Defining queer in UK and French press coverage of Christine and the Queens

Abstract

This article, informed by concerns of queer theory, features of celebrity journalism, and ethical developments in journalism, discusses how British and French generalist press coverage of the popular music artist Héloïse Letissier and his associated public media personas, conceives of the term queer. Coverage relating to the term emphasizes (auto)biographical and career developments, gender and sexual identities, non-normativity, a lack of commercial motivation, mainstreaming (although not unproblematically so), and creativity informed by negative personal experiences and the development of “transfilial” (Provencher) bonds. Moreover, coverage of queerness is, for the most part, sympathetic and respectful.