Peacock Spring 2016

SPRING 2016

THE

IDENTITY

ISSUE

EMB R A C E Y O U R I R I SH SI D E

153 Rue de Grenelle 75007 Paris Metro: La Tour Maubourg Line 8 Open 12h00- 02h00 7/7 06 29 49 45 93

SPRING 2016 | VOLUME 5.2 PEACOCKPLUME.FR An Anglophone magazine celebrating the vibrancy of youth culture in Paris EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ariana Mozafari ART DIRECTOR Rachael Fong-Gurzinsky PHOTO DIRECTOR Carenina Sasha MARKETING DIRECTOR Alice Preat ONLINE EDITOR Cody Campbell CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Cody Campbell Stuart Edwards Zeinab Farhat Gabriel Frankel Natalie Gilhool Sophia Khatsenkova Jordan Nadler Celeste Palmer Alice Preat Stefanie Rodriguez Maria Rychkova Joey Weber Matthew Yarborough COPY EDITORS Cody Campbell Sophia Khatsenkova FACT-CHECKERS Cody Campbell Sophia Khatsenkova Stefanie Rodriguez CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Nicolas Nemtala Paolo Pellegrino Alice Preat Korinah Sodahlon Mia Windisch-Graetz CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATORS Aida Bedran Haley Piper EDITORIAL ADVISOR Marc Feustel Cover image by Carenina Sasha. Model: Alfredo Renteria

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IDENTITY 18 28 36 46 52 58

FASHION ETHNICITY RELIGION POLITICS LANGUAGE GENDER

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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

W

e are in the midst of an identity crisis. The New York Times Magazine named 2015 “The Year We Obsessed Over Identity,” explaining how we are losing touch with traditional identity roles. Like the cultural overhaul of the 60s, today’s youth are redefining norms for future generations, using the help of social media to reach mass audiences. While gender and sexuality debates have been at the center of our recent identity crises, these questions are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to how society is redefining itself.

This issue of Peacock examines the breakdown of permanent symbols in our societies, including America’s traditional political system and the ageold luxury fashion cycle. We look at identity issues around us, exploring why Muslims in France no longer feel at home in this country after the 2015 terrorist attacks. We feature existential journeys, from a student who joined the Free Syrian Army in search of himself to how young deaf people find strength in their community. Today’s identity questions will not only affect us, but upcoming generations as well. Our article on author Greg McGoon shows how children’s books are addressing difficult identity issues like transgender acceptance and mental depression.

We chose this cover to reflect today’s flood of identity possibilities for youth. The internet provides us with a window to learn about subcultures, trends and ways of thought that we pick and choose from, and social media serves as a modern playground where we “curate” an image for ourselves.

People obsess over creating superficial forms of identity, leaving many youth who grow up in the internet age with the question of who they truly are.

Ariana Mozafari Editor-in-Chief

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STREET MUSEUM

Six Urban Artists With a Message

by Stuart Edwards While Paris remains best known for its classical artistic heritage, since the 1980s the city has developed one of the most active street art scenes in Europe. It’s nearly impossible to walk down a Parisian street without seeing a wheatpaste poster riffing on a famous work of art or simply a mural of abstract shapes and colors. Beyond the striking visuals of these urban interventions, a number of street artists have been developing a more profound take to their street work.

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Michael Kershnar

One look at Michael Kershnar and his collection of beanies and baseball caps and you can tell that this San Francisco native is a bit more Cali than Couronnes.

Kershnar aims to make work that is accessible and speaks to the broadest of demographics, exploring the relationship between humans and the natural world. Drawing on animalistic themes, the clean lines and expressive colors of his art evoke both Hayao Miyazaki and Native American art.

Nicolas Nemtala

Louis Masai

London-based Louis Masai’s work in Paris transformed the city’s gray walls into a vibrant marine world made up of coral, seaweed and fish. The non-profit Synchronicity Earth sponsored Masai to create outdoor murals during the COP21 environmental conference in Paris to promote coral reef preservation.

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Ella & Pitr

Based in Paris, the artist duo Ella & Pitr are collectively known as the Papiers Peintres. These lovebirds met on a street in their shared hometown of SaintEtienne in 2007 and have since combined their talents. Today, the pair seek to capture the fundamentals of human existence through their work. They are one of very few couples in the street art scene and their art goes beyond the usual street art tropes.

The Peintres specialize in large, colorful images, usually caricatures of humans that seem like they were taken straight out of a children’s book.

Kashink

Nicolas Nemtala

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Simply by virtue of being a woman, Kashink already stands apart from the male-dominated street art scene. Based in her hometown of Paris, she has shown her work in gallery exhibitions from California to Italy. Her work explores death and the ways in which we cope with it, and, through masks, she challenges the “absurdity of social interactions” in everyday culture.

While many female street artists use female figures, Kashink paints only men — even love scenes depicted in her work are exclusively man-on-man.

Philippe Hérard

Phillippe Hérard, who will celebrate his 50th birthday this June, is another dark horse on the street art scene. After creating smaller scale works for galleries, Hérard began dabbling in street art just seven years ago. His work almost always includes humanoid figures, his gugusses, in clear anguish or emotional pain, with their gazes turned away from the viewer.

Hérard intends for his work to express the darker side present of the human psyche. Originally from the suburbs of Paris, Hérard is now based in the 20th.

The Sheepest

The Sheepest’s unusual moniker is taken from the icon that he has plastered on walls around New York, Budapest and Paris: a sheep head with its eyes obscured by the words “je suis ceux que je suis” in order to parody our tendency to follow the herd. His sheep are of the adventurous kind and can be found beneath bridges or three stories up the side of a building.

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REALITY TV When the Small Screen Influences Real Life

by Natalie Gilhool photography by Carenina Sasha From Netflix to HBO, TV networks are putting out enough binge-worthy series for this to be considered a golden age of television. With creative content steadily developing and series attracting big-name directors, actors, writers and bigger budgets, TV series are now giving cinema a run for its money. Because of this rising prominence, TV is doing more than reflecting the world around us — it is actually influencing reality.

Mad Men Mad Men, a critically acclaimed show that focuses on the birth of the advertising age in the 60s, had a noticeable impact on the world of fashion.

After viewers got hooked on the series, suddenly catwalks — from Michael Kors to Prada — were referencing 60s styles for men and women. Banana Republic even launched a Mad Men clothing line inspired by the show in collaboration with Mad Men’s costume designer Janie Bryant.

Breaking Bad Breaking Bad, the immensely popular series, has been blamed for a global increase in the use of meth. In 2014, a leading academic claimed in the Telegraph that the series is responsible for parts of the European Union being flooded with methamphetamine. Germany has seen the most growth in meth use at 51 percent, while Britain has seen a staggering 400 percent increase in attempts to smuggle the drug into the country.

The Jinx Robert Durst, the multi-millionaire American real estate heir, is infamous for his connections with the murders of his wife, neighbor and close friend Susan Berman. Police had been unable to find the evidence to convict him until Durst agreed (against the advice of his lawyers) to the making of this HBO documentary series. The show uncovered a letter that links Durst to Berman’s murder and (spoiler alert) a chilling audio recording of Durst unwittingly confessing to the murders: “What the hell did I do? Killed them all of course.” The Jinx led to Durst’s arrest and the reopening of Susan Berman’s case.

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The Big Bang Theory The Institute of Physics points to The Big Bang Theory, a series revolving around a group of geeky physicists rooming together in California, as having contributed to recent renewed interest in physics studies. According to the Higher Education Funding Council for England, applications for university-level physics courses in the U.K. are up a surprising 17 percent, with a 10 percent increase in the number of students accepted to study physics in the year the series was broadcast in the U.K.

Man v. Food Food challenges may have been around for a while, but Adam Richman, host of Man v. Food, introduced a whole new level of over-eating. According to foodchallenges.com, there are now over 2,300 food challenges in U.S. restaurants because of Man v.

Food, and the trend has spread globally. Although many viewers find these challenges entertaining, organizations like Britain’s National Obesity Forum believe these challenges “send out all the wrong messages� and encourage obesity.

Keeping Up With the Kardashians Kylie Jenner, the youngest of the iconic Kardashian-Jenner clan, is a lip injection enthusiast, and many of her young fans have tried to follow her example. By suctioning their lips with a shot glass, girls have been temporarily swelling their lips to a distorted size. But what they might not realize is that this process can cause micro-damage to delicate blood vessels and lead to scarring, bruising and even permanent disfiguration.

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Expat Dreams Six Young Foreigners Climbing the Parisian Career Ladder

by Stefanie Rodriguez photography by Korinah Sodahlon

With France’s unemployment rate reaching an 18-year high of more than 10 percent, and youth unemployment at a staggering 24 percent, these are precarious times for young internationals trying to start a career in the French workforce. These six foreigners explain how they successfully found their way to their dream jobs in Paris as étrangers, and share their advice on how you can, too.

Meg Gagnard, 25, Denver, USA Digital Content Project Manager, Christian Dior Couture What led you to work for Christian Dior Couture’s digital team in Paris?

While I was doing my senior year internship at Chanel, I applied to any remotely similar jobs in digital project management. I saw the position at Dior on several websites and applied on all of them. Despite being junior for

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the role in the eyes of HR, I defended each point of the job description and showed how I either had experience with the mission or knew what they were looking for.

What has been your greatest challenge working in France?

The French language. No matter how well you speak, there will always be moments when things are lost in translation. Adapting to a stressful environment or urgent task can be even more intense if you’re not getting your point across or if you’ve missed one key word.

What is your favorite part of your job?

Digital media is a domain that’s always changing, so there are always ways to adapt, improve and innovate in the way we communicate and the platforms on which we communicate. I love having a global vision of the site, a place where people from around the world can navigate and consume beautiful content and learn about Dior.

What is your advice to someone who wants to start a career in digital in Paris?

Keep up with what other brands are doing. It’s a constant chase for innovation, and all ideas and suggestions are encouraged. It’s important to know what’s going on around you, even in different sectors. French companies are also going to look at your digital communications internship experience.

How did you distinguish yourself from French candidates?

The best thing I did was to make sure I wasn’t trying to be one of them (English is always a plus, but in France it’s important to master their language).

My focus was to ensure that I was appropriate competition: I mastered the language and didn’t focus on the fact that I was foreign in interviews — that was already obvious.

Chris Nielson. 29, Sydney, Australia Founder, Fondation Café What led you to start Fondation Café in Paris?

When I first started working in Paris, the concept of specialty coffee was still relatively unknown, and so I loved the idea of the challenge of presenting a new way for the French to enjoy coffee.

What has been your greatest challenge working in France?

Language and culture. It has been a steep learning curve understanding and adjusting to French culture.

What is your favorite part of the job?

You meet so many different and interesting people. We have a very small space, so often you have the opportunity to involve everyone in the shop in a single conversation, which I love.

What is your advice to someone who wants to start a business in Paris?

Make sure you have adequate council on what to expect. Bureaucracy can be quite intense here, so it’s best to talk to some people who have either done it before or specialize in dealing with that arena.

How did you distinguish Fondation from French cafés and from other high-quality specialty cafés?

The atmosphere and product offering is vastly different from your standard French café, so it hasn’t been difficult from that point of view. As for other high-quality cafés, we were quite intentional about some of the equipment we chose. Our espresso machine is the only one of its kind in Paris, for example. I think this gave the coffee-centric crowd something to get excited about.

What were some of the cultural adjustments you had to make to adapt to the French workplace?

Most obviously, the way you present the coffee as a product and talk about it. A lot of French people do not have a vocabulary to describe coffee yet, or have been misguided.

Yena Lee, 24, Seoul, South Korea Assistant News Producer, France 24

What has been your greatest challenge working in France?

The major issue I’ve noticed — and this also goes for most of my friends who graduated from Sciences Po — is the lack of CDIs (French long-term work contracts). It has been almost one full year since graduation and none of us have a CDI. It’s okay, because you can get by with consecutive CDDs (shortterm work contracts) until the company hires you, but I guess we naively thought it wouldn’t take so long!

What is your advice to someone who wants to start a career in journalism in Paris?

If you live in France and want to start a career in journalism, you’d most likely have to go to one of the officially “recognized” journalism schools. If you live abroad, it doesn’t matter as much and you can probably just study the usual subjects such as history, politics or international relations, and then move to France. It’s a bit silly, really, because work experience matters so much more, but in my experience, many big French companies only hire graduates from these journalism schools. It’s also where there’s a lot of networking and job opportunities. My other advice is to intern as much as you can and build a lot of work experience in journalism on the side — no matter how small the media is, it will count.

How did you distinguish yourself from French candidates in your field?

I work for the English channel of France 24, so you have to be bilingual.

Apparently it’s not that easy to find young, bilinguals in Paris who want to work in journalism! I was also lucky enough to have had the opportunity to intern at a few different places around the world. I think they appreciate someone with an international background.

