"Document sapphic loves to keep track of our lives. It is with this objective that this current project represents the diversity of lesbian and Sapphic couples, through the meeting of almost fifty of them.
These romances have neither model nor standard (they do not only concern young, white, cisgender, able-bodied people, etc.), they are plural and singular and unfold in all spaces, in cities as well as in campaigns. It is particularly a question of making visible the couples far from the big cities, where ti is sometimes more difficult to meet and identify as belonging to a community. To photograph the intimate, in the private sphere, but also the presence of these couples in the public space (during lesbian demonstrations for example).
The goal of this project is to create an archive, through a concerned look, and to keep track of these loves that exist in a society where heterosexuality is over-represented.The interviews with each of the couples are complementary to the photo work, so that the project as a whole embodies their stories and their identities."
“I ve felt this deep inside me since I was twelve. Maybe even before, but for a long time I conformed to the gender I was assigned. (...) After my divorce, I lived alone for eight years. It was during this time that this desire that I always had, to make a transition, took shape. But as I got older, I didn t even know if that was still possible. I was alone, and I hesitated. One day, a friend came to the house, he told me about one of his doctor friends, who had made a transition during his retirement. I hallucinated, and from there I told myself that I could really do it. So I started all the steps in 2018. I went to see a psychiatrist in Caen, an endocrinologist... etc. (...) Furthermore, I knew deep down that I loved women and that I was a lesbian. Meeting a woman who also loved women would have been an absolutely unexpected opportunity for me. And unexpected luck, today, is next to me. (...) Since then, my life has changed in the sense that with Marianne, I am emancipating myself. She supports me and helps me by being by my side. Plus now I can steal his clothes! (Laughs). Being with her allowed me to be perfectly me. I have changed, I am flourishing. Why did this happen so late in my life? I do not know. » Emma
“When Emma told her children she was trans, we were so emotional. They were the last people she had to tell, and she dreaded this moment. Ultimately, their reaction was very positive. His son said to him, “Well, as long as you’re happy!” We all hugged each other, it was so strong. It was one of those moments where I realized that I loved her very much, because I was proud that she had passed this milestone with such intelligence and gentleness. » Marianne
Viviane (72 years old) and Sabine (6o years old), in a relationship for thirty-one years.
"At the time, when we met, I was 41 years old and Sabine 28 years old. It was absolutely not love at first sight that evening. First I saw an ordinary girl! But her, she had planned everything, she had everything in her head! (laughs) I saw her, at the end of the table telling jokes, she was just looking at me. I found her likeable but nothing more. I I
ve never been attracted to women, I don
t like women, honestly. But it
s her. It
s deep even, how it is her." Viviane
“At the time, we mostly met on Wednesday afternoons, because at school we were forced to hide from our classmates. For them we were “the weird two”, and they used their homophobia to be super mean and abusive towards us. We were nicknamed “the dykes”, lots of other homophobic insults, in 5th and even 6th grade! They didn t even wait until we were together, they projected a couple onto us. For them it was disgusting, and it made us freak out. » Mad
“My father was super homophobic, and he harassed me every day because he suspected something, he tried to get me to confess. It was unbearable. So at one point I broke down. I cried a lot, I yelled, and it was the first time I felt so bad that I just wanted to leave. It was the first runaway in my life, and my father didn t even notice it because I was basically a good, discreet child. And I no longer wanted to be the good child, I just wanted to be me, with the person I love. » Angelina
Marine (29 years old) and Julie (32 years old), in a relationship for a few months.
"Even fi it
s not something that costs me, the most important thing I would have done for her is to accept that she has children. I don
t worry about it, I get along very well with them, and I
ve been in that situation before, so I manage to project myself. But being with someone who has children
creates a lot of complex situations, that is to say, getting together with someone who doesn
t have children is like a blank slate for a couple. It
s easier to have plans and to be in control of them (living together, changing jobs, going on vacation). Being with a person who has children is a reflection and choices that are more complicated and sometimes impossible." Marine
"I know she s doing something that s a bit disturbing for me, and I don t know if I would have been able to do it for her: living with someone who has kids. I already have that. In fact, I did not like this situation at all and I said to myself never again. (...) So I am aware of al that that implies on his part." Julie
Sarah (20 years old) and Stephanny (22 years old), in a relationship for a year.
