A queer uprising 60 years before Stonewall: the 1905 Les Douaires riot

A Queer Uprising 60 Years Before Stonewall: The 1905 Les Douaires Riot

In the early 1900s, increasing numbers of boys over 16 were sent to Les Douaires, a youth detention center in Normandy. Rumors circulated about frequent sexual interactions among the detained boys.

The 1969 Stonewall riot marked a key moment in LGBTQ+ resistance against police raids and became a landmark event for gay rights in the West. Pride events today commemorate this uprising every June. However, Stonewall was not the first queer rebellion.

Recent research published in the Journal of Homosexuality uncovered a queer uprising in 1905 at a youth detention site in France, predating Stonewall by more than six decades.

Context of Queer Life in 19th-Century France

During the 19th century, an underground queer scene flourished around Parisian bars and brothels. Same-sex relationships were also common within single-gender institutions like the military and prisons, despite social disapproval.

As the century progressed, queer sexualities were increasingly pathologized as medical disorders, fueling growing anxieties about them.

Youth Penal Colonies and Same-Sex Relationships

Same-sex relationships became widespread in French youth penal colonies, where working-class youths aged 8 to 21 were detained for months or years, often for minor crimes such as vagrancy or theft.

These colonies subjected detainees to forced agricultural and industrial labor under extremely harsh conditions.

Les Douaires was a youth penal colony for detained boys in Normandy (northern France).

Summary

The Les Douaires riot of 1905 reveals a significant, earlier moment of queer resistance, challenging the widespread belief that Stonewall was the first such uprising.

Author’s summary: The 1905 Les Douaires riot highlights a forgotten pre-Stonewall queer revolt in France, uncovering early resistance within harsh youth penal colonies.

The Conversation — 2025-11-07