What were some of the cultural adjustments you had to make to adapt to the French workplace?

My workplace is pretty international, so my colleagues are from the U.K., the U.S., Poland, Italy, etc. The people I’m in contact with day-to-day aren’t typically French! I guess the only “French” thing about the company is that it takes forever to deal with paperwork.

It is a French public entity after all!

Josh Fontaine, 34, Woodstock, USA Co-Founder of Quixotic Projects, Candelaria, Glass, Le Mary Celeste, Hero What led you to start Candelaria in Paris? And what led to the follow up venues: Glass, Mary Celeste, and Hero?

Like all our venues, we came up with the idea because we thought that there was a lack of something in Paris.

Basically, we create places where we ourselves would like to hang out.

What has been your greatest challenge working in France?

I originally moved to Paris in 2008 to go back to school for an M.A. in International Affairs at The American University of Paris (still have to finish the thesis!) after spending ten years in New York. Perhaps the greatest challenge has been learning about French work rules without ever having really worked in the country. I went straight from school to opening Candelaria really, so we learned about the code du travail as we were hiring our first employees! Not an easy system to navigate, to say the least.

If you were to start again, what would you do differently?

I think we would have spent a bit more money on the build out — if we had any more, that is. Building on the cheap gets the doors open, but if you have the money, spend it on better plumbing, A/C, electricity, etc. It costs ten times as much later on when you need to close to redo everything.

How did you distinguish yourself, and your ventures, from French establishments in the industry?

We didn’t open a French bistro because we’re not French; we did what we knew best! I’d like to think we’ve

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created a more inspiring and forwardthinking place than your typical French café, which in turn creates a happier and more loyal staff.

What were some of the cultural adjustments you had to make to adapt to the French workplace?

Not being able get rid of bad apples, the short work weeks and long vacations, the way you need to develop a bit of a relationship with suppliers before going into business with them ... the list could go on! But really, there are difficulties owning businesses everywhere — the U.S. isn’t the business paradise that we sometimes make it out to be, and France isn’t the most difficult place to work either. It’s all a matter of perspective.

What is your advice to someone who wants to start a career in marketing and advertising in Paris?

What people care about is how you can bring value to a team. For me, it was my extensive knowledge of our target audience and of P&G, as well as my ability to be a team player. Find out how you can be valuable to a team and the mission of the account and prove it.

And make an effort to learn French!

If you were to start again, straight out of university, what would you do differently?

I wish I had the courage and confidence to look at Paris agencies first. I knew I wanted to stay in Paris, but I looked at London and NYC agencies first because I thought my profile would be overlooked here.

How did you distinguish yourself from French candidates in your field?

I made a tagline that I stuck on my LinkedIn and CV: “Definitely a cool American.” Fortunately, this stuck with my non-American colleagues, so whenever they have a question about marketing trends in America, American pop-culture, American English, etc., I’m their go-to gal. Knowledge of the American market and consumer culture are valuable assets at my job.

Sarah Samoranos, 27, Santa Clara, USA Global Account Manager, Proximity BBDO What led you to work for Proximity BBDO in Paris?

I had leveraged my network, and my CV eventually found its way into the hands of the Global Account Director on the Procter & Gamble (P&G) account who was looking for interns that were native English speakers interested in marketing. I chose the P&G account because it struck a chord with my American consumer heartstrings. After a 6-month internship, I was asked to sign on to work on the account full-time.

What has been your greatest challenge working in France?

Let’s be honest here: it’s the language.

It’s not speaking the language that’s challenging as much as it’s being accepted by my French colleagues that I do indeed speak and write in French.

Thankfully, the agency also offered me French lessons.

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What were some of the cultural adjustments you had to make to adapt to the French workplace?

I’ve had to adjust to the abundance of meetings, and meetings for meetings sake. I’ve also had to adjust to a more global way of thinking, rather than an “America-first” approach to everything.

Kaitlyn Reinhart, 26, Toronto, Canada Founder & CEO, Otium Cold Press

What led you to start Otium Cold Press in Paris?

Otium started out as an obscure idea between my boyfriend and me. We were going to make cold-pressed juices and sell them on our bikes around the city to make some extra money.

Both of us worked in fashion production and many of our international clients were coming to Paris asking for cold-pressed juices and, at the time, the options Paris had were quite limited. We quickly realized that there was a potential market that was not yet completely saturated compared to cities like London or New York.

What has been your greatest challenge working in France?

Getting the French to not only understand that drinking vegetables is good for you, but can taste good, too!

What is your favorite part of your job?

I love searching for the best products for my clients: produce that is full of flavor and nutrients, knowing where it comes from, and being able to have a voice to support and develop awareness around sustainable and ethical farming.

What is your advice to an international, like yourself, who wants to start a business in Paris?

My advice is to have patience. Everything takes much longer, but the end result is that much sweeter.

How did you distinguish yourself from similar French businesses?

The Paris juice business is very diverse — it’s quite international — but with Otium, we wanted to step away from that sort of white, clean, medical feeling we got from other companies at the time. It was important for us to go back to the basics and have a more rustic, rootsy feeling, to ultimately make that connection between the soil and our food, which I think people have lost.

What were some of the cultural adjustments you had to make to adapt to the French workplace?

I would say the language. I always announce that I am not French and then ask if we can “tutoie,” as it is easier for me. I do love the idea of denoting polite forms of language but it just doesn’t come naturally to me!

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T E E R T S O Y K TO ital p a C e s e n a p e Ja h t n i y t i t n e d I ce Preat li Fashion and A y b y h p a photogr text &

Ririna, 18, student

“My style makes me feel playful; it reflects my current feeling. I just want to have fun.”

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As the balance of power in the fashion world has shifted away from the catwalk, fashion freaks the world over have been turning to the street for inspiration. Tokyo has become one of the recognized street fashion hotspots known for its huge variety of styles, from the kogal of Shibuya with their school uniforms, loose socks, died hair and fake tans, to the gothic Lolitas, who pair typical goth attire with a more feminine and sexy look. The outlandish outfits that can be spotted across the city are more than just a fashion statement however — in a society that remains highly hierarchical and codified, young people often see their choice of clothes as essential to their identity. We went out on the streets of Harajuku and Shibuya to meet young Tokyoites and find out what fashion means to them.

Sho, 25, investor

Wayne0216 / Shutterstock.com

“With this style, I don’t feel the same as all business men who wear the same suits everyday. I feel young and original. It is motivating to feel like this in my field of work.”

“Even though I’m getting older, I want to stay true to myself and still be able to wear this type of clothing. I want to stay young.”

Heiko, 40, office worker

“At my job, I can’t wear what I would like. This feminine side is a part of my personality, and it is important for me to express it on the outside.”

Songquan Deng / Shutterstock.com

Leo, 26, restaurant worker

FASHIO IN FLU

ON UX

Changing the Fashion Cycle in the Era of Instant Gratification

by Matthew Yarborough photography by Mia Windisch-Graetz

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K

arl Lagerfeld once said, “I am a fashion person, and fashion is not only about clothes — it’s about all kinds of change.”

These words have never seemed more relevant. In the last year, the fashion industry has experienced its fair share of changes and shake-ups: Alexander Wang was replaced at Balenciaga by of-the-moment designer Demna Gvasalia, Raf Simons quit Dior, Alber Elbaz was unceremoniously ousted at Lanvin, and, most recently, Hedi Slimane stepped down from his post at Saint Laurent.

As Paris-based fashion designer Lucien Pellat-Finet put it, “[The industry] is like the world we live in: super dysfunctional.”

Beyond this game of revolving doors at the top of leading fashion houses, a more fundamental change appears to be afoot. The everyday consumer now wields the power in a system that has traditionally worked from the top down. With the internet and social media at their disposal, consumers now have instant access to an increasingly democratizing industry. Fashion is no longer something you see in glossy magazine editorials; it exists in the palm of your hand.

Fast-fashion retailers like Zara, H&M and Topshop have done well to rise to the occasion, but the luxury industry is struggling to keep up with consumer demands. As the digital revolution pushes on, many within the industry fear that the current fashion system and calendar are not adapting to a market driven by the idea of instant gratification.

The current fashion system’s roots go back to the emergence of luxury prêt-à-porter labels in Paris, a move spearheaded by Yves Saint Laurent with his lover and business partner, Pierre Bergé. In the early 70s, following models established in New York and Milan, Bergé merged Paris’ prêt-à-porter designers with the pre-existing organization of haute couture designers to establish the Fédération Française de la Couture du Prêt-a-Porter des Couturiers et des Créateurs de Mode. Since then, the fashion system has followed a strict calendar governed by fashion weeks during

which designers show their collections to the press and buyers, and four to six months later the new collections become available to consumers.

While this has been the accepted cycle for some time now, many are starting to question the efficacy of the system. Over the last ten years, the landscape of the fashion industry has changed dramatically due to the onslaught of social media and fast fashion. With fashion a mere click away, consumers are demanding the same immediate retail access to designer collections that Instagram, Snapchat and live streams have given them to fashion shows and events. “Social media has made it easier to interact with brands. You have more access to the DNA of a brand on a visual level. It’s quite an exciting time in fashion,” acknowledges Laura Mitchel, a 27-year-old interning at Jérôme Dreyfuss.

“I have a strong feeling that the entire world is changing deeply, so the fashion industry is too. I am not convinced that I could be part of that change,” Jean-Jacques Picart lamented. Picart began working in public relations in the 1970s, which developed into a career in fashion and luxury consulting, with many of LVMH’s fashion holdings among his clients.

Of the current state of the fashion industry, Picart says, “Too many good collections are saturating all the markets from very high levels to very affordable ones. But the brands are still thinking and doing fashion just the same way they have been doing things for the last 15 years.” Picart goes on to explain that, “For all these reasons, fashion must be reinvented! Specificities and differences must become the new rules for designing, communicating and selling.”

In order to meet this demand for immediacy, many top designers, including Burberry and Tom Ford, have begun to adopt “see-now, buy-now” systems. This approach involves designers shifting production schedules, holding small events for buyers and press, and then presenting seasonally appropriate collections in February and September. This combats the problem of short-lived excitement, which is then followed by inevitable boredom or fatigue in the four to six months that it takes for collections to hit stores, by making the collections available to shop online and in-store immediately following the shows.

Speaking with The Business of Fashion, Burberry’s CEO and Creative Director Christopher Bailey outlined his reasoning for changing cycles, claiming, “There’s just something that innately feels wrong when we’re

talking about creating a moment in fashion: you do the show in September and it feels really right for that moment, but then you have to wait for five or six months until it’s in the store.” This is part of a larger strategy for Burberry to bring the brand closer to the consumer. Burberry was one of the first designer labels to live stream a fashion show (the first being Alexander McQueen in September 2009), and the brand recently used Snapchat to further democratize the luxury experience and give its consumers unlimited access.

Tom Ford, who regards the current fashion system as “an antiquated idea,” has been quick to embrace changes in digital media, eschewing the typical runway format for his Spring/Summer 2016 collection.

Instead, the designer debuted the collection in a fashion film directed by artist Nick Knight and starring Lady Gaga. As of April 2016, the video has over 2.4 million views on YouTube. By comparison, Balmain’s most recent fashion show is cited as being the most-viewed collection during the Autumn/Winter 2016 show season on VogueRunway.com with just over 2 million views.

“We spend an enormous amount of money and energy to stage an event that creates excitement too far in advance of when the collection is available to the consumer,” Ford says.

Fashion shows have become grand spectacles that are instantly spread across the vast expanse of the internet, with consumers around the world seeing and sharing images of the collections as soon as they are shown. By the time the collections hit stores, consumers have been bombarded by images of the shows, as well as seeing the clothing in the press, on red carpets and in advertising campaigns. With this new system, images and other relevant information about the new collections would be placed under embargo, preventing leaks to the consumer. In addition to aiming to satisfy consumer demands for immediacy, this plan seeks to remedy two of the major problems facing the current system: the over-saturation of images due to the dominance of social media and the “consumer fatigue” caused by that over-saturation and fast fashion copies.

Twenty-five-year-old Paris native Venicia Martinet says that social media makes it difficult to wait for collections to hit the stores, “You have a rush of images during one week, so you want everything then. You know that Zara will have what you’re looking for right away.”

Fast fashion seeks to capitalize on consumer desire, but does its fair share to contribute to consumer fatigue. In the past, runway imitations took months, sometimes as long as up to a year to produce. Nowadays, retailers like Zara and H&M are able to see images of the collections in real time and turn around

“Because of internet power in any field of activity, ‘seenow, buy-now’ will be a must.

There is no choice!”

