Lesbian history in France is often framed around the interwar “Paris Lesbos” era and the resurgence of lesbian activism in the 1970s. In this episode, historian Tamara Chaplin discusses how she challenges this gap in her latest book, Becoming Lesbian. Drawing on over a decade of research, Chaplin uncovers overlooked sources—from cabaret and sexology to police archives, the Minitel and private letters, and over a hundred filmed interviews—showing that WWII did not erase lesbian identity or culture.

Website - globalcenters.columbia.edu/paris

Newsletter - globalcenters.columbia.edu/content/paris-newsletters

Instagram - instagram.com/cgcparis

LinkedIn - linkedin.com/company/cgcparis

Facebook - facebook.com/cgcparis

YouTube - youtube.com/@CGCParis

Host: Marie Doezema

Production: Marie Doezema and Charlotte Force

Editing: Theo Albaric

Music: Lili Boulanger’s Nocturne performed by Magdalena Baczewska and Sasha He

With thanks to the Nadia and Lili Boulanger International Centre in Paris

The Columbia Global Paris Center is part of a network of 11 global centers of Columbia University in the City of New York, one of the world's leading academic institutions. The centers serve as knowledge hubs that aim to educate and inspire through research, dialogue, and action. They advance understanding, facilitate partnerships, and build the bridges necessary to tackle our changing world.

Columbia Global brings together major global initiatives from across the university to advance knowledge and foster global engagement. Those initiatives include the Columbia Global Centers, Columbia World Projects, the Committee on Global Thought, and the Institute for Ideas and Imagination.

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