Bisexual icon Josephine Baker — entertainer, French Resistance agent and civil rights activist — was recently, posthumously, inducted into France’s highest honor: the Panthéon. She is the first woman of color — and performer — to be included in the “temple of the nation.” Is she also the first bisexual woman?
Josephine Baker was a Black, bisexual powerhouse and a top cabaret dancer who operated as a resistance spy to defeat the Nazis. She also dated one of the most recognized artists of the 20th century: Frida Kahlo.
What does it mean to be inducted into the Panthéon? “Panthéonisation, as the process is known, has its origins in the French Revolution,” according to The Conversation’s Laura O’Brien. “In 1791, the revolutionary National Assembly voted to transform the new Church of Saint Genevieve on the Left Bank of Paris into a “temple of the fatherland” where the nation’s great men would be honoured.
“Panthéonisation is one of the highest honours the French Republic can bestow on its citizens. Between 1945 and 1981, such ceremonies were relatively rare. It is only in the last four decades, following the election of François Mitterrand as president in 1981 and his inauguration day visit to the monument, that it has become more common for French presidents to select people for the honour.”
The Panthéon was originally inspired by pantheons of the gods and Westminster Abbey. However, unlike many other well-known spaces that exist to honor national favorites, the French Panthéon is deliberately secular.
There is no checklist to refer to when inducting a new hero to the Panthéon. The ultimate decision is up to the French president. The original legislation states that “the remains of great men deserving of national honours will be buried there.”
While the 1885 legislation has been up for interpretation ever since, the first woman wasn’t Panthéonised “in her own right” until scientist Marie Skłodowska-Curie was inducted in 1996.
Josephine Baker broke multiple ceilings by being Panthéonised this year. You would be hard pressed to find anybody more deserving. “It is her Resistance and civil rights activism, rather than her popularity as an entertainer, that [has] secured her entry. During the Second World War, Baker worked in espionage for the French Resistance. Her celebrity status allowed her to move more freely to gather information and to transport documents without the risk of being strip-searched.
“In the 1950s and 1960s, she used her visits to her native United States to advocate for civil rights and racial equality, culminating in her appearance at the 1963 March on Washington. Dressed in her Free French uniform and proudly wearing her wartime medals, Baker urged young African-Americans to “light that fire in you” as they fought for civil rights.”
Josephine Baker’s son Brian Bouillion-Baker called for her Panthéonisation to be “musical, popular, festive,” to capture Josephine’s spirit. Her induction into the Panthéon comes after years of campaigning by friends, family, and fans.
Her entry will likely shape how future figures are Panthéonised: “The induction of a Black woman, born outside France, could herald a new and more diverse era for the Panthéon, ensuring the monument reflects both the history of the French Republic and the diversity of contemporary France.”
