When we think of the figure of the clown, we immediately imagine a man decked out in a colorful wig and a red nose, dressed in garish clothes and gigantic shoes, a permanent smile on his face. We perceive him on a circus stage, awkward among virtuoso acrobats, or blowing up balloons at a children’s party. The clown entertains, provokes laughter, comfort or fear, because he clashes, allows himself to go beyond the limits, to make fun of conventions.
This stereotypical image of the clown is certainly reductive. Over the past few decades, the profession has undergone profound identity, professional and artistic changes, moving from simple entertainment to an art form in its own right, opening its doors to new forms, to new artists and, quietly, by ricochet, to women. Zed Cézard, a non-binary and queer circus artist and art science researcher, began to take an interest in the figure of the clown more than ten years ago. By questioning himself, within the framework of his doctorate, on what defines the identity, the profession and the art of clowning today, he became aware of the little space granted to women, both in the collective imagination than in the middle.
“I am fascinated by the huge gap that exists between the idea that we have of the clown and reality, and by the ton of stereotypes that remain to be understood and deconstructed. The women, who do not correspond to the image we have of the character, live the consequences every day. So I wanted to go deeper into this question and not relegate them to a sub-part of the history of the profession. »
The clown scene becomes for Zed Cézard like a microcosm of society. “As in all artistic fields, there are systemic reasons which explain the lack of representation and the invisibility of women. Social issues such as sexism and patriarchy contribute to their remaining on the fringes, even if their presence is unavoidable today. »
Rebellion and deconstruction
In addition to explaining the political dynamics at work in the community, the essay Are clowns politically incorrect? Queer reflections on the clowning practices of women seeks to deconstruct the strangeness of the practice and the superficial aspect of the differences in order to detect — and therefore defuse — the power relations and the discrimination experienced.
To do this, Zed Cézard questions, in a survey, clowns from Canada, France and Brazil, to clarify the place they attribute to themselves within societies that are still sexist, racist, ableist, ableist, ageist, grossophobes and transphobes.
It thus identifies the diversities, the strangenesses and the insubordinations that cross the queer and feminist perspective of the profession of clown, to better demonstrate what they imply in terms of agency, and the space of sociopolitical changes to which they allow us to dream. “The practice of clowning is based on incivility and disobedience. There is something queer in this form of rebellion, chaos and deconstruction, in this desire to be outside the norm,” he explains.
“Essentially, it is for clowns in general to embody, within the framework of their practices, ugliness, failure to perform assigned tasks, failure, clumsiness, inefficiency, incapacity, lack of seriousness, disorder, emotions or, in any case, a certain lack of rationality. In other words, clowns are invited to do anything that is not socially or politically recommended,” writes the researcher.
Access to freedom
By rejecting the binary and normative codes of society, by reclaiming their body to shape it beyond expectations and publicly approaching the sphere of intimacy, women clowns make it possible to imagine new ways of existing. “The advantage of the clown, in my opinion, is that he has a large playground. He can go to the streets, to the theater… He has a master key to go to any place and do as he sees fit. It can therefore be transgressive without being aggressive. By proposing the unexpected, he questions what is imposed on us socially. He tells us this is what it is to be free. »
In light of his reflections, Zed Cézard invites readers to question their identity, their social and political existence, their bodies and the codes and binaries in which they are stuck. “The more we are aware of the multiple oppressions that build us, the more freedom we gain. Even if it is utopian to think that we can completely free ourselves from these codes, we can give ourselves the means of emancipation, of resistance to these enormous pressures which weigh on women and men to meet the expectations linked to their sex. Being aware of the manipulation that has been exerted on us since birth allows us to have a say in our lives, and to access a much less superficial happiness than that which today’s society seeks to sell us. »