestique et insiste sur l’influence cruciale du réseautage transnational sur les revendications des mouvements sociaux. Elle révèle aussi quelques cas de diffusion entre mouvements sociaux et montre comment des caractéristiques et des contraintes communes peuvent inciter les mouvements sociaux à formuler des revendications similaires. Par ailleurs, les discours en faveur du droit au mariage ont été analysés avec soin. L’émergence de cette revendication a aussi été mise en perspective sur le plan historique, ce qui implique de réfléchir aux modalités de transformation des mouvements LGBT au cours des trente dernières années. Pour terminer, la notion de citoyenneté sexuelle a été interrogée et la manière dont l’accès à la citoyenneté a été posé a été examinée à partir du concept de resignification proposé par Judith Butler.

This dissertation looks at LGBT movements in Belgium, France and Spain through a double comparison (between cases and through time), which also takes into account transnational and international exchanges and influences. It investigates the simultaneous emergence and development of same-sex marriage claims in these countries, examining convergences in the content of the claims and the timing of protest. Therefore, it looks at convergences at the level of social movements, unlike most of the literature, which focuses on convergences in public policies. This specific research interests implies building an analytical model based on the literature on social movements, public policies and international relations (influence of international norms). It has also required a genealogical account of the development of same-sex marriage claims in each country from the end of the eighties until now. The comparison is based on the most different systems design method, and an extensive field work combining archives analysis and interviews has been carried out. This dissertation confirms the importance of taking into account international and transnational exchanges and influences to understand domestic politics, and insists on the crucial influence of transnational networking on social movements claims. It also discloses some cases of diffusion between social movements and shows how common characteristics and constraints may induce social movements to make similar but independent decisions. Discourses in favour of same-sex marriage have been carefully analysed, and the emergence of this claim has been put into a historical perspective. This implies a reflection on the transformations of the LGBT movement over the last thirty years. Finally, this dissertation interrogates the notion of sexual citizenship and examines the specific mechanisms through which access to citizenship has been proposed, discussing Judith Butler’s concept of resignification.

Doctorat en Sciences politiques et sociales
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L’objectif de cette thèse est de chercher à savoir ce qui, dans la société occidentale actuelle et notamment en France, caractérise nos choix en termes de sexualité aussi bien dans nos comportements intimes que dans notre représentation sociale identitaire. La bisexualité nous semble incarner une nouvelle forme de sexualité qui pose le problème du lien qui existerait entre le sexe – et tous les dispositifs qui le sous-tendent, comme, par exemple l’identité bisexuelle, le militantisme bisexuel ou plus encore la simple pratique de la bisexualité – et les institutions sociales en place actuellement. Notre thèse a pris pour point départ la question de notre liberté sexuelle pour aboutir à l’hypothèse selon laquelle nous nous révélons être les acteurs autant que les victimes d’un pouvoir de la sexualité qui mêle action institutionnelle sur notre sphère privée et résistance de chacun d’entre nous dans l’espace public. Ainsi, la sexualité est prise ici comme un objet où des enjeux politiques se jouent et participent à un mécanisme complexe dont les rouages font interagir des notions multiples : le corps, le désir, la procréation, la parentalité, mais encore le genre, comme jonction de cet ensemble. Si nous avons prioritairement étudié la bisexualité, nous n’avons, dans ce travail, jamais quitté l’analyse critique de l’hétérosexualité et de l’homosexualité – et de l’homoparentalité – dans une société française que nous interrogeons par rapport à la pratique de la sexualité de ses membres. Une enquête de terrain a donc été nécessaire pour comprendre comment les Français considèrent ce lien tout en les interrogeant sur les notions qui sont chères à l’ensemble de notre problématique. Après avoir préalablement travaillé sur les théories psychanalytiques qui concernent la sexualité et les sexualités – notamment les théories freudiennes – notre étude de terrain nous a permis d’aboutir à la thèse selon laquelle l’existence réelle d’une sexualité politique démontre que nous entrons dans une nouvelle ère sexuelle, de nouvelles frontières entre ce qui est privé et ce qui est public naissant. En ce sens, nous sommes peut-être en droit de parler d’une nouvelle révolution sexuelle faisant suite à celle qu’a connu l’Occident dans les années 70, révolution sexuelle où, comme Michel Foucault l’affirmait déjà, la sexualité s’avère aisément démontrer sa puissance socio-politique, jusqu’à pouvoir parler de « monarchie du sexe ». A travers une analyse qui s’appuie sur une étude théorique et une enquête de terrain, cette thèse tente de mieux comprendre ce qui guide nos choix sexuels et affectifs et la façon dont nous gérons nos sentiments amoureux dans une société où les liens qui unissent le discours sexuel et les représentations politiques de cette même sexualité, semblent ambigus. Qu’en est-il, alors, de notre liberté sexuelle ? Plus encore, comment considérer la place nouvelle que les sexualités minoritaires prennent aujourd’hui en France ? La bisexualité est-elle l’incarnation d’une nouvelle révolution de la façon de vivre la sexualité et d’aimer ?
The aim of this thesis is to find out what guides our choices in terms of sexuality, private behaviour, in our social identity representation in western society and more precisely in France. Bisexuality embodies a new form of sexuality that questions the link that may exist between sex (and all the devices that go along with such as bisexual identity, bisexual militancy and the actual practice of bisexuality) and social institutions. Our thesis goes from the question of our sexual freedom all the way up to the hypotheses that we are the stakeholders and the victims at the same time of a power of sexuality that mingles institutional actions in our private sphere and opposition in our public sphere. Therefore sexuality becomes the object of political stakes and the object of a complex mechanism, a kind of machinery that intermingles with a variety of notions : body, desire, procreation, parenthood and gender as a link-up of the whole. While bisexuality being a priority in this study, the critical analysis of heterosexuality, homosexuality and homoparenthood in the french society is transversal, being questioned in relation to the actual practice of sexuality in the french society. A first survey helped us understand how french people look at this link and question the key-ideas wich are essential to our thesis. The psychanalytic theories on sexuality – and sexualities – and specifically the Freudian theories, together with our field survey, shows that we might be at the edge of a new sexual era, presenting new boundaries between the private and the public spheres. This allows us to talk about a new sexual revolution following the one that occured in the Occident in the 1970s. This sexual revolution, as asserted in his time by Michel Foucault, brings to mind the idea of a sexuality that reveals its social and political power and can lead us to speak of a « sexual monarchy ». Through this analysis based on a theoretical study and a field survey, this thesis helps us understand our sexual and emotional choices and the way we handle our love feeling in a society where the links between sexual speeches and their political representations seem to be ambiguous. This leads us to question our sexual freedom. Furthermore, how to consider the new place of sexual minorities in France today ? Is bisexuality the embodiment of a new revolution regarding how we live our sexuality and the way we love each other ?

