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LGBTQ Individuals Who Have Received France's Highest Honours
France offers several national honours for civilians who have made remarkable contributions to the country, its language and culture. The most notable of these awards include the highest civilian honour Légion d'honneur (Legion of Honour, created by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802) and the Ordre du Mérite (Order of Merit, created by Charles de Gaulle in 1963). These awards are available to both French nationals, and to individuals from other countries who have upheld the ideals of the country. Honours may be made by the President of France or by Ministerial order.
The vast majority of individuals honoured with the awards come from the arts and cultural professions. This includes poets, writers, photographers, artists, dancers, historians, musicians, fashion designers, and actors. Several business leaders and politicians have also been honoured with the awards.
Individuals from the LGBTQ community have not been absent from the awards list. Prominent LGBTQ French national recipients have included the AIDS activist Daniel Defert, fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent, and actor Nicole Stephane. International LGBTQ recipients include jazz singer Josephine Baker of the United States, photographer Sir Cecil Beaton of Great Britain, ballet dancer Serge Lifar of Russia, and author Elif Shafak from Turkey. Recognition of LGBTQ individuals who have contributed to France and its culture is important for the community since it reveals the active participation of a minority group in upholding and promoting the ideals of the larger nation state.
We have found celebrated LGBTQ individuals who have received France's national honours from Canada, Cuba, France, Great Britain, Italy, Lebanon, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, and the United States. To read more and see the complete list CLICK HERE
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The goal of QueerBio.com is to be the definitive online biographical reference source for the international LGBTQ community. Its database lists over 15,000 contemporary and historical figures who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, two-spirit, or gender fluid (LGBTQ) and includes artists, sports figures, politicians, entertainers, business leaders, academics, activists, and more. The database is widely international in scope and is an ideal source for research and analysis with full search and sort functionality.
The mission is to inspire, educate, and motivate all generations of LGBTQ individuals and others through a collective knowledge of this international community.
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To search for LGBTQ individuals with a common characteristic (examples: all Nobel Prize winners, all Writers, all Politicians, all Tony Award winners, all Olympic Gold medal winners, all individuals of a specific nationality) simply type the characteristic in the Search Box located in the top right hand corner of this Home Page and click on GO. Results of your search will be displayed alphabetically by Last Name. A second Search Box will be displayed for you to search within the database of individuals with that common characteristic.
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Books Available From QueerBio.Com
A Path to Diversity: LGBTQ Participation in the Working World (Mark S. Bonham, 2017) investigates the current state of employment markets around the world for the LGBTQ community. Included is a discussion of equality in the workplace and why it is important to both the employer and employee, the wage gap, which professions are attractive to LGBTQ individuals and why, and the role of unions and government legislation. A survey of seventy five professions provides a status report for each, and seventy two biographies of influential LGBTQ professionals from around the world is included. 242 pages
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Notables: 101 Global LBGTQ People Who Changed the World (Mark S. Bonham, 2015) reveals a group of select global Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) individuals whose accomplishments in their profession changed the world in some relevant way. Included are founders of various social movements, innovators in sports, leaders in business and politics, explorers and discoverers, instigators in religious movements, thinkers in philosophy, infamous villains, creators of new academic fields of study, and risk takers in the arts, culture, and entertainment worlds. 212 pages.
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Champions: Biographies of Global LGBTQ Pioneers (Mark S. Bonham, 2014) reveals a group of select artists, writers, politicians, lawyers, sports figures, activists, and religious figures from around the world who have helped shape the history of the LGBTQ community. Presented in a convenient notebook format. 114 pages.
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