“One is not born, but rather becomes a man.” It took me a long time to understand this quote of Simone de Beauvoir and to realize the battle my grandmother had to fight in order to exist. It took me a long time to realize that the same goes for the male species: I was not born a man, I became one. According to precepts skillfully maintained by our Judeo-Christian laws and customs, like the vast majority of boys, I was formatted heterosexual, I integrated the homophobic rhetoric and the mandatory macho behavior to be able to play my part as a representative of the “strong sex.” Until I realized I was homosexual and I finally could live with it. I suddenly lost the attributes of my so-called “virility” and fell into the category of the weak sex, and by extension into the category of the faggots. And I had to question the value system that shapes us, boys and girls.

Beyond biological differences, what cultural components, what social obligations are assigned to our gender? What compulsory behavior, what codes govern our appearances and our manners? What idea lies behind gender segregation? How does this segregation influence our relationship with the other sex? And what consequences if we don’t play by the rules?

A double autobiographical portrait of an eccentric woman and her gay grandson, MADAME is a tragicomic study challenging our ideas about woman’s condition, patriarchy, gender identity construction and transmission.