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copies in a matter of weeks. Consumers desperate for an off-the-runway look flock to Zara in droves, buying imitations as little as 15 days after the fashion show. When designer collections are hitting the racks, many consumers are bored with the “new” silhouettes, prints or colors that they purchased up to six months ago at a fraction of the cost. In a system now dominated by instant gratification, some luxury brands are beginning to lose their value as consumers are willing to sacrifice the quality that comes with luxury just to stay on top of the trends.

Some, like public relations powerhouse Lucien Pagès (his clients include J.W. Anderson, Christophe Lemaire and Courrèges), believe that this only affects one end of the consumer market. “I think that when a big fashion group copies Céline, no customer of Céline will go there because they copy the style of Céline.” He continues, “They have the style, but the style without the quality is not Céline. I think the over-saturation of images can kill the desire for some products.”

François-Henri Pinault, CEO of Kering SA (Kering’s fashion holdings include Alexander McQueen, Gucci and Stella McCartney) doesn’t agree with the idea of “consumer fatigue.” Instead, he believes that the sixmonth lead time “creates desire” for the new product, and that the idea of a “see-now, buy-now” model for the industry only “negates the dream” of luxury. Pinault tells Bloomberg, “There are some brands for which a runway show is a communications event. What we will decide will be what suits our brands and our vision of luxury.” Martinet agrees with Pinault that, “When the products finally do become tangible, they don’t feel outdated. You’ve waited so long to have something that it still feels fresh.”

For Pagès and his clients, the idea of runway show as communications event rings loud and clear. “The show is not to show the trend to the buyer and to the press so that after they can make their own interpretation. No, now this is over. The show is to provide strong worldwide communication [of the brand message]. So that’s why people think the clothes should be ready after the show, because the strongest communication for the collection is the show.”

To others, the argument against a “see-now, buynow” system has nothing to do with “consumer fatigue,” desire or when the brand message is the strongest, but rather with protecting the artistic integrity of designers. In an age of rapid-fire changes in technology, increased production speeds and a constant desire for newness, many designers are fighting to keep their heads above the fray. Pellat-Finet recognizes the pressure placed on designers, but says, “That’s the way it is as soon as you decide to enter the circus.”

While the new system could cut down on the number of collections designers are expected to produce each year, some believe it would not give the public enough time to fully digest the designer’s creative vision. In an op-ed for The Business of Fashion, Pascal Morand of the Fédération Française de la Couture du

Prêt-à-Porter des Couturiers et des Créateurs de Mode wrote that, “At a certain point the idea of being ‘consumer-driven’ undermines the kind of ‘creative push’ approach that leads to genuine innovation.”

Discussing the lead time between fashion shows and collections arriving in stores, Carlo Capasa, the president of Italy’s Chamber of Fashion, tells the Associated Press, “[It’s needed] for people to understand the message. Because if a creator is a true creative, he is proposing something that doesn’t really exist.”

So where does the industry go from here? Picart is adamant that, despite all its problems, a consumerdriven “see-now, buy-now” system is imminent.

“Because of internet power in any field of activity, ‘seenow, buy-now’ will be a must. There is no choice!” As there is no widely agreed-upon solution or cookiecutter model, it is up to those in the industry to decide how they will adapt to stay relevant in the eyes of the Insta-consumer.

In March 2016, the Council of Fashion Designers of America published a study that analyzed the problems with the current fashion system and offered a number of solutions based on interviews with industry stakeholders. Results indicate that most designers would rather experiment with a hybrid system involving immediate-release capsule collections than undergo a radical shift to the “see-now, buy-now” system.

Alexander Wang, Proenza Schouler and Coach have all adapted to the recent shift and have implemented such a system.

One thing is certain: the days of the grandes maisons are over. In a society where hashtags drive the news cycle, the fashion industry must do what it can to foster consumer loyalty. Pagès believes that widespread change will only happen once those at the top realize they are no longer in control. “It will be a big revolution, or the cake will fall down. But it can only happen if Dior, Chanel and big brands do that. It’s up to them, because they are the main actors of the industry.” •

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#BlackG Beauty That Is Much More Than Skin Deep

by Celeste Palmer photography by Paolo Pellegrino & Carenina Sasha

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revolution is upon us. Young black women everywhere are proclaiming their beauty, shouting from the rooftops that they love the skin they are in, letting America know that being black is a special privilege, not a burden. They are spreading Black Girl Magic to the world.

When I was 12 years old, I pleaded with my mom to let me get my hair chemically straightened. I wanted my hair to be straight like the many dolls I had played with, the actresses I’d seen on TV, and my own mom, who was chemically straightening her hair at the time.

After weeks of begging, she took my sister and me to the hairdresser. Pungent white cream was delicately applied to our soft, spirally hair to burn it straight. For the first two weeks, I was in love, so much so that I couldn’t wait to touch-up my roots, even if that meant another encounter with the burning cream. But after the touch up everything changed. My hair wasn’t strong enough to handle the chemicals, and it slowly began to break off. I wasn’t bald, but I lost a lot of hair. From then on, I vowed to never chemically treat my hair again. For the first time, I began to accept and appreciate my hair in its natural state, my own #BlackGirlMagic.

The #BlackGirlMagic hashtag is the brainchild of the blogger CaShawn Thompson, a formula designed to “celebrate the beauty, power and resilience of black women.” Thompson first used #BlackGirlsAreMagic back in 2013, and as it became more popular over time, it transformed into #BlackGirlMagic. The hashtag is used on social media to describe anything that portrays black women in a positive light. As Julee Wilson of the Huffington Post puts it, Black Girl Magic is “anything we deem particularly dope, inspiring or mind-blowing about ourselves.” For Ashley Ford of Elle, “[It] is about knowing something that others don’t know or refuse to see.” Black Girl Magic varies from black woman to black woman, but it is always positive. #BlackGirlMagic is the latest in a series of hashtags that celebrate black women. Black Girls Rock!, the

GirlMagic award show founded by Beverly Bond on the BET cable network in 2006, to honor and empower women of color around the world in different fields. The show spawned the #BlackGirlsRock hashtag, which has been tagged in over one million Instagram posts and trends on Twitter when the show airs annually.

The challenges black women face are often inadequately reported, even though their struggle dates back to the slave days, as shown by Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman” speech. Black Girl Magic is just the latest way in which black women are asserting their beauty, intellect and identity.

Black Girl Magic takes all of the hardships a black woman has endured simply because she is female and black and says, “this is why you are special.” After receiving the “Young, Gifted and Black” award at the 2016 Black Girls Rock! show, the actress Amandla Stenberg stated: “I used to feel too big and too bold. I realized my blackness doesn’t inhibit me from being beautiful and intelligent, it is the reason why I am beautiful and intelligent.”

Boxer braids, full lips, big butts and tan skin have become the newest trends when these have been cornrows, regular lips, regular butts and normal complexions to black women. It is one thing to be influenced by another culture, admire its beauty, and even emulate it. It is another for celebrities and fashion magazines to proclaim these features as “trendy” on white women while disregarding or looking down upon them on black women. Kylie Jenner can wear cornrows and be viewed positively for setting a new fashion trend. If a black girl wears cornrows she is viewed negatively, dare I say as “ghetto.” White people get spray tans or go to tanning salons and their skin tone is deemed warm and beautiful, yet natural brown and black skin tones are viewed in an altogether different light on black women. Put simply, if white people do it, it’s celebrated, but if black people do the same thing, it is overlooked or criticized.

In a society that continues to appropriate their culture yet give them no credit, there is no better time for black women to proclaim their greatness than with this momentous online movement. #BlackGirlMagic is

important because black girls grow up being told by society that they are not beautiful; that their wide noses, big lips, and abundance of melanin are too invasive; that their hair is not normal, too big or too poofy, or — God forbid — too nappy (the other n-word you shouldn’t use). They are told that they should lighten their skin, get surgery on their lips and nose, and chemically straighten their hair to adhere to “normal” Caucasian standards of beauty.

The movement goes beyond beauty, too. Black girls are told that they are not smart or must act in a certain way so as not to intimidate anyone; that if they speak too loudly they have an attitude or are being bossy; that in order to be beautiful and accepted in society something in themselves needs to change. They internalize all of these things, until they start to believe them. A little girl should never have to hear these things, and that’s why movements like #BlackGirlMagic exist.

It has taken me years, like many other black women, to finally be comfortable in my own skin, to appreciate the texture of my hair and the amount of melanin in my skin, and to come to the realization that I could never fit the mold, because it was not cast for me.

This is why Black Girl Magic is so important. It comes from black women and reclaims what others have refused to see: that black women are beautiful; that we are intelligent and can succeed; that we are vulnerable and can feel pain and are not purely the fetishized sexual objects that the media purports us to be; that we can stand together, with different skin tones, body sizes, and hair textures and not tear each other down; that it doesn’t matter what they may say about you, because you already know the truth. That all black women, not just the light ones with mixed girl hair, are beautiful. That’s #BlackGirlMagic. •

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CONTINENTAL DRIFT

Are Americans Turning Their Backs on Uncle Sam?

by Stuart Edwards graphics by Rachael Fong-Gurzinsky

Throughout its history, the United States of America has been considered around the world as the land of opportunity. However, the country may be entering its awkward teenage years. As the U.S. continues to deal with the strain of rising health and education costs, escalating racial tensions and inappropriate uses of tax money, opportunities are becoming harder to find. We look at some of the reasons why Americans are choosing to leave their homeland.

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HEALTH TOURISM According to the United States Census Bureau, 33 million Americans (over 10 percent of the population) lacked health insurance in 2014 and therefore face immense difficulty in affording treatment for both emergency situations and chronic conditions. As a result, more and more patients are turning to the European medical system and its more patient-oriented payment structure.

According to the OECD, Europeans spend almost four times less on healthcare each year than their American counterparts. This is largely due to the fact that the U.S. government plays a much smaller role in negotiating healthcare costs — a responsibility which lies with hospitals and insurance providers — opening up the process to the immense greed present in the system today as hospital costs are ultimately passed to the consumer through high insurance premiums.

In the European single-payer healthcare system, the government is responsible for payment and thus can monitor and regulate the cost of treatment. The Center for Disease Control reports that 750,000 Americans are therefore choosing to leave for Europe each year for less expensive medical care. According to HealthTourism.com, Spain, which boasts a world-renowned medical system, is a popular destination for everything from face peels to neurosurgery, while Poland has become an orthopedic surgery hotspot thanks to even lower prices than in Western Europe.

CHEAPER EDUCATION According to the U.S. College Board, a “moderate” college cost for an in-state public college for the 2015–16 academic year averaged $24,061, while costs for a private university are almost double. European higher education costs pale in comparison, and in some cases there are no tuition fees at all. Countries such as Germany, Finland and Denmark offer entirely free university education to American students, while countries with paying systems have fees that remain far below those on the other side of the Atlantic. At Université Paris-Sorbonne, a license (the French equivalent of a BA) for the 2015–16 school year costs just 189 euros. “I’m saving so much money by going to school in Scotland,” says Grace Bales, an American student at the University of Aberdeen. “I don’t understand why someone wouldn’t do this.”

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POLITICAL EXILE While their numbers are limited, political exiles are the most high-profile category of emigrating Americans and none more so than former CIA employee and NSA contractor Edward Snowden. After being charged with the theft of U.S. government property and the violation of the Espionage Act of 1917, Snowden escaped to Moscow, where he applied for asylum. In 2015, he was granted a three-year residency permit and now lives as an almost entirely free man — he is allowed to travel within and outside of Russia and earns money through public speaking fees — a very different fate than the one he would face were he to return to the U.S. Others have fled the U.S. for less high-minded reasons.

In 1968, William Lee Brent, a Black Panther who lived in Oakland, California, was arrested for robbing a gas station and wounding a police officer. After being released on bail in June of 1969, Brent hijacked TWA flight 154, ordering it to fly to Cuba. After serving a 22-month sentence on suspicion of being an American spy, he lived out the rest of his life on the island until his death in 2006.

DODGING DEBT Among American students, the fastest growing departing demographic may be a relatively new one: the debt dodger. In an interview with Vice News, four recent U.S. graduates who moved to Europe to avoid paying their student loans explained that they believed the higher wages and lower living expenses found in Europe would give them a better chance of financial security. However, the major common thread in their stories appeared to be a lack of foresight. One of the interviewees claimed it was “never [his] intention” to go to college, but after a change of heart, he settled on a private film school in California, a rather expensive option for such a casual choice.

This lack of foresight extends to these debt dodgers’ current situations — they have little recourse should they ever move back to the United States and could face grave consequences. Untouched student loan debts can balloon to astronomic levels over time, resulting in wage garnishing and possibly even incarceration. According to the Houston Marshall’s office in 2016, nearly 1,500 warrants will be released in the coming months for unpaid debts of as little as 1,500 dollars.

