Publication : 9 juillet 2019
Green European Journal
 
Published at the end of 2018 and weighing over four kilos, the hefty tome Sexe, race et colonies tackles the question of sexual relations in the colonial era. The importance of colonial empires and the way that, during this period, gender representations were constructed through the prism of “race” have had a considerable impact on the legacy of European cultures. The book’s release sparked major controversy in France due to the numerous images it contained: amongst other things, it was accused of aestheticising the indefensible, of violating the rights of those depicted, of voyeuristic sensationalism, and of being pornographic. The work of historian Christelle Taraud, co-editor of the book, shows the centrality of sex in complex colonial and racial relations. In today’s context of third-wave feminism, it clashes with the thinking on minorities of militant groups in the women’s liberation movements at the time of #MeToo.