Toxic masculinity on trial: French rape trial sparks timid debate

PARIS, Sept 28 — The trial of a man who drugged his wife to have her raped by dozens of strangers for almost a decade has ignited a quiet discussion around masculinity in France.

During court hearings, Dominique Pelicot, 71, has admitted to administering sedatives to his wife to rape her while unconscious and inviting strangers into their home to join in the abuse from 2011 to 2020.

The trial, which began in early September, has horrified people in France, particularly because Pelicot's 50 co-defendants include seemingly normal men with families and ordinary jobs.

His then wife, 71-year-old Gisele Pelicot, has become an overnight feminist icon by refusing to be ashamed and demanding the trial be open to the public to raise awareness about the use of drugs to commit sexual abuse.

Thousands of people, including some men, took to the streets in mid-September to support her and demand an end to “rape culture”.

Several high-profile men have also publicly suggested it is in fact masculinity that is on trial and urged their peers to help stem the violence.

“Let's stop viewing women's bodies as objects at our disposal,” read a text signed by more than 170 men and published in the left-leaning Liberation newspaper on Saturday.

“Let's stop thinking there exists a certain male nature that justifies our behaviour,” it read.

“Let's stop perpetuating the boy's club and protecting our male peers.”

French-Rwandan writer and rapper Gael Faye and French humourist Guillaume Meurice were among those to sign the so-called roadmap to “end masculine domination”.

‘Everyday men’

The petition's author — therapist and activist Morgan N. Lucas — said it was necessary to stop ignoring systemic violence, alluding to the hashtag #notallmen.

“The Pelicot case has proved that male violence is not about monsters but men — everyday men,” he wrote.

“All men, without exception, benefit from a system that dominates women. And since we are all the problem, we can all be part of the solution.”

During a protest in the central city of Clermont-Ferrand on September 14, agricultural worker Stephane Boufferet said he hoped Gisele Pelicot would find justice.

“When I read the story, I was disgusted, even disgusted to be a man,” the 26-year-old said.

Political journalist Karim Rissouli said a day earlier on Instagram that he felt “sick to the stomach as a man” after filming a programme about the trials.

French singer Renaud, 72, said last week he hoped the public nature of the trial would “finally force this patriarchal society, and us men, to take action over violence against women and children".

The co-defendants on trial in Avignon until December are aged 26 to 74.

Apart from Pelicot, they include 49 men accused of raping or attempting to rape his wife, and another who has admitted to sedating his own spouse so that he and Pelicot could sexually assault her.

The defendants include a fireman, a nurse and a journalist.

Many have said they believed they were taking part in the sexual fantasy of a couple.

But in hearings in recent days, several have reluctantly admitted that Gisele Pelicot had not given her consent.

‘Men are not interested’

Ivan Jablonka, a social historian who has written about masculinity, said the trial was historic, including because of the sheer number of defendants.

“It's a reminder, if one were necessary, that rapes are committed by our neighbours, our colleagues, our relatives in our homes,” he said.

The case has also called into question certain “patterns of masculinity”, such as “moral collusion” between men.

But Jablonka was not overly optimistic.

“There is growing awareness but I think it is limited to a very small minority” of men, he said.

“In the street, in discussions, on social media — everywhere really — I still see a lot of indifference, contempt and silence. Complicit silence.

“Overall men are not interested.”

He said there were still a “massive” number of gender-based crimes and much work remained to be done.

The author recalled touring with a 2019 book on how men could contribute to gender justice, whose English translation is entitled A History of Masculinity.

"I'd say 90 percent of my audience were women,” he said. — AFP