Gay Paree! Queer Subculture in Interwar Paris
Along with the interwar years in Paris came an influx of people who would in modern contexts be deemed as queer. Lesbians and gay men flocked to Paris from America due to their disdain for the “Ugliness of Puritan American Virtue,” – as put by Natalie Clifford Barney – and Parisian men and women relished in their city’s lax penal codes. Many of the young lesbian and gay people in Paris during these years were frequenting cabarets, such as Jean Cocteau and Suzy Solidor, or hosting their own literary salons such as Gertrude Stein and Natalie Clifford Barney. Not only were there many artistic pursuits to be had for these queer artists in Paris, but people of all classes could also join in on the gaiety of Paris in the interwar years, with cabarets as their vehicle. Apart from the previously mentioned cabarets and literary salons, women also had the opportunity to join the workforce during World War I, which offered lesbians an outlet to express themselves with masculinity, as well ...