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CITIZENORIENTED TAX While European taxes tend to be higher than those in America, expats report a higher satisfaction with the use of tax funds in European countries. Sixten Heekin, an American student at Lund University in Sweden, says, “Here, I feel like citizens’ tax dollars are actually spent on the betterment of society — infrastructure or free or low-cost education, for example. In America, it seems like my money will just support the constant wars our nation finds itself in or be used to save corporations that were destroyed by greed.”

For others, the issue is not so much the use of their tax money as the amount they are required to pay of it.

The United States is one of only two countries that taxes its citizens on foreign income, the other being Eritrea (a country that is considered to have one of the worst human rights records in the world). This has driven some Americans to go so far as forfeiting their citizenship.

ESCAPING RACISM “One day I realized I was living in a country where I was afraid to be black. It was only a country for white people. So I left,” said Josephine Baker, a noted American jazz singer who left for Paris in 1925, eventually becoming a French citizen in 1937. The current climate toward minorities in America shows little improvement, with almost weekly reports on police violence toward African-Americans and rising tensions surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement. This has resulted in many minority citizens seeking a more accepting social climate in Europe, a trend which stretches back to the 19th century. In fact, the first great American minority migration to Europe came with the Louisiana Purchase, when groups of African-Americans chose to leave for France following segregation — some figures suggest that over 50,000 moved in the decades following the Louisiana Purchase.

Baker’s feelings on Paris are still echoed today. Bria Bradley, a student at The American University of Paris, doesn’t feel nearly as victimized in France for the color of her skin. “I don’t worry as much walking down the street or cringe when I see the police, hoping that they are not in a bad mood,” she said.

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A HOUSE BUT NOT A HOME How the 2015 Attacks Changed Life for Muslims in France

by Zeinab Farhat photography by Eugenio Marongiu

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left Libya with my family in 2012 while the country was on the edge of a civil war. My father was offered a work contract in Paris for four years, but I wasn’t thrilled about moving to France. Our perceptions of the country were shaped by what we had seen on television which presented Paris as the capital of racism.

I also remembered the 2010 French law that banned the hijab and traditional religious dress from the public sphere, causing an uproar in Arab countries.

However, after arriving in Paris, I found the city to be the opposite of what I had expected. People were friendly and open-minded, besides the occasional stares from some of the French. I found security in Paris, and like others around the world, I am inspired by the French Revolution. I enrolled in The American University of Paris in order to learn from this culture and take this knowledge back with me to help rebuild my country.

During the summer of 2014, my sister and I were in Libya visiting our extended family when the civil war broke out. We fled to Jordan and from there flew back to Paris. Since then, we haven’t returned to Libya, and yet, we are still considered strangers in Paris.

Muhammad Jabur, a refugee from Syria, shares my experience of being treated like an outsider. Jabur is a 23-year-old student who studied in Damascus. He left home in 2012 because the war was becoming more violent and his home was destroyed. “We had nowhere to live,” Jabur said. “We had no place to go to.” He came to Paris last October from the Zaatari refugee camp in

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Eugenio Marongiu / Shutterstock.com

Jordan. “Life here is one million times better than what I had in the camp,” he said. “There was no freedom in the camp. They did provide us with food and shelter, but not with freedom at all.”

For Salwa Al-Umrani, a 25-year-old Muslim woman from Qatar who came to Paris to finish her education, after seven years of living in Paris, she describes 2015 as the worst of them all. After the Charlie Hebdo attacks in January 2015, she recalls, “I would get stared at by people and some would curse at me from far away.”

Experiences are different for Muslims whose appearance does not advertise their religious background. Marwan, a 21-year-old Lebanese man who did not want to reveal his last name, has been in Paris for three months. “I haven’t encountered any racism,” he said. “It’s really nice living here.”

Muslim women in France tend to be targeted by those prejudiced against Islam as they wear the hijab, an outward symbol of their religion. Sara Hamood, a 34-year-old who is seeking refuge in France after fleeing the Syrian civil war with her husband and two children, says that she is the only one in her family who feels targeted in France.

“When we arrived, the French didn’t treat us any differently, especially my husband and my kids,” said Hamood. “On the other hand, maybe due to the fact that I wear the hijab, it was obvious that I was an outsider.” I asked her if she had ever been targeted by violent threats or actions. “Never!” she replied. “Everyone is very nice in our neighborhood [Courbevoie]. Sometimes people stare at me, but nothing more than that.”

Hamood struggled with how to react after the recent terrorist attacks committed in the name of Islam in Paris: “You get this feeling as if a part of you is responsible, but in reality, we as Muslims had nothing to do with it.” In September 2014 Active Change Foundation, a London-based youth organization, launched a social media campaign showing Muslims condemning the violence being perpetrated

by ISIS with the hashtag #NotInMyName. The hashtag resurfaced following the November 2015 attacks, but while the Muslim community rallied behind its message, many felt stuck between a rock and a hard place.

After November 13, Hamood recalls, “We wereasked to explain ourselves to the world. The majority

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of us had to take responsibility for what a minority had done. If we apologize, then we are saying we are sorry our religion is the cause of this terror. If we do not, then we are accepting what had happened does not affect us.”

Looking back at the week after the November attacks, my experiences seem more fraught than those of the other Muslims I interviewed. My hijab seemed to become the only part of me people saw. I hadn’t realized how much people stared at me until I helped my American friend move her luggage across town.

She remarked how much people stared at us, while I hadn’t noticed anything different than usual. I also remember walking home in the 15th arrondissement, a family-friendly area. A middle-aged woman across the street had been staring at me, and she suddenly stopped in her tracks and yelled, “DÉGAGE!” (get out).

I glanced at her and kept walking so that I wouldn’t cause any more trouble. But where was I to go? I would love to go back to my country, but what about my education? Education is the only way I can help my country and fight against the rise of terrorists.

Al-Umrani also felt that, following the November attacks, discrimination against Muslims was more intense. “I was pushed out of a bus and a metro,” she said. “I had a man come up to me and tell me to my face to take my stupid religion and go back to live with the donkeys where I came from.”

When she said this, her smile turned to a saddened expression and she lowered her head as if about to cry.

Following the Charlie Hebdo attacks, Socialist President François Hollande and Prime Minister Manuel Valls put forward a proposal to strip French citizenship from dual nationals convicted of terrorism. Critics argued that this law would target second-generation immigrants who have dual nationalities, including French Muslims from Arab backgrounds, and would create racial tensions and “second-class citizens” in France.

The Pew Research Center reports that, as of 2010, 4.7 million Muslims were living in France, representing 7.5 percent of the population. That figure is expected to grow to more than 10 percent by 2030. In addition, the INSEE, France’s national statistics body, reports that the number of foreigners arriving in France rose from

Eugenio Marongiu / Shutterstock.com

193,000 in 2006 to 235,000 in 2013, an increase of 22 percent driven in part by refugees seeking to escape ongoing conflicts and humanitarian crises.

Muhammed is a 38-year-old journalist who chose not to reveal his real name for security reasons. He is one of many Muslim refugees in France and received asylum from the French government in the summer of 2015. Muhammed spends his days taking French courses taught by volunteers and writing against ISIS and Bashar al-Assad under a fake name for online magazines and blogs. “I am thankful for the government,” Muhammed said. “They took care of us and provided us with shelters and food. This is all we need and as soon as we master the language, we will be capable of working, then we will no longer live off the support of the French state.”

Maya Al-Karim is a 23-year-old student from Lebanon who emigrated to France with her family in 2006.

While she is not a refugee, Al-Karim left Lebanon because the situation was “unbearable.” In July 2006, war broke out between Israel and Hezbollah and her parents wanted a better education for her. Al-Karim says her family was mistreated by their Parisian neighbors from the beginning, but after the Charlie Hebdo and November 13 attacks, things worsened. People called them names, stared and wouldn’t look them in the eye.

Her family is now considering returning to Lebanon.

“Dying at home is better than dying in a land that never accepted my existence,” Al-Karim said.

While Hollande’s controversial proposal has now been taken off the table, concerns remain that it could resurface in a different form in the future. The Front National — France’s extreme right-wing political group — has recently been making significant gains, reflecting a growing anti-Muslim sentiment and wariness of refugees in France. The French have historically defended laïcité, or secularism in public affairs, as a central building block of the country since 1905. And yet, in the current political context, the principle of laïcité and the freedom to practice one’s own religion have never felt more at risk. •

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Volodymyr Borodin / Shutterstock.com

FRONT

TLINE SEATS

A Student’s Search for Adventure Leads to the Syrian Civil War

by Sophia Khatsenkova

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t first glance, Steve, who did not want his real name to be used, seems like the typical university student: he enjoys clubbing with friends, smoking a joint or two after class and playing video games. As a senior at The American University of Paris (AUP), he is majoring in International Comparative Politics — a subject that has fascinated him since growing up in Brazil, a country with many political and social problems in recent years. Steve describes himself as an idealist, a guy who cares about people and issues and who wants to change the world. But as a student, he isn’t as motivated as he would like to be. An average pupil, Steve explains that the educational system just isn’t for him: “It’s all about conformity. The system tries to make you think a certain way.” Apart from that, Steve describes his life as normal. However, over the past three years he has made two separate trips to Syria — the first as a freelance journalist and the second in an attempt to join the Free Syrian Army (FSA).

Steve agreed to an interview after he had approached me a few months earlier and told me his story. We met at his place, a spacious two-bedroom apartment located in the 7th arrondissement, where he lives alone. Sitting on his plush couch and smoking a cigarette, Steve is mellow and easy-going, eagerly answering my questions, but sometimes getting distracted by an episode of Family Guy that is playing in the background. I asked him to go back to his childhood and give me the low-down on his life up until his first trip to Syria in 2013.

Steve grew up in Rio de Janeiro before his family relocated to the U.S. when he was 10 years old. Even after he moved to Paris in 2011, he never truly found himself. He was close to his parents, but “felt alienated because they wanted a future for me that had a distinct trajectory: get a job, settle down, obtain a business degree or whatever else is normal.”

After attending college in Florida, Steve decided to transfer to AUP as he didn’t feel stimulated enough. “I was kind of lost. I kept to myself and had relatively few

friends,” he said. “I felt like something was missing, it was relatively calm, since it wasn’t close to the batlike I needed to do something bigger than myself.” tle lines. He recalled that apart from a few destroyed While AUP didn’t fulfill his hopes of belonging, he buildings here and there, the effects of the war weren’t made one friend that would radically change his life. apparent. They were housed in the military barracks, The two men quickly formed a bond due to their comsleeping on the floor — a far cry from their usual Pamon interest in politics and views on conflicts. They risian comforts. “It was January and the weather was shared a particular interest in the Arab Spring, the freezing and we only had a small heater going. It was wave of revolutionary protests and civil wars that bevery, very bad.” As for the FSA members, Steve clams gan in Tunisia in 2010 and eventually spread through that they were welcoming, but still tried to intimidate the Middle East. The clashes eventually culminated them. “But they wanted all the exposure they could in the Syrian Civil War, get,” he said. which began in 2011. As The three friends the number of protesters had not been diligent increased, so did governin their research, since ment violence against they quickly discovered them. Nation-wide prothat the FSA had co-optests called for President erated with the Al-NusBashar Al-Assad to step ra Front: a Syrian Aldown. Eventually, proQaeda branch, whose testers took up arms in goal was also to topple order to expel security the Assad regime. “It forces from their local arwas so surreal, like we eas, which led to the civil were on TV,” recalled war, pitting the pro-govSteve. But after a few ernment side against the days, he got bored of the rebels. By 2013, the UN situation: “They were claimed that 90,000 peotrying to baby-sit us,” he ple had died in the conflict said. “They wouldn’t let with war crimes allegedly us get close to film the committed by both sides. front lines.” Seeing that Steve in Northern Syria in 2013 In August of that year, the there was no way that conflict escalated drastithe FSA was going to let cally when a nerve agent was fired at some areas in them near the the action and that they were running Damascus, killing hundreds of civilians. out of money, they packed their bags and went home.

