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Distribution of leaflets, posters plastered around three Nantes schools: the traditionalist Catholic movement Civitas claimed
"mobilization"
of local activists, carried out on Saturday, against a show for children which in their eyes
"conveys gender ideology"
.
Faced with what he considers to be
"a crude propaganda of subversive and deconstructive theories of the natural and traditional family"
, they have in particular pasted posters
"in memory"
of the Canadian David Reimer whom they consider to be
"the first victim of the gender theory”
.
In their sights, the musical show entitled
Girl or boy?
, programmed by the association La Bouche d'Air, at the beginning of April, at the Paul-Fort room located in the city center of Nantes.
Thirty classes from Loire-Atlantique, including 19 from Nantes from ten different schools, must attend.
According to the fundamentalist Catholic formation, this artistic project
“all audiences from five years old”
as described by its designers has nothing to do with a
“friendly and entertaining musical interlude”
.
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He reproaches him for joining a lobby which would try,
“aggressively
”, to impose a
“crazy ideology against nature of the genre which is in fact only a new totalitarianism exerted on French society”.
Judging the show carried by the actors Marion Rouxin and Eric Doria as an
"intolerable ideological intrusion [...] to the detriment of the well-being of the child"
, Civitas asks the parents of pupils to protest to the mayor of the city, Johanna Rolland.
“Serious and dangerous” remarks
This speech, and the symbolic action that brought it to light last weekend, is strongly condemned by the town hall.
“This is an attempt to scare some parents.
It is a political instrumentalization of what is only a small group making serious and dangerous remarks ”
, tackles Ghislaine Rodriguez, the education assistant, contacted by
Le Figaro
.
It indicates
"that at this stage"
, the community will not file a complaint but that
"vigilance"
remains in order.
"This show has already been given in other cities, from all political persuasions, without there being any problem
," she adds.
Criticizing an organization which, according to her words,
“took part in
a violent action”
in December 2021 – an organ recital had to be canceled in a church in Nantes – Ghislaine Rodriguez castigates a movement which undermines
“the opening to the world, to otherness and to the meaning of life"
.
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Above all, she insists on the fact that the show offered to children is the result of
“serious work”
carried out in
“co-construction”
with the Ministry of National Education which validated the content.
“This show is part of the course for the cultural and artistic education of the students, addressing several themes, and whose participation is left to the discretion of the teachers”
, she specifies.
Book-disc and philosophy-workshops
The text presenting the show
Girl or boy?
evokes songs that speak of identity, otherness, tolerance, love, the difficulty of growing up, of transforming, of the gaze of the other and of our own construction, can we read on the site of the production company.
It is accompanied by an illustrated book-disc, composed of 11 sung portraits, which raises the question of the differences between the sexes and the influence of the adult world on children in their construction.
In addition to the artistic project, “philo-workshops” can be organized
“in a desire to support young and old in developing their thinking and critical thinking”
.
freedom of creation
In a press release, relayed on social networks, the left-wing municipal majority of the City of Nantes expressed its
“most total opposition”
to what it considers to be
“a controversy which has no place to be »
.
Recalling her
"attachment to freedom of creation"
, she defends a show
"whose educational aim must make it possible to sensitize children to the question of gender, to fight against stereotypes and discrimination, and to promote equality"
.
In parallel, she blames the
"reactionary, transphobic, discriminatory and hateful concerns of Civitas"
.
She concludes her text by supporting the artistic teams targeted by the far-right formation as well as the
"programmers"
of La Bouche d'Air and the Petits et Grands festival
"whose know-how in the direction of young audiences is unanimously recognised
.
Girl
or Boy?
had already been the subject of opposition in Sotteville-lès-Rouen (Seine-Maritime) before a performance played on January 15th.
“We didn't think we would receive criticism of this type
,” confides a member of the support structure for creation and distribution who supports the project.
“The show is not judgmental, does not say do this or do that.
He just says that things exist and asks questions
,” he says.