Jean Cocteau
Alchemist of Art + Imagination
Jean Cocteau was born in the late 19th century, but is remembered for making the 20th century more poetic, more surreal, and infinitely more queer.
A novelist, filmmaker, playwright, visual artist, and unapologetic provocateur, Cocteau was a creative chameleon who slipped between genres and mediums with ease. He refused to be pinned downāby labels, by convention, or by anyoneās idea of what an artist, or a man, should be.
Born in France in 1889, Cocteau grew up to become a central figure in the avant-garde movement, rubbing shoulders (and occasionally bodies) with other greats like Picasso, Edith Piaf, Jean Marais, and Marcel Proust. Though his name may not be a household name for many, his legacy as a queer icon is undeniableāand essential.
In a time when homosexuality was still criminalized and queerness had to be coded, Cocteau made the subtext text. His works dripped with sensuality, ambiguity, and open love for men. His 1929 novel Les Enfants Terribles captured the intensity of homoerotic obsession; his 1950 film Orpheus reimagined Greek myth through a surreal, dreamy lens that mirrored the experience of loving outside the lines.
His muse and long-time partner, actor Jean Marais, starred in many of his works, most famously as the Beast in La Belle et la BĆŖte (1946), Cocteauās queer fairytale masterpiece.
But Cocteau wasnāt just a dreamerāhe was a fighter in his own right too. A soldier in World War I. A drug addict who wrestled with opium and survived. A gay man who chose to love loudly through art, even when the world wanted him silent.
Cocteauās queerness wasnāt hidden or apologized for. It was woven into every brushstroke, every scene, every line.
āWhatever the world condemns you for, make it your own. It is yourself.ā
Jean Cocteau
And that, perhaps, is Cocteauās greatest contribution to LGBTQ history: the radical act of owning oneself in a world that demands conformity. He lived and loved on his termsāand dared others to do the same.
So remember artistic pioneers like Cocteau. Not just for their work, but for the way they expanded what was possible. For queering the canvas, the page, and the stage. For lighting the path for generations of LGBTQ folk to come.
Jean Cocteau wasnāt just ahead of his time. He helped invent a future that still challenges us to dream. Loudly and proudly.
Keep calm and carry on!
Clint šāļø
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ON THIS DAY = JULY 5
BIRTHDAYS
1810 = P.T. Barnum = American businessman and Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus co-founder
1842 = Andrew āCaptain Moonliteā George Scott = Irish-born New Zealand bushranger and Australian folk figure š
1853 = Cecil Rhodes = British imperialist and mining magnate š
1889 = Jean Cocteau = French poet, artist, and director š
1903 = Hein Vos = Dutch politician and economist š
1929 = Katherine Helmond = American actor and director
1936 = Shirley Knight = American actor
1940 = Chuck Close = American painter and photographer
1943 = Robbie Robertson = Canadian singer-songwriter
1945 = Michael Blake = American author and screenwriter
1946 = Paul Smith = English fashion designer
1950 = Huey Lewis = American singer-songwriter and actor
1959 = Marc Cohn = American singer-songwriter
1963 = Edie Falco = American actor
1964 = Ronald D. Moore = American screenwriter and producer
1969 = Jenji Kohan = American screenwriter and producer
1970 = Wayne Besen = American journalist and advocate š
1985 = Megan Rapinoe = American athlete and activist š
EVENTS
1687 = Isaac Newton publishes PhilosophiƦ Naturalis Principia Mathematica.
1852 = Frederick Douglass delivers his "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?" speech in Rochester, New York.
1937 = Spam, the luncheon meat, is introduced into the market by Hormel.
1946 = Micheline Bernardini models the first modern bikini in Paris.
1954 = Elvis Presley records his first single, "That's All Right", at Sun Records.
1954 = The BBC broadcasts its first daily television news bulletin.
1989 = Seinfeld premieres on NBC.
1989 = Weekend At Bernieās is released in theaters.
1994 = Jeff Bezos founds Amazon.
1996 = Dolly the sheep becomes the first mammal cloned from an adult cell.
HOLIDAYS + OBSERVANCES
Celebrating the abolition of slavery in New York in 1827
PORTRAIT + QUOTES OF THE DAY
āWe must believe in luck.
For how else can we explain the success of those we don't like?ā
Jean Cocteau
āArt produces ugly things which frequently become more beautiful with time. Fashion, on the other hand, produces beautiful things which always become ugly with time.ā
Jean Cocteau
I read "Les Enfants Terribles" in 1962 when I was 15. It resonated within me but, at the time, it disappointed me for not being more explicit. Homosexuality was still criminalised until I was 20 (it was still illegal in Scotland, where I was an undergrad, but I moved back to England when I was 23). I hadn't grasped at 15 that Cocteau was treading a line. I had a black/white attitude - either be outrageously out and explicit or keep quiet. How naif of me!
Thanks again, Clint, for the well done write up!!