OUT d'or

The OUT d’Or Awards

What is it?

The Out d’or, literally the Golden Outs, is the name of an award and by extention of an award ceremony organised by AJL, the French LGBT journalists’ organisation. The very first edition will take place in Paris (and online, on Facebook Live) on the 29th of June 2017.

What is the purpose?

The aim of the Out d’Or ceremony is to acknowledge and pay a tribute to a variety of people and institutions who have taken significant steps in favour of LGBTI visibility. We intend to:

  • Inventory and reward good media practices in the hope that the media’s attitude towards LGBTI issues will improve their treatment of LGBTI issues;
  • Celebrate LGBTI visibility in the hope to foster more unity within the community;
  • Create a positive dynamic and encourage LGBTI public figures to come out publically and media houses to give them and the ceremony as wide a coverage as possible.

Why now?

In France, the law enabling same-sex couples to marry came into force in 2013 and was widely covered outside the country. But in France itself, the parliamentary debates led to a constantly biased coverage of the news. This is why we, openly gay, lesbian, bi and transgender journalists, decided to found the AJL in 2013, a year that saw a 78% increase in homophobic crimes and assaults.

It has now been four years since the marriage equality law was passed and nothing has changed. In the wake of the Orlando massacre in June 2016, only Sud Ouest, a local daily newspaper, wrote about the attack as being specifically homophobic and mentioned that the Pulse was a gay club. All national dailies chose to ignore this and that the Pulse was an important place for the local Latino community. The LGBT community asked them not to render victims invisible but very few newspapers responded to this request.

The French media is still grasping with the notion of accountability. For instance, the very popular show « Touche pas à mon poste » hosted by Cyril Hanouna, a star in the country, has been constantly criticized for the way it handles women and sexual minorities… but to no avail: the editorial line or contents of the show have not changed in spite of the growing discontent. 

Whether it is on TV, on the big screen or in the political arena, the French LGBT are in effect urged to remain quiet. In our country, there are no Ellen DeGeneres, no Anderson Cooper, no Rachel Maddow. Mentalities are changing but ever so slowly. We want to contribute to this change and even accelerate it.

In this context, the AJL decided that the media who still manage to provide a fair and nuanced coverage of LBGT issues should be honored, just like French stars should be encourage to come out. In order to do so, the AJL decided to organize the very first Award Ceremony for LGBT Visibility in June 2017, in the wake of the American Glaad Awards and of the The National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association’s Excellence in Journalism Awards.

We hope that this event, held with the supports of several TV networks and media organizations, will raise awareness in the media as well as in the public opinion so that things can finally start to change.

The categories

Best documentary film

Best investigative journalism piece

Best newsroom

  • Buzzfeed News France – For the almost daily coverage of LGBTI issues, which was also made possible by the recruitment of specialized journalists.
  • 🏆 L’Union-L’Ardennais –
    For the publication, on 23 November 2016 in the Châlons-en-Champagne édition, a «wall of shame», which exposed the homophobic comments left online after the newspaper published an article about an HIV poster campaign featuring male couples. The following day, the newsroom published a « wall of hope » featuring readers’ comments in favour of LGBTI rights.
  • Le Gros Journal – Canal + – For its coverage, mostly in the form of feature pieces and interviews, about the LGBTI culture and counter-culture. 
  • Slate France – For its numerous stands in favour of LGBTI rights, notably through editorials written by Claude Askolovitch and Nadia Daam.
  • Sud-Ouest – For having been the first French daily to say, on its 13 June 2016 frontpage, that the Orlando massacre, where 49 people died in gay club, was a “homophobic massacre”.

Best foreign media

  • Anderson Cooper – Journalist CNN, USA. For his very professional and yet emotional treatment of the Orlando massacre on CNN.
  • Telquel – Magazine, Morocco. For its decision to cover LGBTI issues in a regular and supportive manner in spite of a difficult context. 
  • National Geographic – Magazine, USA. For its January 2017 issue on « Gender Revolution », with a photo Avery Jackson, a transgender girl, on the cover.
  • Çiçek Tahaoğlu – Journalist, Turkey. For his piece published in Bianet about the violence against LGBTIs in Turkey.
  • Dylan Marron – Journalist, USA. For his videos, which were viewed millions of times online and in which he uses humour to fight LGBT-phobias, racism, sexism and islamophobia.
  • 🏆 Novaïa Gazeta – Newspaper, Russie. For having revealed, in April 2017, the dreadful persecution of gays in Chechnya. 

Best rant

  • Mikky Blanco opposite Henri Guaino – Salut les Terriens, C8 – 24 September 2016
  • Caroline Mécary opposite Ludovine de la Rochère – Week-End Direct, BFM TV – 16 October 2016
  • Nicolas Martin for his outrage against the media treatment of the Orlando massacre – La revue de presse, France Culture – 13 June 2016
  • Amélie Mauresmo condemning the fact that lesbians are legally barred from Assisted Reproductive Technology in France – On N’est Pas Couché, France 2 – 23 April 2016
  • 🏆 Leïla Slimani for her stance against the penalisation of homosexuality in Morocco – C A Vous, France 5 – 3 November 2016.
  • Sophia Aram rfor the way she ridicules the homophobia of the anti-equality movements – 7-9, France Inter – 15 May 2017

Best private company

  • BYLL- for having organized a Diversity day on its Montpellier campus in April 2017, in order to raise awareness about the fight against LGBTI-phobias.
  • BCG – for its study about the lives of young LGBTIs in private companies.
  • The many companies who have withdrawn their ads from the show Touche Pas à Mon Poste (C8) – For having withdrawn their ads during this show as a protest against a homophobic “joke” aired in 18 May 2017.
  • Système U – For its ad campaign against sexist stereotypes in toy catalogues.
  • Meetic – For its ad campaign showing, for the first time, a lesbian couple.

Best politician

  • Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet – For having exposed in her book Nous avons changé de monde – published by Albin Michel, and on the set of the show On N’est Pas Couché – France 2, “the hypocrisy” and the double life of some elected officials who marched with the Manif pour tous.
  • Marik Fetouh – For having exposed on Facebook the aggression of his partner at the end of April 2017.
  • 🏆 Chaynesse Khirouni – For her involvement in debates surrounding the change in civil status for trans people. 
  • Ian Brossat – For filing a complaint against homophobic tweets he received in the spring of 2015, following which his aggressors were condemned in February 2017.
  • Jean-Luc Mélenchon – For his Facebook post acknowledging that the Orlando massacre was homophobic and staing that it is  up to the victims to define the nature of the crime.

Best work of art

  • Celui qui est digne d’être aimé – Novel by Abdellah Taia
  • 🏆 120 battements par minutes – Film by Robin Campillo
  • 🏆 Ouvrir la voix – Documentary by Amandine Gay
  • Mauvais genre – Exhibition by Sébastien Lifshitz
  • Désorientale – Novel by Negar Djavadi
  • Let A B!tch Know – Album by Kiddy Smile
  • Madame Arthur – Cabaret show by Madame Arthur
  • Monstres d’amour – Show by Rebecca Chaillon