Cette recherche porte sur le réaménagement du modèle de féminité durant les deux décennies 1960 et 1970, en Belgique et en France. La féminité est alors déclarée en voie de disparition tout en étant omniprésente dans les débats de société. La question de la recherche est de savoir si le modèle est bouleversé ou réaménagé par des phénomènes « nouveaux » tels que le travail des femmes, la libération sexuelle ou encore le féminisme. La recherche se base sur des sources publiées, la télévision, la radio et les mémoires d’écoles sociales et d’université. La première partie est consacrée aux bases du modèle de féminité. Elle détermine ses caractéristiques au début des années 1960. Elle étudie ensuite comment le modèle est réaménagé face aux bouleversements du féminisme et se penche sur la reformulation des fondations scientifiques du modèle. Elle se termine sur l’observation des modèles de féminité belge et français face aux modèles venus d’ailleurs. La deuxième partie porte sur le réaménagement des différentes facettes traditionnelles de la féminité, à savoir les rôles de mère, de ménagère et d’épouse. Elle observe la façon dont ces facettes sont bouleversées ou non par deux facettes « émergentes », le travail et la sexualité, dont la nouveauté est questionnée au regard de l’histoire.
Doctorat en Histoire, art et archéologie
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Cette thèse étudie la transformation du lien conjugal pendant la Grande Guerre, du fait de la séparation imposée par la mobilisation générale. Elle interroge les répercussions de la guerre dans la sphère intime en prenant les couples, mariés ou non, comme objets d'étude. En effet, à la seule échelle de la France, cadre choisi pour l'étude, pendant les quatre années de guerre, la séparation est vécue par au moins cinq millions de couples. Il s'agit donc d'analyser une expérience éminemment intime mais largement partagée au plan collectif. Si, dans l'objectif de rendre compte à la fois des aspects collectifs et singuliers, de nombreuses sources sont convoquées (presse quotidienne, documents législatifs, iconographiques, littérature), la thèse s'appuie essentiellement sur les correspondances conjugales qui, dans la distance, matérialisent le lien entre les conjoints. La première partie de la thèse est consacrée à l'analyse de la désorganisation conjugale provoquée par l'entrée en guerre. L'étude aborde les bouleversements liés à la séparation des couples dans trois domaines : démographique, juridique (avec le vote de la loi autorisant les mariages par procuration) et social. La mise en place du rituel épistolaire, la recherche par la correspondance d'une quotidienneté perdue, tout comme le partage des émotions, l'expression de l'amour et du désir, construisent le " pacte épistolaire ", qui fait l'objet de la seconde partie de la thèse. Enfin, la dernière partie interroge la transformation du lien conjugal sous l'effet de la menace omniprésente de la mort.

L'examen de l'image de la femme chez Morand nous paraît un moyen efficace pour apprécier la lucidité du regard que le narrateur-auteur porte sur la société à laquelle il appartient, afin de préciser la nature et le sens de l'ironie voilée et pour appréhender enfin comment l'auteur est parvenu à transformer la nouvelle image de la femme. Une lecture paradigmatique, permet d'analyser l'opinion ambiguë du narrateur en tant que sujet regardant masculin, sur l'objet regardé féminin. Paradoxalement, l'image de la femme n'est pas toujpurs valorisée et ne paraît moderne qu'en apparence !

This chapter discusses how a patient’s history failed to inform a Neuropsychologist about the patient’s Non-Epileptic Seizures (NES). A comprehensive exploration of the patient’s medical history revealed no specific seizure triggers. At the same time, tests looking for biomedical abnormalities failed to identify any indication of epilepsy. He was then diagnosed with NES and was sent to the Neuropsychologist for a full psychological evaluation. After two interviews, the Neuropsychologist decided to see the patient with his wife, with the aim of exploring the couple’s relationship and sexuality. In this meeting, the Neuropsychologist found out that the patient had been involved in a car crash in which a number of his friends had been instantly killed. During his recovery in the few weeks after this tragic event, the patient exhibited his first non-epileptic seizures. It is very interesting to underline that during the course of his medical care, the patient was unable to discuss this traumatic event, even when interacting with a trained psychologist and during the course of a semistructured interview that involves an assessment of traumatic reactions. Only his body revealed an actual and authentic posttraumatic stress disorder with selective amnesia limited to the triggering event.