A Queer Uprising 60 Years Before Stonewall: The 1905 Les Douaires Riot
In the early 1900s, an increasing number of boys over 16 were sent to Les Douaires, a youth detention colony in Normandy, France. Rumors circulated about frequent sexual interactions among the detained boys.
The 1969 Stonewall riot is known as a landmark event in LGBTQ+ resistance against police raids and a cornerstone in the gay rights movement in the West. Pride events today commemorate this historic uprising every June. However, Stonewall was not the first queer rebellion.
Recent research published in the Journal of Homosexuality revealed a queer uprising that occurred in 1905, more than six decades before Stonewall, at a youth detention center in France.
Queer Life in 19th-Century France
During the 19th century, a growing underground queer scene emerged around bars and brothels in Paris. Same-sex relationships were also common within single-gender institutions such as the military and prisons, though they were often frowned upon.
Concerns about queer sexualities increased during this period, as they began to be pathologized and labeled as medical disorders.
Youth Penal Colonies and Les Douaires
Same-sex relationships were widespread in French youth penal colonies, where working-class boys aged from eight to 21 were incarcerated for months or years, frequently due to vagrancy or theft. These institutions enforced harsh agricultural and industrial labor.
Les Douaires was one such colony for boys in northern France, where these dynamics played out and led to the 1905 uprising.
The 1969 Stonewall riot was a pivotal episode of LGBTQ+ resistance to a police raid and a turning point in the western gay rights movement.
In 19th-century France, an underground queer scene was developing around bars and brothels in Paris.
Author's summary: The 1905 Les Douaires riot reveals an early, overlooked queer resistance that predated Stonewall by over 60 years, highlighting the persistent struggle for LGBTQ+ rights in harsh institutional settings.