After hearing about the atrocities committed by the Steve felt a sense of disappointment: “I felt like Assad regime, Steve’s new friend floated the idea that nothing was accomplished during my first trip. We they go to Syria as freelance journalists to make a docgot some video footage but I didn’t feel like we helped umentary, although neither of them had any experimuch. I felt like I wasted my week away there.” ence in the field. Steve jumped at the idea: “I wanted For the past few years, Steve had been experiencto feel the rush of being on the ground. I didn’t want to ing “an existential crisis.” “It was all about fitting in,” he read about it or see it on TV.” So without any preparasaid. “I was in search of my identity.” But why Syria? tion, they arranged a trip to Istanbul with another male Steve is not Syrian, had never visited the country befriend in the hopes of crossing the border into Syria. fore and had no friends or family from there. While he Steve told his family that he was going on a tourist was moved by the dire situation in Syria, he was also trip around Turkey. “We were just going in and hopattracted by the danger. “It was a mix of altruism but ing to establish contacts on the ground. I know it’s the mostly adrenaline-seeking.” So was he simply bored? dumbest way to go about it, because we could have “I wanted to escape the monotonous lifestyle I was livrun into some bad people.” After landing in Istanbul, ing,” he said. Wanting to experience a more active role they took a bus to the town of Kilis in southern Turkey in the conflict, Steve decided to “offer myself to the on the Syrian border, where they met a Canadian jourgroups” as a rebel fighter. nalist who put them in contact with local militias. They In June 2015, Steve embarked on his second trip helped them legally enter Syria and invited them to atto Syria, notifying only one of his friends. Gabriel, an tend a meeting with members of the Free Syrian Army AUP alumnus whom Steve met three years ago, said, in the town of Al-Bab, located approximately 20 miles “He left very fast and didn’t tell anyone where he was from Aleppo. Al-Bab is presently under the control of going. I was shocked and angry. There was no way I the infamous Islamic State (IS) terrorist group. could contact him.”

Members of the FSA, many of whom spoke English, Steve planned to travel with a British man he had showed Steve and his friends around town. Steve demet online a month prior: “I didn’t want to go by himscribed Al-Bab as a barren and dusty town, although self, I’m not that crazy,” he said, laughing while lighting

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another cigarette. Going in, once again with no prepaturn to Brazil, having never actually participated in any ration, he relied solely on his British friend’s contacts. of the fighting.

They were put in contact with members of the FSA His family welcomed him back and were “more docthrough a man who worked for an NGO in Syria that ile than the first time in fear of me going back to Syria provided medical supplies. With a death toll of 250,000 as a way to protest.” They were aware of his 2013 trip, and more than 4.5 million refugees fleeing the country, and even helped him organize an interview with a Braa lot had changed since his 2013 trip. First of all, it was zilian TV network in which he showed his own Syrian a lot harder to cross the border. This time, he claims to footage. However, to this day, they have no idea about have had to use falsified Syrian documents provided his involvement with the FSA. by their contact to enter.

Surprisingly, Steve has faced few consequences Moreover, the landscape had drastically changed as after his trips, while both of his friends who accompawell. Steve ended up in the northwestern town of Idlib nied him in 2013 were questioned by the FBI. His Britthat had been severely ish friend also ran into affected by the fighting trouble with the authorbetween the many facities. Although he was tions. This time, Steve reconcerned at first by called that he could hear the discomfort it could gunfire and sometimes bring to his family, in the a grenade going off in end he believes that he the background. “Fightwas left alone because er jets and helicopters he didn’t do anything were passing all the time wrong: “I met terrorists above us,” he said. “I felt from the Al-Nusra Front vulnerable all the time.” but I never joined any He noted that the living terrorist organization.” conditions had also deteSteve’s two trips to riorated, with most peoSyria are examples of ple not having access to the growing trend of medical care and somewar tourism surroundtimes food. He rememing contemporary conbers hopping around a flicts. For many years, lot, sometimes staying adventure seekers have in fighters’ barracks and been traveling to politAl-Nusra Front flag hangs in a neighborother times with fighters’ ical hotspots in hopes hood in Northern Syria families in their homes. of seeing some action.

Upon their arrival, What is new is that this Steve and his new friend were shown videos of vioprocess is becoming commercialized. Nicolas Wood, lent acts committed by the Assad regime that made a former New York Times correspondent, created his them even more eager to participate on the battlefront. own company called Political Tours, offering trips to He also said he attended a boot camp a week prior to North Korea, Iran and Ukraine. Although it is still a a major operation by the FSA in northwest Syria. But niche market, demand is on the rise. some of the FSA men believed that Steve’s British After he graduates, Steve hopes to return to Bracompanion “had serious mental issues” and was unfit zil and enter the police force, a surprising statement to fight. He quickly severed ties with his friend in order considering his past adventures. “I believe a lot in my to be taken into consideration. country and I want to protect my people,” he explains.

Steve also noticed that the conflict had taken a more When I asked him whether he would need to complete religious turn. “[The FSA] kept asking me about my rea background check, Steve looked astounded. “Yeah, ligion. It’s not relevant to the conflict, our priority was maybe…” he said, his voice trailing off. But he then asto topple a dictatorship.” He felt uncomfortable and sured me it wouldn’t impede his chances because of scared and said he had to keep most of his opinions “who I am, what I do and what are my hobbies.” to himself. “They showed pictures of beheaded solSo did Steve find himself? Ironically, he tells me, diers. They even showed us a video of a shot down he“I actually ended up feeling more lost.” Would he do licopter from the pro-government forces. There were it again? “Not in 100 years,” he said. “I accepted what dead people everywhere, and some were wounded. happened, it was an experience and I learned a lot.” In They went in and killed all the remaining survivors.”

Gabriel’s view, “It was a rash decision. But I’m glad he Steve started to feel more and more alienated. After got out of it … again,” he said. “But that’s the kind of guy ten days, he received news from his family — they behe is: crazy and unpredictable.” lieved he was there working as a truck driver for an But does Steve think what he did was crazy? “Yes. NGO — of his grandfather’s passing. He decided to reBut the world has no shortage of crazy.” •

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“I felt like something was missing, like I needed to do something bigger than myself.�

Steve posing with an AK-47 in Northern Syria in 2013

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POLITICS OF REBELLION America’s Growing Political Identity Crisis

by Gabriel Frankel

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he unorthodox presidential campaigns of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders have dominated the headlines and airwaves for nearly a year.

The ceaseless calls to “Make America Great Again” and for a “political revolution” of democratic socialism fixated on economic inequality are bringing the passionate masses to campaign rallies and voting booths across the country, as well as consuming social media and traditional news networks.

Mark Leibovich, chief national correspondent for The New York Times Magazine, refers to the phenomenon as the “decorous demise of the ‘Establishment.’”

The messages and political agendas of these two contenders — the ultimate party crashers and pot-stirrers — reflect polar opposite ideological visions, but both are fringe candidates defying the odds. Just four years ago, Sanders was barely known outside his home state of Vermont, while Trump’s political career was crashing as quickly as his ludicrous accusations concerning President Obama’s birth certificate. The times they are a-changin’.

But why now? Why is anti-establishmentarianism the dominant theme of this electoral cycle? The state of the union does not point in that direction. The status quo of the Obama-Biden-Clintons establishment tandem continues to lead America in the right direction.

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Gage Skidmore

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Michael Vadon

NaivetĂŠ and faulty idealism have clouded the campaigns of Trump and Sanders from the start, misleading the American people.

For the first time since the winter of 2008 unemployment figures have dipped below 5 percent, including low jobless figures in the swing states, while wages are rising. President Obama inherited the Great Recession and salvaged the country’s state of being. The current administration has insured 20 million more Americans through ObamaCare, cut the national deficit in half, and continues to set a record for job growth in the private sector. Wall Street abuses are better regulated through the Dodd-Frank financial reform, and with a 5-4 Supreme Court ruling in 2014, gay marriage is the law of the land. Environmental and national parks protection are at the forefront of the Obama agenda, while his New Energy Economy prioritizes natural gas and renewable energy. American national security is steady in the face of Europe’s terrorism crises, while the Iranian nuclear deal and restored diplomatic relations with Cuba reaffirm America’s prominent global standing. History shows that no president has done more for the progressive agenda than Obama since Lyndon B. Johnson. The future is looking bright.

Trump and Sanders are well-suited to be Rebel-inChief, capitalizing on an opportune political climate, but it is anyone’s guess whether their transformational rhetoric would be any more impactful than the pragmatism of their rivals to accomplish their campaign promises in the Oval Office. A comprehensive overhaul of our nation’s political institutions and values is an insurmountable task, highlighted by the polarization of the country’s demographics and total congressional dysfunction in recent years. Despite the roaring calls of “We Want Change” and “Yes We Can” that propelled Obama’s rise to the presidency and the favorable conditions upon its commencement, the honeymoon did not last long. It never does.

A closer look at the Obama years reveals his willingness to settle for the greater good or for consequential, bipartisan “half-loaves,” in the words of Paul Krugman. ObamaCare has left the healthcare system largely private, the Iran nuclear deal does not completely destroy the country’s nuclear facilities, and the wealthy are paying more in taxes without there being a profound attack on economic inequality.

Sanders and Trump’s respective versions of a “political revolution” are equally as likely to bear no fruit.

Sanders’ campaign for a single-payer healthcare system is completely unfeasible and leaves many unanswered questions, while breaking up the mega-banks does not get to the heart of preventing future largescale abuses of the financial system. And good luck, Donald, in pulling off the construction of a U.S.-Mexico border wall and temporarily banning Muslims’ immigration to America. For these two unorthodox candidates, their anti-establishmentarianism translates as “my way or the highway.”

A recent study from Georgetown University School of Public Policy reveals that Sanders’ legislative record as a senator makes him the most partisan member currently serving, while the scorn and disgust Trump

has attracted from the Democratic Party is historically unmatched. The passion and virtue of idealism is admirable, but its embedded political goals are not achievable without strong-minded realism.

The longevity and legacy of a successful presidency are largely aided by the leader’s willingness to politically settle. Pragmatic, but consequential change for the greater good is always laudable. Look no further than the sizeable bipartisanship support that carried Franklin D. Roosevelt’s monumental New Deal, while LBJ masterfully worked congressional relations and reached across the aisle, making his groundbreaking progressive agenda a reality. Ronald Reagan, father of the modern Republican Party, and Tip O’Neill, the liberal Speaker of the House, put their sizeable party differences aside to find common ground. America is engulfed in a paralyzing state of polarization, but this is no reflection of the establishment’s ability and historical credibility to flourish.

The lack of young visionary leaders speaks to the disconnect between different generations of Americans seeking broad change. Obama was able to ride the mantle of change in 2008 and inspire a profitable rise within the Democratic Party across the country within the parameters of the establishment. It is clear that Sanders and Trump have offered no plan to make their respective visions of anti-establishmentarianism a viable long game for America’s future.

Meaningful discussion between the candidates is all too rare in the face of violent protests and accusations marred with tainted opportunism. Recently, the actress and proud Sanders supporter, Susan Sarandon, argued that if Sanders were to lose in the primary, Trump might be a better choice than Clinton because unlike her, she argues, the conservative demagogue would “bring the revolution.” The unapologetic bigotry and xenophobia of Trump’s dirty politics will cross any line, no matter the cost, and too many of his insensitive supporters are responding to his invitations to violence. Fleshed out substance from campaign promises is alarmingly lacking, prioritizing the grand “screw the system” talking points of the anti-establishment agenda. Naiveté and faulty idealism have clouded the campaigns of Trump and Sanders from the start, misleading the American people.

Anti-establishmentarianism has the appeal and momentum going for it, but another trip down Establishment Lane, even if it is not what it used to be, is the best choice for continued progress. The politics of rebellion, whether that involves drinking the Bern-Aid or donning the red “Making America” baseball caps, is not the way to go. Even with the unfair criticism of Clinton’s establishment-ties, she might be the single most qualified presidential candidate ever with her time as first lady, senator and Secretary of State. While she might not be The One, anyone who campaigns on the values of President Obama’s accomplishments and his steady hand has my vote. •

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The same flavorful Tikka with fewer Calories Delicious Low-Fat Indian Food 63 Avenue de la Bourdonnais 75007 Paris

DEA W

hen a deaf child is born, one of the first things the parents are told is that their newborn has failed the hearing test. A baby is five hours old and has already failed at something.

However, some do not see deafness as a disability or a failure, but as a gift — something that makes deaf people who they are.

When Mélanie Lemaistre wakes up in the morning, she does what a normal university student would do: checks her phone. Texts from her friends pop up, as well as notifications from her social media accounts. She doesn’t think about what makes her different. She goes about her day like any other 20-year-old.

Lemaistre was born with “profound hearing loss,” meaning she was born deaf. Like many in the deaf community, there are important aspects of hearing society that are beyond her reach. Travel, transportation and navigating the urban environment can all become burdensome. A deaf person can’t walk up stairs while having a conversation or hear messages broadcast in an airport or metro terminal.

The greatest challenge of them all is communication and language.

Like many deaf French individuals, Lemaistre signs in Langue des Signes Françaises (LSF) — French Sign Language — one of dozens of splintered forms of signed language. There is no universal form of sign language, even if some are more commonly used than others.

Sign language is — to the hearing world — a curiosity that many don’t truly understand. “LSF is a real language: visual, active and

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Finding Strength in a Silent Community

AF &

by Cody Campbell

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nothing like oral language,” Lemaistre signs, her body moving, facial expressions changing, all in complete silence. She says everything she needs to without speaking a word.