"In the evening, when we are together, we have a spiritual and physical ritual. We meet and smoke weed while listening to music. Then, we connect to our bodies through dance. We take out everything that is inside of us, with words or even without saying anything. The night comes, we leave our day behind us, we look at each other and we share this moment when we are just the two of us, connected. In this very special m o m e n t , we focus on being together. Putting all our energy into each other." Stephanny [words translated from Spanish]
"It
s a special moment for us. Especially since we have our cat, Brioche, who connects a lot with us. We
re together, it
s a very beautiful and really precious moment." Sarah
“When we hugged, I held my breath. (...) Before we were really a couple, we lived together for six months in a shared apartment. One day, while we were both creating, I felt a strong attraction to Maeva. I wondered if this wasn t madness. I had a storm inside me. » Hannah
“Together, we have always felt a lot of emotions, especially through creation. But I was afraid of breaking something, that this bond and this friendship would be broken, if we took the plunge. And at the same time, I was curious, because I felt so good with her! When we create, we are in a situation of vulnerability, where we lay our emotions bare. You get to know the person more intimately, and you get closer to them. We invent worlds in which we transform and reinvent what concerns us, makes us laugh or annoys us. When we build something together, we immerse ourselves in a special energy, which bonds and inspires us. Together, we create something unique because we complement each other so well. We are stronger, we can create and experience even crazier and even truer things, while remaining ourselves. Art takes an important place in our lives. Audre Lorde evokes this common erotic force between the relationship of two people and creation. This strength carries us every day. There are no real barriers between our relationship and our creations, they are linked. » Maeva
“At the age of five, I left Algeria and arrived in Miramas (France). That’s where I met Annie, who came from Madrid. In middle school and high school, we were friends and together all the time. Until she got married, and I left for Paris. (...) Since I was 13 or 14, I had feelings for her. But she seemed to be in an idyllic couple, who I didn t want to disturb. For me, our understanding and our complicity were quite evocative, but obviously she did not understand it. (...) For a long time, I did not know how to make advances to him and declare myself. » Frédérique
“For several years we tried to keep in touch, by telephone or by mail. Frédérique had her life in Paris and I had mine, married with children. But we always had our close friendship in mind. In 2000 I was 43 and she was 42. I was questioning my life and my relationship. So I called him and told him I was considering a fresh start. And then she declared herself a little abruptly: It’s me or no one. I didn t know that Frédérique had romantic feelings, even though I was well aware of our closeness. (...) For me it was a close friendship, nothing more. (...) After hanging up, I cried a lot and thought for a long time. I was very confused and realized that I felt a lot of emotions towards him. (...) It quickly became obvious. I began to imagine our reunion but my only fear was that I might idealize it. We spoke for two months, and during that time I arranged for us to meet in January 2001. (...) I left for Paris, I was enthusiastic and very impatient to see her . When I arrived, when I saw her on the platform, I said to myself Yes, that’s it. Yes it s her. » Annie
Charlotte (21 years old) and Anna (20 years old), in a relationship for a year and a half.
"The issue of lesbianism still clashes with very feminine heterosexuality and disrupts it. Lesbianism blurs the boundaries of femininity and masculinity because ti is outside heteronormative boxes. So, it
s always important for me to claim this female identity, even fi ultra femininity still questions me enormously. To what extent is our gaze influenced by the "male gaze"? To what extent does one exist as a sexual being in the within society? To what extent is calling oneself "fem" emancipatory? Asserting oneself in sexuality and libido, it is very important." Anna
"How far do you play codes that are literally those expected of the ultra-binary lesbian, the butch or the fem?" Charlotte
Isabeau (19) and Dan (21), in a relationship fora few months.
"I recently called myself a lesbian. For a long time I called myself bisexual. I thought back to what I had known before, and I realized that this was not love and attraction. It was a big challenge. Without necessarily having the idea that "lesbian" was dirty, I had a hard time saving the word and it didn
t come naturally to me. Today, it has become important to me. To call myself a lesbian, because it took me so long to pronounce it and to make the word normal. If I hadn
t had so many prejudices about this word, I could have realized it and own it much earlier. I was afraid to give
up a "normal" life, even though I knew I didn
t want it. I didn
t want to marry a man, or have children. (...) Even now, I need being a lesbian to take a place in my life to make ti something joyful." Isabeau
“In the United States, we spoke with a couple of very old lesbians. They told us that they had lived through the time when they were called “queer”. Whereas here, in France, it’s a word that we imported to create inclusiveness! We didn t get insulted as "queer", even though we might have been insulted as "taffy" for example. So it’s a word that doesn’t have the same meaning at all depending on your experience, where you come from, and the generation to which you belong.» Leo
Aube (27 years old and Suzanne (27 years old), in a relationship for six vears.
"About my coming-in, I realised ti more or less when I was in ninth grade. I had a sports teacher who was the stereotype of the butch. The sports teacher with short blond hair bleached withgel. I was 15 years old and it was not a physical attraction that I felt for her, but for months I observed her and told myself that it was really special and strange as a feeling. I felt that there was something, a connivance, a kind of invisible bond between us. When I realised that she was a lesbian, I immersed myself in gay culture. I started reading Têtu and watching The L Word. It was a world with lots of representations that opened up to me." Aube
