Alright, these commercials don't fall under the realm of queer as in gay, but they sure are queer as in, "Holy fuck, how queer is it that 60s-era French ice cream ad execs used racial clichés to sell their products?"

Above you see a 1960 Heudebert Ice Cream commercial. After the jump, you'll find a 1962 advert from main competitor, Miko. We're not sure which one we prefer. Sure, they're both horribly racist, but definitely have kitch value. We're leaning toward Miko's - gotta love an innocent white victim in go-go boots. And, of course, her black co-star's "our spirits are broken" "African" dance.

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They may not be Italian accordionists, but hopefully reader Bryan will appreciate a little music video French duo, Air.

This week marks the release of their sixth full-length, Pocket Symphony. To celebration the occasion, here's the moving image for one of the album's singles, "Once Upon A Time". It's not much of a departure for the dreamy electro lovers, but it's definitely worth a spin.

Let us know what you think. Or don't. Although, we'd prefer if you did. Your comments are the source of our life force...we're like Tinkerbell, only virtual.

You're probably thinking, "Why is this cowboy giving a sheep a heart-shaped chocolate box?" The answer's quite simple: they're in love. Or, at least, that's what a French woman thinks as she misinterprets her friend's description of Brokeback Mountain in a commercial for France's Canal Video. Take a look - you could probably use a laugh.

(PS: Shout out to reader Jérôme. You're just swell.)

French MP Christian Vanneste's been fined €3 000 and must also pay €2 000 in court fees for saying gays are "inferior" to straights and posed a "danger to humanity". Vanneste caused a stir back in 2004 when a French mayor married a gay couple. While the government refused to back the marriage, they didn't refuse to include gays in the nation's comprehensive ant-hate laws, which say that inflaming negative opinion constitutes a crime.

Not surprisingly, French gay activists celebrated the verdict. South Africa's The Independent reports:

Gay and civil rights groups welcomed the ruling, saying in a statement it "aimed to punish homophobic comments which should be fought because they inspire and legitimise verbal and physical attacks".

Legal types, meanwhile, point to the court's decidedly pro-gay stance to suggest he'll lose. We certainly hope so. Ain't nothing like watching a anti-homo-politico getting what's coming to 'em.

Chanteuse Émilie Simon's 2003 self-titled debut cemented her as one of France's most talented, emotive singer/songwriters. As happens, of course, it took a while for her to trickle Stateside, but she's since garnered a small, yet loyal audience among musical connoisseur looking for something innovative, catchy and, most of all, beautiful.

This here's the video for her single, "Flowers" from the aforementioned debut. It's also available on The Flower Book: the US compilation of her first three albums, including tracks from La Marche de l'empereur: her producer-commissioned soundtrack to March of the Penguins. Her version got an icy reception from American distributors, who replaced it with Alex Wurman's compositions.

How many friends from youth do you keep in touch with? Us, we don't talk to any of those fuckers, but that's because we didn't have any friends. It's very sad, yes, but who needs friends when you have...um, well...we'll get back to you on that one.

Regular contributor and sometime punching bag Jack E. Jett, meanwhile, holds friends like we hold water. For example, punk rocker turned pop princess turned parent, Belinda Carlisle.

The friends catch-up after the jump, chatting about everything from Carlisle's new French language album, Voila to The Go-Go's jerking off a coke-head to her husband's collection of Ronald Reagan memorabilia.

We're so overwhelmed that we have no choice but to let Jett take it from here...

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Hear-yee, hear-yee, Pref Magazine's new issue (#18, for those of you keeping count) will be hitting the stands December 21st (Thursday, for those of you still counting). Their editor sent over some pictures and a press release. Of course, the press release was in French, but from what we gather, they're getting all political on our gay asses.

Whatever, we're more concerned with cover model Bartolomeo. Yum, Yum.

More pictures after the jump (and the aforementioned French-only press release. We're sure someone out there cares/reads French.)

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Christ, is it still Monday? We've been hunched over our desks for hours now and we trust you have been, too. So, let's all stand up, hit play and dance around to French pop-rock outfit Phoenix's "Consolation Prizes" from their most recent album, It's Never Been Like That.

Or you can just sit there while your muscles atrophy. Your choice, really. Us? We're all about dancing. Now, if only we had a partner. (Sniff, sniff...)

• "Zhang Beichuan, professor at the Qingdao University medical school and renowned AIDS treatment and prevention expert said among the 30 million homosexuals in China, two thirds of them are men, who are considered to be the most vulnerable group to transmission of the HIV virus." [China Daily]

• "...[T]he couple has become emblematic of a segment of the population growing noticeably bolder recently: those eager to shed Chile's questionable label as the most culturally conservative country in Latin America." [MSNBC]

• "Trash Anderson’s God Save the Queen poster alludes to the endangered species of French culture and national heritage, namely to the popular night club Queen, which is more like a living symbol of gay underground culture in France—one that is threatened to be closed down and bought by foreign capital investment." [NY Arts Magazine]

• "Its cast of emotionally distressed characters includes two gay teenagers, Martin and Shawn, whose difficult life situations complicate their struggle to come to terms with their gay identities." [AfterElton]

• "When someone in the crowd of about 50 people asked about the legitimacy of outing closeted elected officials who actively work against gay rights -- as McGreevey did when he opposed same-sex marriage -- the former governor told the crowd it would be more effective to "go and talk to those officials who are closeted. Tell them that you are going to survive the other side of the divide."" [The New York Observer]

• "Barbara Walters: Freebasing." [Best Week Ever]

In yesterday’s installment of The Power Issue, Brian J. Smith waxed philosophical on the transformative power of acting.

For today’s edition, we’d like to take a look at French Surrealist Claude Cahun, who - though not an actor - used performance and manipulation of gender identity to dismantle popular notions of patriarchal society.

We actually don't even know what to call Cahun. Her possible titles could choke a horse: photographer, revolutionary, performer, novelist, prisoner...the list goes on. Of course, given the message of her work, it's only appropriate she lacks concise definition.

By showing the ethereal nature of gender, Cahun highlighted the interchangeability of gendered identities, thus reducing their importance in society to mere roles, rather than dominant truths. In some pictures Cahun appears androgynous, while in others she accentuates feminine characteristics, exploiting the gendered spectrum as a means of discrediting its validity. As for sexuality, Cahun certainly didn’t adhere to popular notions of sexual classification.

My opinion about homosexuality and homosexuals is exactly the same as my opinion about heterosexuality and heterosexuals. All depends on individuals and circumstances. I claim a general freedom of behavior.

Find out what we mean, after the jump.

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• Is Donkey Kong art? French Culture Minister, Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres seems to think so. [International Herald Tribune]

• Does former Wisconsin congressman Steve Gunderson think the proposed marriage amendment's anti-gay? Yes. [La Crosse Tribune]

• What does Madonna like? Pissing people off, of course. [Star Magazine]

• So, how much did Art Cologne make this year? Oh, about $95 million. [Bloomberg]

• What can be done about Judaism and homosexuality? Jesse Green has some ideas. [Nextbook]

• Should journalists call Larry Craig gay? Some say yes, some say no. [Poynter Online via The Cup of Joe]

Loyal readers know that we're terrible with foreign languages (Exhibit A: yesterday's Tom Tom Club post), so we won't even try to decipher the email we've just received from our friends over at Pref Magazine.

While we can't read a single word of the email, we're assuming they want us to spread the word that their new issue will be on the stands October 27th. And, of course, that they wants us to post some of the pictures found in said issue, including a skinhead photo spread, cover boy Krieger, and images from photographer Slava Mogutin's new book, Lost Boys.

Ask and you shall receive...

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