The True Cause of the French Revolution

My history teacher is literally her subject. She teaches from a time before interaction, PowerPoint or computers. She talks to us, or more at us. When she said that some of what the press printed about the French Queen, Marie-Antoinette was just ‘truly horrible’, I decided to do my own research into this.

“The main theme of the attack is the portrayal of Marie Antoinette as a lesbian. The satire is particularly striking for exhibiting a clear recognition of a lesbian sexual orientation, which is variously indicated by terms such as "women of that stamp" "inclinations", and "a lover of her own sex…. At one stage the point is made that Antonina is bisexual, but throughout most of the book her passion for her own sex is shown to be stronger than her passion for men, and she is said to have deliberately disguised her love for women by taking men as lovers.” – Rictor Norton

So now I see why my teacher didn’t quite expand on the point. The eighteenth century press capitalised on irrational fear of lesbianism to demonise their queen. Perhaps this homophobia back then could help explain why France is still cautious with gay rights, their ‘civil union’ system criticised for not allowing gay people enough rights.

Homophobia as the root of the French Revolution? Far fetched I know. However, it is interesting to note just how powerful feeling against homosexuality was. Could homophobia really be a revolutionary notion? Some believe gay rights to be an ongoing revolution, so perhaps the radical right are running their own counter-revolution.

The example of France ‘back then’ causes me to wonder if homosexuality could cause the downfall of today’s rulers. Could a hate campaign against ‘Tony Poof Blair’ bring him down? I’m sad to say, probably.

Homophobia does drag us down, not just lesbians, rulers or Marie-Antoinette. It drags down society, it drags us all down.