Comics | Testosterror or Luz’s androscepticism

Luz’s new comic, Testoterrorarrives in our bookstores at the right time, after a report by my colleague Léa Carrier on the popularity of Andrew Tate^⁠1 and other masculinists among young boys which has caused much ink – and gall – to flow. As soon as you bring up the subject, the digital hordes descend on you, especially if you’re a woman speaking out. Hence the importance of men speaking out, and if possible men with a lot of humor like the cartoonist Luz.

“I went to forums and websites, I became interested in incels, in masculinist language and I told myself that if I wrote a book without humor, I would be putting myself on their ground,” he explains. . And I want people to come to my land. »

Testosterrora hilarious 300-page book, tells the story of Jean-Patrick, an ordinary man, chubby with glasses, a car dealer, always accompanied by his little dog, who will be dragged into an impossible brothel when a virus specifically targets men and causing their testosterone to drop will bring society down.

The opportunity for Luz to question what masculinity is and to joyfully subvert a thousand and one well-known slogans.

Jean-Pat, who was raised by a father ordering him since childhood to “get his balls out”, will have to save his own son dragged by a group of masculinists panicked by the “Great Sexual Replacement”, who organizes ” testoprides” and “male camps” in the name of “Liberty, Equality, Virility” and “Men Lives Matter” where we offer “mindfulness barbecues” and signing sessions by Beigbeder, Zemmour, Finky or Booba… That gives you an idea of ​​the tone of this abundant comic.

We often hear men say that feminists lack humor, but what could be more deadly serious than masculinists? “I was forced to go so far in caricature that in the end, these masculinists that I portrayed are pleasantly ridiculous,” emphasizes Luz. The problem when you go to masculinist sites is that you get the impression of something very monolithic with a huge lack of humor, and that’s what I’m questioning. My hero is so engrossed in his virile injections that he has lost perspective on himself. But if we take a step back from what we impose as the myth of virility – power, a certain retention of emotions, the appetite for power, being a savior, etc. – when we look at these kinds of costumes that some of the men want to put men in, it’s absolutely ridiculous, completely stupid, very ugly and stupid. So, I wanted to make people laugh with this myth of virility rather than pointing a denunciatory finger. Make a very funny caricature, to the point of saying: look at the ridiculousness you are leading us into. »

Vacant place

Luz is very surprised by the warm welcome that was given to Testosterror in France, enough to make the cover of The Obs. “They told me that they were waiting for a good opportunity to be able to talk about this subject because they did not know how to deal with it in France,” he says. It broke my ass. This book somehow makes sense, despite the fact that it is a funny book. It is there a little bit so that there is still a book written by someone progressive on the subject. Let this place be taken and not left vacant and recoverable by the extreme right. »

The idea was born after the election of Donald Trump, but also when he noticed that while books on feminism abound, those on masculinity are rare. According to him, one of the first in his country was The first sex by Eric Zemmour! “I had this worry that, despite years of feminism and a strong and global struggle like #metoo, that did not prevent movements like the Proud Boys from existing and a virilist like Trump from getting elected. »

It’s not called Testosterror for nothing, because it seems that one of the fundamental dimensions of masculinity is fear. That of not being a “real” man and especially of being feminized. Most of the time, we seem to focus on the masculine question only in reaction to feminism. “Nothing forces them to think about it,” believes Luz. That’s why I needed an external event and that was the virus, which hits where it hurts, as they say. To the testicles. If we take away testosterone, what remains of virility, of man? Once we accept the idea that a hormone makes us stronger, more muscularly powerful, doesn’t that ultimately impose a certain responsibility on us? »

Having had the idea for his book just before the pandemic, and while he was working on adapting Vernon Subutex with Virginie Despentes (obviously an influence), Luz had the impression that destiny was “writing her a script”, because the paranoia around COVID-19 served a lot to Testosterror. “We must allow people who satirize to go as far as possible because in any case, the satirist prepares you for reality. »

This former Charlie Hebdo who luckily escaped the carnage of the 2015 terrorist attack feels a certain duty as an artist. “I realize that I must be vigilant in relation to what I give and impose as a look. But it’s a long journey and I thank my father for that, because among his male references, there was David Bowie. It’s not Sardou after all. »

Luz also maintains that he has always been a little allergic to “boys clubs”, like guys with glasses who were forced into team sports, in a distrust that he calls “androscepticism”. “Do we men want to continue to be inhabited by our hormones and be proud of it or do we simply want to try to be more responsible? I think this is an essential question, and that we need to find ways to de-essentialize ourselves. As for me, I feel comfortably a man in the man I have created for myself, and it takes time to come to fruition, this man. In any case, I try to be a little more attentive to those around me, not as a man, but as a human being. This can be valid for everyone, not so much to seek absolute universalism, but to think as human beings rather than in terms of gender. But for that, you have to understand the genres to make them explode. »

Given the popularity of Testoterror, Luz is perhaps thinking of a volume 2. He notices that his comic is bought by both men and women (and even feminist activists), but that these ladies very often buy it to give to guys. “Somehow, it’s better to offer it than to have it offered to you,” he concludes with a burst of laughter.

Testosterror

Luz

Albin Michel

320 pages