Les Amies de Place Blanche

"This is a book about insecurity. A portrayal of those living a different life in the big city of Paris, of people who endured the roughness of the streets.

This is a book about humiliation, about the smell of whores and night life in cafés.

This is a book about the quest of self-identity, about the right to live, about the right to own and control one's own body.

This is also a book about friendship,  an account of the life we lived in place Blanche and place Pigalle  neighbourhood.  Its market,  its boulevard and the smell of hotels we resided in.

These are images from another time. A time when De Gaulle was president and France was at war against Algeria.

These are images of women - biologically born men - that we call "transsexuals".

As for me, I call them "my friends  of place Blanche". This friendship started  here, in the early 60's and it still continues. "

Christer Strömholm, 1983