The hearing world takes the culture of language mostly for granted and often fails to recognize the social conventions and cues that make each individual language so unique.

For the deaf community, transparency is key. In the hearing world, there are little shifts in spoken tone, coupled with subtle, innocuous body language, all wrapped up in carefully chosen wording meant to convey emotions or attitudes in a non-confrontational way. “Deaf people don’t do that,” Lemaistre explains, cutting right to the point. “We’re a direct people and it’s something that is shocking to some.” Deaf people say what they mean and mean what they say, whether it’s signed or spoken.

In The Sexual Politics of Disability: Untold Desires, a book examining the interpersonal relationships of disabled individuals, deaf people were asked precisely how their deafness influenced communication within their love lives.

One of the participants in the study, Binnie, was brought up in the deaf community and in a primarily deaf family. Her family was shocked when she began seeing a hearing man. “I met him on holiday, I was there with the deaf group, I met him through deaf people,” Binnie explains. “I was with him for four years, but I realized we were living parallel lives. He was very much in the hearing world, and I wasn’t.”

The eventual decline of their relationship was exacerbated by her partner’s refusal to learn sign language and entertain Binnie’s deaf friends. Since many deaf people can read lips and vocalize, there is the possibility that deaf individuals can blend into society seamlessly and never have to learn sign language.

Many deaf children in France must undergo vocal training in order to speak clearly and in a certain tone.

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This training also involves teaching how to lip-read, a vital way of breaking down a large barrier between the hearing and the deaf. Therapy for a deaf child takes place every day for an hour during their primary education. Without this, many deaf children would be completely segregated from their peers.

Lemaistre, who went through regular French schooling as a child, had a relatively easy time. She made friends with hearing children thanks to her vocal training, her family was close, and she was doing well in school. But as she got older, things began to change.

The people she was surrounded with at school weren’t as accepting of her when they became young teenagers. “They would mock me,” Lemaistre describes. “They would corner me off when I was alone and insult me, berate me. It was a terrible time.”

So devoid of empathy were those at her collège — French middle school — that her professors would ignore her, both inside the class and out. Her deafness, to others, was something that made her different, worthy of ridicule. It’s always easier to pick on the disabled.

“But I’m not disabled, and I wasn’t back then,” she responds, her strength flowing in her complex signs.

In high school, she would come to find new friends as she switched into programs geared toward deaf individuals. However, this shift from mainstream education into a special program can cause isolation and stigmatize deafness.

Mandy Harvey is a 28-year-old from Colorado fighting back against this stigma of disability. She’s following her dream to have a successful career as a singer-songwriter and “just happens to have an invisible disability,” according to her website. Harvey has profound hearing loss, rendering her clinically deaf.

The Invisible Disabilities Association, with which Harvey is associated, states that “just because a person has a disability, doesn’t mean they are disabled.”

It’s a mantra that fits in well with deaf culture and one she takes to heart.

“I don’t see myself as ‘that deaf singer,’” she writes from Virginia Beach while finishing her upcoming album. “I’m just a musician who happens not to hear.”

Without being able to listen to sound, Harvey focuses on the vibrations of music, a technique she learned several years ago after a chance encounter with her old high school music teacher back in her hometown.

Instead of focusing on the fact that Harvey couldn’t hear, the teacher advised her to “listen” to the musical elements that are hidden to those who take hearing for granted.

“You feel everything and it has made me more aware of how sound waves play around your body,” she explains.

“I love paying attention to these waves and their details.”

Harvey, unlike Lemaistre, was not born deaf. Instead, she suffered severe nerve damage from a genetic trait that left her with “profound hearing loss at the age of 20 to the point of deafness.”

The extensive nerve damage that she’s suffered made it impossible for her to seek treatment. Even cochlear implants are out of the question.

Cochlear implants are a recent scientific invention and a long-term solution for deaf individuals or those with profound hearing loss. They artificially stimulate the auditory nerve with a built-in microphone. Although imperfect, they allow many to recognize warning signals, understand sounds in their environment, and have a conversation in person or by telephone, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.

Unlike the over 320,000 deaf individuals with the implant worldwide, Lemaistre, who was born profoundly deaf, has chosen not to have a cochlear implant, although the option is available to her. She has an opinion that has become increasingly common in

the deaf community: “There’s no reason for it.”

Cochlear implants require training on how to properly use them, something that turns off deaf individuals like Lemaistre from seeking them. “I’m sure it helps many deaf people,” she says. “But it’s not for me.”

This resistance has become common within the deaf community. “My life is a little different,” Lemaistre ponders. “It’s more difficult than for hearing people, but I don’t compare it to them. Never. To say that the hearing can do this and I cannot; we have to fight the idea that we live a life burdened by a handicap,” she stresses. Harvey agrees: “Difficulty is relative. Life is simply different.”

Many members of the deaf community find pride in their disability — it is something that binds them together and gives them identity, something that gives them pride.

Deaf pride is a curious concept to the hearing. It is most widely spread through the American television series Switched at Birth, a show featuring many hard-of-hearing characters and actors. “Not hearing loss,” one of the show’s main characters signs to a group of students. “Deaf gain.”

The idea might seem ridiculous. Why would someone with an obvious disability be proud of it? But the question that is often posed back is: who’s to say what’s normal?

If there were a magic pill that could cure the disability of deafness overnight, it is natural to think that a deaf individual would take it without a second thought.

It would make their life easier and they could integrate into a primarily hearing society without issue. Who wouldn’t want to be able to hear like everyone else?

“If you had asked me that question a few years ago,” Lemaistre expresses, thinking back to all those negative memories of teenage cruelty, “I would have said

Deaf people say what they mean and mean what they say, whether it’s signed or spoken.

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yes.” But now, she says, it would be a disgrace to who she is as a person.

“Thanks to my deafness,” Lemaistre says of her life, “I’ve met such magnificent people and had such magnificent experiences.” People, both deaf and not, have inspired her to pursue her passions and goals despite difficulties and challenges. Dealing with bullies as a child and eventually finding friends in both the hearing and deaf communities were important experiences which shaped her.

Kévin Petit, a 26-year-old teacher from Lyon, echoed Lemaistre. “Why do we have to take such a pill and not hearing people, for them to be like us?” Stripping away his deafness would not be without consequences. “I would be afraid of losing it,” he said viscerally.

Yet for those within the deaf community who haven’t found strength in their identity like Lemaistre and Petit, there are organizations across the globe that offer support and inspiration.

Tourism is something that is inherently difficult or inaccessible for deaf individuals. Therefore, companies such as Hands On Travel step in to provide guided tours across the globe for small groups of deaf people. “It’s a literally hands-on experience especially for the deaf community,” the company says. “We include deaf-related sights such as local deaf schools, organizations, businesses and clubs.”

This greater level of global community is something that is especially helpful for the deaf community. The UN recognizes the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) as its official spokes-organization representing 70 million deaf people worldwide. In order to promote and highlight the deaf community, the WFD has declared the last week of every September to be International Week of the Deaf, a global event that seeks to unite

deaf people across the world and celebrate a key piece of their identity.

The French city of Lyon actively supports the WFD by hosting a yearly gathering called Fierté Sourde (Deaf Pride). The fair is held in mid-September and aims to promote inclusiveness. The festival includes games, spectacles, and workshops that teach sign language to adults, all offered with the hopes of building a bridge between the hearing world and the deaf world.

The Parcours Culturel Spectateurs Sourds (PCSS) is another organization which organizes theater, dance, music and fine arts events for the deaf community.

Events like these are essential, particularly as there are few visible deaf public figures in mainstream popular culture.

Lemaistre, born and raised in the Île-de-France region, never had a deaf individual to look up to. “It is sad, the lack of representation for the deaf in French culture,” she laments.

This absence is a problem that extends across the globe. “We want to have the same place as the hearing,” Lemaistre says, “to be shown alongside them. We shouldn’t be forgotten.

By France or by anyone.”

And there are a multitude of efforts that many deaf organizations, such as Miss and Mister France Sourd (MMFS), are now taking to bridge the gap between hearing society and the deaf community.

The MMFS pageant was founded in 2010 by the organization Carpe Diem Deaf, a company located outside of Paris dedicated to the promotion of deaf culture and activities. MMFS works to elect one deaf woman and man as representatives of the deaf community in France. These elected candidates eventually go on to compete to become Miss and Mister Deaf World, which takes place in Prague.

“This is an event that brings a certain pride to it,”

“Just because a person has a disability, doesn’t mean they are disabled.”

says Kévin Petit, who was recently elected Mister France Sourd 2016. “It gives us a legitimate representative for the French deaf community in the world abroad.”

The pageant is similar to Miss America and Miss Universe, where contestants are judged on an initial interview, their walk down the stage and a talent. For the deaf community, though, the list of talents to highlight on stage is unique.

Unlike the standard pageant displays, deaf people don’t perform a song. While many can sing, to a panel of deaf judges and a mainly deaf audience, that seems beside the point. Performances that require spoken or signed communication make it difficult for deaf individuals to see precise signs. Therefore, each contestant performs a dance of his or her choice instead.

Similar to how Harvey feels the music through vibrations, the competitors in MMFS rely on the visual aspect of the dance more than the rhythm. Petit walked away with the 2016 title after being elected by a panel of ten prominent deaf community members. Yet when he went to receive his award on stage, he wasn’t greeted with thunderous applause. Instead, the crowd waved their arms in the air, the deaf community’s own form of congratulations. “This is something that makes us all proud, across the deaf community,” Petit says of his election. “It gives us an outlet, a chance to shine.”

It is events such as these that provide a source of inspiration for young deaf individuals, especially children. “This competition doesn’t only offer us role models, but also a path, a source of inspiration,” Petit explains. “It is our certain way to liberation.”

Like Petit, Mélanie Lemaistre is determined to provide the deaf community with more role models. She started a Youtube channel called Signe2Mains to teach LSF to her viewers. Currently, she has more than 4,300 subscribers and over 600,000 individual video views.

With more inclusion thanks to the internet, it is much easier for deaf individuals to find friends and connect

with others who share the same experiences around the world. Online networks like Lemaistre’s also act as a further bridge between the deaf and hearing communities.

In fact, for many, the borders between these two worlds are fluid. Mandy Harvey doesn’t feel as though she fully fits into what some people would describe as the mold of “deafness.” Having grown up with sound, she doesn’t feel as though she’s solely a member of the deaf community. “I tend to ride the fence,” she says, “and dip my toes into both deaf and hearing worlds.”

Just because the deaf community’s “disability” may be invisible does not mean that their culture, community and language are as well. They integrate into our culture, a society of the hearing, while we generally don’t give a passing notice to theirs. The deaf community, which exists because of a need to bring people together with defining handicaps, pushes the hearing world to examine what qualities and limitations define us, begging the question: would you change something vital to your identity just to be like “everyone else”? •

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A HERO’S TRANS FORMATION LGBT Acceptance in a Modern-Day Fairy Tale

by Jordan Nadler illustration by J. Orr

G

reg McGoon is a 30-year-old New Yorker who is changing the face of children’s books. In a society polarized by the struggle over LGBT rights, McGoon decided there was an absence of literature for young minds that represented the full spectrum of human sexuality.

Born and raised in Southern California, much of McGoon’s childhood took place in his mother’s candy store. After high school, he attended the University of San Diego, where he got his degree in Psychology and Political Science. Shortly after, in 2012, he became the Founder/Executive Director of Artcentricity, a non-profit, project-based arts organization geared toward child development. “My experience working with children in various theater and creative arts environments naturally led into writing children’s stories when coming up with creative and playful ways to express ideas,” says McGoon.

Tackling the issues of gender identity and the realities of depression and anxiety, McGoon’s books bring to light — in a child-friendly way — difficult topics that even adults have problems addressing. His first story, The Royal Heart, was published in 2015 and is one

of America’s first transgender fairy tales. It tells the story of a young prince named Lyric who feels something is not quite right within himself. He worries about his ability to become the great king his parents wish him to be some day. One night, he grows so upset he wanders into the forest where he meets the spirit of his grandmother and (spoiler alert) transforms into a beautiful princess. Lyric then returns to the palace where she is greeted and accepted by all for the person she really is. The story ends on an uplifting note: “This is who I am. This is who I’ve always been. In my heart, I knew I was not meant to be king. But maybe I can still be a leader.”

McGoon, a cis (meaning he identifies with the sex he was born as) gay man, does not want the world to view The Royal Heart as a transgender tale, but rather as a perfectly normal children’s story. “The book is not about the transgender experience,” he says. “The Royal Heart is a fairy tale that happens to have a transgender princess. It is a story that acknowledges the power of self-acceptance and representation through gender transformation. In doing so, it respects an individual’s desire to be accepted and embraced as their true self.”

