A Gay Pride of farmers is organized this Saturday, July 16 in Chenevelles, in Vienne. The Stop Homophobia association is at the origin of this first rural pride march with one objective: promote the visibility of LGBT people in the agricultural community. A Mayenne will be in the procession. This is Pierre Damoneville, a dairy farmer in Villepail, in Nord-Mayenne.
Changing morals
It took him a long time, but now Pierre Damoneville openly displays his sexual orientation, it’s that simple “what a hello“.”If someone comes to ask me if I’m married, I have no problem saying that I’m married to a man. Whereas six or seven years ago, I said that I was single”, says this farmer from Picardy. He set up as a dairy farmer in Mayenne in 2016 (“My fate ended in Mayenne after visiting farms all over France“). This change of region allowed him to be freer and to speak more easily about his homosexuality.
He grew up on a farm and then started working as an agricultural sales executive. According to him, rural areas are very closed on questions of sexual orientation. “There is a need in the agricultural environment at the level of filiation, to transcribe farms from father to son and above all to make it last and develop it systematically. It does not necessarily exist in urban areas because there is no pressure to resume, because there is no exploitation”, explains this 43-year-old dairy farmer.
If I can contribute to moving things forward a little in my humble height, so much the better.
Pierre Damonneville
Pierre Damoneville knows that “the road will still be very long” but he wants to get things done. It is for this reason thatHe created the Facebook page “Farmer and gay and so ?”she now has 2000 subscribers. Every month, the 40-year-old receives between two and three messages from young farmers “who are a little in despair“.”I was convinced, until ten years ago, to be the only gay farmer in France. But today, I realize that there are thousands and thousands of us all over France”smiles the dairy farmer from Nord-Mayenne.
The organizers of this first Rural Pride march are expecting between 600 and 800 people. The event falls right during the harvest period which has been brought forward this year and many farmers will not be able to make the trip.