A Queer Uprising 60 Years Before Stonewall: The 1905 Les Douaires Riot
In the early 1900s, more boys over the age of 16 were sent to Les Douaires, a youth detention center in Normandy, France. Rumors circulated about frequent sexual encounters between the boys detained there.
The 1969 Stonewall riot is widely recognized as a landmark event in LGBTQ+ resistance against police raids and a major turning point in the gay rights movement. Each year, Pride events commemorate this uprising at the end of June. However, Stonewall was not the first queer rebellion.
Recent research published in the Journal of Homosexuality revealed a queer uprising at Les Douaires in 1905, more than six decades before Stonewall.
Context of Queer Life in 19th-Century France
During the 19th century, a hidden queer community emerged around Parisian bars and brothels. Same-sex relationships were also prevalent within single-gender institutions such as the military and prisons, despite general social disapproval.
At the time, queer sexualities began to be increasingly pathologized and labeled as medical disorders, which fueled societal anxieties.
Youth Penal Colonies and Same-Sex Relationships
Same-sex relationships were common in some French youth penal colonies. These institutions housed working-class youth aged 8 to 21, who were often arrested for vagrancy or theft and sentenced to months or years of detention.
- Young detainees were subjected to harsh agricultural and industrial labor.
- Les Douaires served as a detention facility specifically for boys in Normandy.
"In the 1900s, a growing number of boys aged over 16 were sent to Les Douaires in Normandy. Rumours spread of frequent sexual interactions between detained boys."
"The 1969 Stonewall riot, a pivotal episode of LGBTQ+ resistance to a police raid, was a turning point in the western gay rights movement."
Author’s Summary
This study highlights an overlooked queer uprising at Les Douaires in 1905, illustrating early resistance within youth detention colonies long before Stonewall.