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The book has struck a chord with many. Transgender people from all over the country have contacted McGoon, thanking him for writing a story about a transgender character that is as deserving of love and happiness as anyone else, something that has been conspicuously absent in mainstream literature.

Even in the digital age, young parents continue to stack their children’s shelves with books meant to teach them about basic human kindness and decency. Lessons about sharing, safety, manners and selfacceptance are weaved into anecdotes played out in stories like The Three Little Pigs, The Giving Tree and the Madeline series.

Children learn about society by role playing: by finding characters whose shoes they can try on, who look or sound like them, who can be naughty, needy or fight with their siblings — characters that not only normalize children’s experiences in this world, but also expand them, because they are feasible and tangible.

And yet, until recently, there have been few, if any, children’s stories that acknowledge the LGBT experience, let alone normalize it. Not only has this left gay and transgender youth without literary characters to relate to, it has given straight cisgender children no basis on which to gain empathy and understanding for this group of people.

According to a Pew Research study conducted in 2013, the average gay male child starts to become aware of his sexuality around 10 years old. For gay girls, it is around 13.

Transgender children have been reported to become aware of their gender identity from as young as three years old. Puberty is awkward enough without having to feel as though your gender preferences and/or sexuality are somehow wrong or to not have any protagonists with whom to identify.

For many parents, The Royal Heart has taken away the need to “explain” transgender-ness as a concept in need of special acceptance by simply normalizing it as a fact. Transformations have always been an important part of children’s literature. We have all read about how the ugly duckling turns into a swan, the caterpillar becomes a beautiful butterfly and the Beast turns back into a handsome man. Including gender transformations in this genre seems like a natural step. Lyric the transgender prince gets to become the princess she always knew she was.

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The fact that parents are grappling with how to explain transgender issues at all shows a huge shift in society’s perception of sexuality and matters of gender expression and identity. Thirty years ago, the idea of talking to children about transsexuality would have been laughed at, at the very least. Most likely, it would have been vehemently condemned.

Of course, acceptance is not happening everywhere in the U.S. Republican lawmakers in North Carolina passed legislation on March 23, effectively blocking a Charlotte ordinance that outlawed discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. According to the National Center for Transgender Equality, at least eight other states have filed similar bills on the floor since then: Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee, Washington and Wisconsin. On April 5, Mississippi governor Phil Bryant signed a law allowing businesses to refuse service to gay and transgender people, citing the right to protect “sincerely held religious beliefs or moral convictions,” which include the notions that marriage can only be between a man and a woman, that sexual relations should only occur in such a marriage and that a person’s gender is “determined by anatomy and genetics at the time of birth.”

However, just as the gay rights movement has developed momentum over the years, transgender and gender-identity issues have also made their way into mainstream media, creating an awareness about — and sensitivity to — the community.

American philosopher and gender theorist Judith Butler’s brand of feminism — and the idea that gender is a performative role — is gradually being integrated into mainstream life. Butler believes that many of the traits we attribute to the respective sexes (or historically attributed to the respective sexes) are not biological, but rather conditioned into us by society: women are emotional; men should financially support their families; women should want to get married and have babies; boys like blue, girls like pink; makeup and high heels are for women. We live in a world in which a person’s body parts are thought to equate with behavior. However, the two might not go hand in hand.

Thanks to celebrities like Caitlyn Jenner and writer and TV host Janet Mock, who have both revealed their transgender-ness, more and more transgender people have come out of the woodwork revealing their true

identities as well. TV shows such as Orange is the New Black, which feature trans characters as deep, complex people rather than punchlines, have also been incredibly important in making transgender people visible and accepted.

Open-minded adults across the country are attempting not only to expand their own world view, but also to make sure their children are as accepting and free as possible.

In fact, this new generation is being brought up to not even consider gender in many circumstances. There is an acute Western cultural sensitivity to misogyny, sexism and inequality — and though these prejudices are still rampant — they are just as quickly called out and much more severely condemned. In Sweden, the government has gone so far as to create a third, gender-neutral pronoun, hen, which is a mix of han (he) and hon (she). It is widely used in schools to refer to all children so that none of them feel defined by a specific gender in case they are not sure which one they identify with yet. This idea was suggested by a local newspaper as far back as 1966, gained traction in the early 2000s, and was officially recognized as a word in 2015.

In America, Greg McGoon’s stories are not the only cultural attempt to establish a new norm for children.

Stories have been popping up on Upworthy and other news sites on companies making a conscious effort to make toys less gender-specific (less pinks and blues, more yellows and greens), as well as construction sets and little kitchens suitable for both boys and girls.

Target, America’s fourth-largest retailer, has eliminated the gender aisles for all non-clothing related children’s items altogether. Narratives are changing, and so are the materials and media available to kids today.

As parents start paying more attention to the messages behind the media they expose their children to, more and more sociologists and psychologists are looking into the effects gender roles have on young people. A recent study conducted in Portugal on a class of 14-year-olds considered the effects society-pressured “masculinity” and “femininity” was having on young people. The study ultimately concluded, “this constant effort to manage one’s everyday life in line with gender norms produces significant anxiety, insecurity, stress and low self-esteem for both boys and girls, and both for ‘popular’ young people and those who have lower status in school.” The findings ended up forming the basis of author Maria do Mar Pereira’s book, Doing Gender in the Playground, which critically delved into the necessity of negotiating gender roles in schools.

With his latest project, McGoon is tackling the issue of childhood depression and anxiety in a book that aims to normalize these issues and make them relatable and digestible for young people. Written a year and a half ago while McGoon was going through a particularly difficult time in his life, the book is titled Traveling the Twisting Troubling Tanglelows’ Trail. The Tanglelows are creatures that live inside the mind and create confusion and doubt by tangling up thoughts and emotions. It is a rhythmic, poetic story that seeks to discuss the chaos and clutter that can sometimes consume us.

“Finding ways to discuss emotions with children has been making great strides with movies like Disney’s animated Inside Out,” says McGoon. The children’s film is set in the mind of a young girl named Riley Andersen, where five personified emotions — Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger and Disgust — try to help her through her family’s move from Minnesota to San Francisco. “This book in a way complements a film such as Inside Out, because it continues to bring to life abstract thought.”

McGoon hopes his stories will, if nothing else, create a dialogue for young people to discuss gender identity and norms, as well as dilute the taboo around mental health as something that is shameful or nefarious, when it is really just a natural part of the human experience.

As the media changes to accommodate the nuances of gender and sexuality, the way we present this information to children will affect their generation’s moral code. Unlike their parents, millennials were born into a world that saw the idea of segregation and other racist pre-Civil Rights Movement-mentalities as morally condemnable. That does not mean racism is over, but African-Americans now have millions of white allies on their side who passionately stand up for their rights — millions more than they did 50 years ago. Likewise, homophobia may not be stamped out because millennial parents teach their children about equality for gay and transgender people. However, with awareness and empathy, we can help destigmatize the LGBT community and create a more accepting world for our children to grow up in, allowing them to be whoever they want to be, or whoever they already are. •

As the media changes to accommodate the nuances of gender and sexuality, the way we present this information to children will affect their generation’s moral code.

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What’s

French for Adderall?

Why French Students Don’t Rely on Study Drugs for Success

by Joey Weber illustration by Aida Bedran

T

he tension is palpable in the examination room.

The wide-eyed, sleep-deprived students nervously await the proctor’s instructions. Doubt, angst or even despair combine to cloud these young minds yearning to prove what they have learned. The test begins; beads of sweat drop audibly on tables. The proctor buzzes overhead keeping a sharp eye on the students. This environment creates massive anxiety, even for the best-prepared students.

For as long as students have been learning and taking exams, they have been looking for ways to gain an edge in their studies. Study drugs can appear miraculous to any student under pressure. One tiny pill can translate to up to eight hours of increased productivity and alertness, and they can often turn mind-numbing activities such as studying into something amusing.

While many American students use performanceenhancing drugs to study, their French peers generally don’t take them, and for the most part, aren’t even aware that the drugs exist. In a statistical survey I conducted of 100 students at The American University of Paris, none of the 32 French students I interviewed had ever taken a “study drug” such as Adderall or Ritalin to

gain an advantage. For Americans the picture couldn’t be more different — of the 54 Americans interviewed, all but 4 reported that they had used “study drugs” before to gain an advantage in their academics. According to a national 2014 study released by the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids, one in five college students reported abusing prescription stimulants at least once in their lifetime, often to manage the daily demands of academic, work and social pressures.

In the U.S., high rates of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) diagnoses could explain the availability of these “study drugs” and the prevalence of their use.

According to HealthDay News, in 2013, 1 in 10 children were diagnosed with ADHD in America. These disorders are characterized by symptoms of inattention, impulsivity and hyperactivity, and about two-thirds of these children take prescription drugs such as Adderall or Ritalin to control their disorders.

As a student brought up within the American public schooling system, it seemed to me like everyone and their mother had a learning disability, which would explain and justify their limitations in the classroom.

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Chaotic outbursts and class disruptions were the norm, explained by asides like, “they must have forgotten to take their pill.” The American perspective is clear: diagnose it quick, medicate it quicker.

In France, however, the percentage of kids diagnosed and medicated for ADHD is less than 0.5 percent, according to Psychology Today. Marie-France Le Heuzey, child psychiatrist at the Hospital Robert-Debré, acknowledges that, “These attention difficulties exist. However, in places like Canada or the U.S. where nearly 20 percent of students are suffering from these disorders, we can be sure that people are getting a bit carried away.”

In fact, there is a fundamental disconnect between the French and American u n d e rs t a n d i n g of the causes of attention disorders. American psychiatric professionals view ADD/ADHD as neurobiological disorders caused by specific chemical imbalances in the brain, which can be mitigated by prescribing central nervous stimulants like Adderall (a mixture of amphetamine salts) or Ritalin (Methylphenidate). In France (and outside the U.S. more generally), ADD/ADHD are primarily seen as having psychosocial and situational causes. The primary method of treatment is through counseling and behavioral therapy, and medication is seen as the last option when all else has failed. The American obsession with medicating away all of our problems is seen by the French as an unhealthy and trigger-happy reaction, jumping to the nuclear option before trying anything else.

Amphetamines, the traditional drug used to treat attention deficit disorders, are illegal in France. Adderall, the amphetamine most commonly used for ADD/ ADHD treatment, is seen as having little to no medical use in France and many other countries. The potential for abuse and addiction are considered by French lawmakers and healthcare professionals to far outstrip their therapeutic benefits. Instead, a weaker amphetamine derivative called methylphenidate (trade names Concerta, Ritalin) is typically used as a last-resort treatment in France when all else fails.

In fact, even though rates of ADD/ADHD diagnoses in France remain comparatively low in relation to the U.S., Le Heuzey believes that the French are in the process of over-diagnosing ADD/ADHD and over-medicating children: “We are in the process of following the same path of the U.S., we over-diagnose and we

over-medicate. This is especially worrying because we do not know the undesirable long-term effects which could be present. Lastly, the medications we do have do not make any impact on many of the symptoms we want to prevent, notably delinquency and learning difficulties.”

Perhaps the discrepancies in treating ADD/ADHD stem from the vast differences between the French and American education systems. The French lycée, or high school, varies from its American counterpart in so many ways, both conceptually and structurally, that they could almost be considered entirely different.

As an American high school student moving to France, my first impression was that the French schooling system was a bit heartless and bleak. In America, my school was a place of belonging: the walls were decorated, every student had an extracurricular activity that made them a part of our school’s community, and it truly felt as if I was part of a large family. At my French high school, the walls were bare, the student-teacher relationship was rigid and formal, and extracurriculars did not exist. In my view, French students were indoctrinated. They all had the same fashion of studying, taking notes, and responding to questions.

Caroline Devillers, a Parisian student, agrees: “There is an established hierarchy from even the youngest age. If you talk during the class, if you do not study, do not write your lessons, do not have good grades, you will be punished. As a result, you learn to behave correctly from your first year of primary school.” Helene Lorho, a long-time professor of history from Brittany, elaborated on the matter: “School should primarily be a place of learning, and though it is important that students enjoy themselves, we must be reminded that schooling is not primarily for fun or enjoyment.”

She continues, “The fundamental role of education is to permit young minds to develop skills which will allow them to be successful in the real world. It is for this reason that I believe the extent of extra-curricular activities in American schools is exaggerated and, in large part, detrimental to the learning environment.” In essence, schools in France are places of learning, and all else is forgotten in the pedagogical pursuit.

Naively, I predicted that this type of educational system would cause a great deal of substance abuse

The American obsession with medicating away all of our problems is seen by the French as an unhealthy and triggerhappy reaction.

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among a student population struggling to keep up. I later found that this was not at all the case.

When I began studying at my French high school, I was struck to discover attention deficit disorders were nearly unknown. Upon explaining to my classmates about my struggles with staying focused and my reliance on drugs like Adderall, they poked fun at me for making excuses. “We’re lazy too and don’t want to study, but we don’t take drugs to motivate ourselves!” was the recurring response.

While conceptions of education, ADD/ADHD diagnoses and associated medications differ greatly between America and France, the difficulties that students face — concentrating, focusing, stressing, and meeting deadlines — are universal. If French students do not take pharmaceutical study drugs, just what do they do to cope with the anxieties of being a student?

In order to better answer this question, I interviewed several students from around France. Pierrick Loyer, a student from the western French region of Brittany, gave me his view, “I don’t like to drink coffee before tests because it gives me anxiety.” He chuckled, “And I usually don’t need it, because what I do to study is go to the library and spend days heavily preparing for the exam.” Rather pragmatic, Pierrick’s confidence was not mirrored in his peer from Toulouse, Gauthier Dominguez. A student of hospitality, his approach was markedly different from Pierrick’s: “Basically I just chug coffee and smoke cigarettes when I’m studying, I’m more efficient this way and I can spend more time not studying.” He paused and added, “Yeah, maybe my method ends up giving me anxiety because I don’t always feel well prepared. But usually if I just drink a red bull or some energy drink I do well enough on tests and practical exams.”

a list of the globe’s most efficient workers. In second place, perhaps due to the large amount of vacation time and benefits offered to them, French workers beat their American counterparts.

From an outsider’s perspective, it seems that French students are both better prepared with superior study habits and more willing to work to succeed in comparison with the American tendency to look for shortcuts. In any case, students will to continue to do what they feel works best for them, regardless of whether it is proven to be effective or damaging to one’s health. Our human necessity for results will clearly not be lessened by side-effects or laws as long as the desire for success remains. •

It seemed to be a common theme of French students: massive consumption of coffee and cigarette breaks to stave off insanity. Caroline Devillers explained that she copes with her academics by being well-prepared and organized: “I take really good notes because it was drilled into my head since day one in the French system. I just use those to study, and I drink coffee, and occasionally a beer with friends to cope with the stress.”

Beyond the microcosm of the college campus, does the greater prevalence of these disorders and the use of performance-enhancing drugs in the U.S. have a broader effect on American society? According to 2014 data from the OECD, American laborers rank third in

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Sweating Up a Storm The Unexplored Health Craze of the Russian Banya

by Maria Rychkova photography by R. Rychkova

L

emon detoxes, paleo diets, SoulCycle and juice cleanses are all well-being trends that have come and gone due to their questionable longterm health benefits. But do not fear, because your next wellness addiction is here. The Russian bathhouses known as banyas will improve your physical health and your mood.

In Russia, the banya boasts hundreds of years of history. Sweating, which leads to the release of toxins and bacteria stored in the body, is so popular in Russian homeopathy that there’s a saying that “if a banya can’t heal a sick person, nothing can.”

Resembling the Finnish sauna, a banya treatment involves sweating in a wooden room with a traditional hot rock or electrical stove blazing the temperature up to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. You can enhance your experience by asking for an aromatic heat application treatment using dried birch leaves. When done properly, the banya helps to rejuvenate cells, regulate stress and reduce lactic acid in the muscles. If done frequently enough, it can even help with weight loss by unblocking pores. All of this is achieved through steam, steam, and even more steam.

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The experience begins with a five- to sevenminute aroma steaming used to break out the first sweat, which also releases the majority of toxins from the body. To avoid overheating, the sweating process is typically broken up into three or four rounds separated by warm showers and dips in icy cauldrons to rinse off bacteria. You can also relax in the resting zone during your break or take part in another important aspect of the banya: socializing. The banya plays a key part in Russian culture, especially for men, fulfilling a similar social function to the golf course in the U.S. Another way to relax during your breaks from the hot room is to enjoy some fresh air in a barrel full of water that is heated over a small fire. During this time, snacking on honey and drinking warm tea is recommended to continue heating the body from the inside out and to stay hydrated.

While nudity is encouraged in banyas in order to let the body breathe through its open pores and therefore release more toxins, in most modern banyas it is acceptable to wear a swimsuit. If you do decide to go in the nude, then cotton sheets resembling Greek togas are draped around the body for coverage in between

rounds of steaming. Woolen bathing hats are also compulsory to stop the head from overheating during all the steam rounds. In some banyas, groups can also hire out the premises for private use if you are looking for more privacy or are not a fan of small talk with naked strangers.

The most intriguing and memorable part of the banya is the pareniye, and aromatic heat application treatment, which involves a parilshik (a professional banya attendant) slapping you with a bouquet of birch leaves soaked in essential oils. The parilshik covers the body with honey for exfoliation and its antioxidant properties and then waves, presses, and slaps hot air onto the skin with branches of birch leaves to heat up the body and encourage blood flow. Sometimes the parilshik rubs the muscles with vodka in order to heat them up, all in the name of well-being of course. Every so often, the body is cooled down by pouring cold water or beer onto the skin. The yeast in beer provides nutrients for the skin such as vitamin B, potassium, iron, zinc, selenium, magnesium and protein.

Alexander Mihel, a parilshik at Banyaland, a wellrespected banya in the Russian city of Sochi, told me that the pareniye is greatly appreciated by both newcomers and regulars. “With my own hands I make people happy and relieve their fatigue,” he said. “Each day I hear so much gratitude for the joy I bring people. From a single person I can hear ‘thank you’ 10 times.”

Overseas, Russian banyas can be found in areas that have a substantial Russian expatriate community.

Paris has its own Bains Russes in the 1st arrondissement, although your experience here will be watered down by the owners’ Parisian snobisme, a lack of competition, and the tight spaces of the facilities. If you’re feeling flush, you could also visit the five-star hotel Le Bristol in the 8th arrondissement for an authentic banya treatment in the hotel’s luxury spa. Be advised, though, that the banya is a marvel that isn’t easy to replicate, and although these Parisian venues try to recreate the fairytale, there’s nothing quite like what you’ll find back in Mother Russia. • Bains Russes 8, rue de la Sourdière, 75001 Paris Pareniye treatment and access to the banya: 50 € Le Bristol 112, rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, 75008 Paris Venik treatment (pareniye) and access to the banya: 210 €

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Looking for something to do for the EuroCup or the Fourth of July?

Come discover our Patio Bar this summer and celebrate with us!

EuroCup:

4th of July Celebration:

10 June-10 July 2016

4 July starting at 7pm

Find more information on Facebook and Instagram: www.facebook.com/loungebarparis

www.instagram.com/loungebarparis

SUMMER COCKTAILS Hydration with a Hint of Confidence

by Maria Rychkova illustrations by Haley Piper When the weather has got you hot, bothered and questioning why you ever resented winter frost, these original yet simple cocktail recipes are a great short-term solution to a summer on steroids (thanks, global warming). These six drinks are based on seasonal ingredients and themed to match various circumstances and moods that call for a pick-me-up.

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1

Sweaty Betty

The temperature’s nearing the 80s, it’s 5 p.m. on the Paris metro and you’re wedged in between a six-foot, sweat-dripping construction worker and an old lady that reeks of cats and cabbage — a nightmare Parisians know only too well.

This cocktail plays on the knockout scents of such sticky situations and turns them into a delicate, gourmand palette of flavors by pairing them with refreshing contrasts.

Ingredients: 1 shot whiskey or cognac ½ cup honey ½ cup fresh lemon juice ¼ cup soda ¼ cup ginger beer ½ cup water 2 stems rosemary Orange peel and loose rosemary leaves for garnish Ice Directions: In a small saucepan, bring the honey and water to the boil. Reduce to a low heat, add rosemary and leave to simmer until half the liquid evaporates (approximately 15 minutes). Leave to cool, then pour into a tumbler glass over ice and add the lemonade and whiskey or cognac. If needed, sweeten with more honey.

Garnish with orange peel and rosemary.

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Nostalgia

Oh, how distant those carefree summers of rollerblades, jelly shoes, Super Soaker fights and tie-dye t-shirts seem. This recipe riffs on those innocent 90s kid pleasures in the shape of an alcohol-spiked Popsicle. You’re an adult now, after all.

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Peach Emoji

Ingredients: 1 cup sweet rosé wine 2 cups lemonade ⅓ cup blueberries Popsicle molds and sticks

Directions: Ration out blueberries into Popsicle molds. Pour in mixture of lemonade and rosé, then freeze overnight.

Note: Blueberries float, so to distribute them evenly and avoid them freezing on one side of the popsicle, freeze the pops in three stages, each time adding an equal portion of blueberries and lemonade mixture.

Just like the emoji itself, this cocktail is succulent, cheeky, a little bit kinky and preludes some bad behavior. The perfect way to lose any inhibitions before that summer romance rendezvous.

Ingredients: 1 shot gin ½ large peach, sliced 6 small basil leaves, plus more for garnish ½ ounce fresh lemon juice ½ ounce simple syrup or 1 tablespoon sugar Club soda Ice

Directions: In a tall glass, muddle the peach with the basil leaves and the lemon juice. Then add the gin and simple syrup. Throw in some ice cubes and top with club soda. Garnish with basil.

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4 5 6 Juice Uncleanse

If you can’t quite shake the guilt of undoing a week’s worth of clean eating and working out for that summer bod, justify your bad alcoholic habits with this vitamin-packed drink. It’s like you’re already curing tomorrow’s hangover. As a true health nut, you should already have a blender to hand.

Ingredients: 1 shot tequila or smoky mescal 1 orange, peeled and quatered ¼ lemon, peeled quatered, and seeded ½ cup fresh pinapple chunks ¼ cup frozen mango chunks Cinnamon for garnish Ice

Directions: Put all the ingredients — except the cinnamon — in a blender and blend until smooth, starting on low and slowly raising the speed. Pour into a tall glass and garnish with a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Moonlight Tan

This cocktail is a refreshment for the creamy beverage lover with a kick that no Starbucks frappuccino could offer. A milkshake that will bring both boys and girls to your yard.

Ingredients: ½ shot white rum ½ shot Kahlua 1 scoop vanilla ice cream ½ cup milk Cinnamon for garnish Ice

Directions: Blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth.

Sprinkle with cinnamon.

Dusk in August

There’s nothing like that first, cool evening breeze once the sun sets after a day of scorching sun. Indulge in a breath of fresh air by sipping on this bubbly apéritif.

Ingredients: ¼ cup prosecco ¼ cup elderflower cordial 1 cup mixed berries 1 stem mint leaves 2-3 blueberries

Directions: Finely chop the mint leaves and muddle with the mixed berries into a smooth paste. Put the purée into a flute glass, then pour in the elderflower and prosecco. Throw in the blueberries and stir until evenly distributed.

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The Enigmatic Success of a Reclusive Rap Group

by Ariana Mozafari

W

hen Anglophones are introduced to French rap, their first impressions are generally not positive. With slang-filled lyrics and drug innuendos that are incomprehensible to anyone who isn’t versed in classroom français, much of it sounds violent, charged, and auto-tuned to death. Even if French rap isn’t your thing, the story of PNL’s rise is one every aspiring artist could learn from.

Two brothers, who go by their rap names N.O.S. and Ademo, form the rap group called Peace and Lovés (PNL), with lovés being slang for money. The brothers were just another obscure rap group from the Tarterêts projects in Corbeil-Essonnes, one of the most unstable areas of the Parisian suburbs.

Rather than dropping mixtapes or cozying up to a record label, PNL started posting a series of music videos filmed in improbable locations, from beaches in southern Spain to the Icelandic tundra. Their most popular video, “Le Monde ou Rien,” filmed in the notorious Scampia projects in Naples, has over 33 million views. Through these videos alone, PNL rallied enough hype to ultimately top the iTunes charts in France with the release of their album Le Monde Chico in November 2015.

PNL How did two brothers from the banlieue make such waves without signing to a record label? No one has been able to secure an interview with the group, leaving the public to piece together the PNL story from their cryptic lyrics.

The duo regularly refer to themselves as Mowgli from The Jungle Book as a metaphor for their desire for isolation from the media and their materialistic groupies. “The mystery around them has no previous equivalent in French rap,” says Olivier Cachin, host of a weekly rap show on the Mouv’ radio station.

PNL’s self-aware, melancholic lyrics set them apart from other rap groups’ focus on police violence or social injustice. While their songs tackle familiar French rap themes, like dealing drugs to survive, you can also expect to hear references to Dragon Ball Z, Disney cartoons and Nutella. Their lyrics also draw heavily on Arabic vocabulary, a reflection of what one can guess to be their North African roots.

There are countless questions still surrounding the young rappers: Who are they? How did they finance such extravagant videos? Why do they refuse to share their story? In the absence of any answers, PNL is a fascinating case of uncompromising musical success that is one to follow. •

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