Conceptualizing Space, Labor, and Identity in Wild Side

While there is much available for dissection and discussion coursing through the film Wild Side, labor and mobility are in stark conversation with the portrayal of the organization of the nation-state of France. These factors, however, are inextricably linked from the issues of gender, race, and sexuality that are so intrinsic to the film’s plot. In Wild Side, the ways in which the three main characters earn their livings serve as a crucial site of discernment when scrutinizing the operations of these identity factors that weigh heavy with social implications. The queer characters in the film include Stephanie, a transgendered woman, Mikhail, an immigrated Russian gay male, and Djamel, a French gay male. Just as their sexualities are rendered invisible in a nation state that places utmost valor within the heterosexual nuclear family framework, their polyamorous relationship is simultaneously silenced within their surrounding society. This invisibility is maintained through their sites of labor, where the social silence of the dynamics of their sexualities, genders, and selves is essentially preserved.

Standing in the street on city corners late at night and soliciting herself as a prostitute in bars and clubs, Stephanie’s labor is devoid of state recognition. She is a sex worker, and therefore, her work slides by unseen from the perspective of the state. Unmarried and without fitting into a traditional familial or relationship model, the intersecting factors of her sexuality, gender identification, and labor transcend the recognizable boundaries of the neoliberal French nation-state. Djamel’s reality is framed through a similar paradigm. As a sex worker, his gendered and sexualized work is devoid of legitimization by the governing state. His body, therefore, is rendered invisible. Unlike his two lovers, Mikhail does not work in the sex industry, but rather, he is employed in an entry level position in a restaurant in Paris. Though Stephanie informed her mother that he works as a server, depictions of his life within his actual workplace would suggest otherwise. Washing dishes, stacking plates, and putting up chairs after the restaurant is closed, it is more likely that the Russian immigrant with limited French linguistic skills is a bus boy. Hiring for such positions often occurs under the table, especially when the employee is of a nationality other than the country in which the job is offered. “‘Queer migrants’ in many ways comprise ‘impossible subjects’ with unrepresentable histories that exceed existing categories” (Luibheid 171). Likely an undocumented worker, Mikhail’s work places him beyond the boundaries of validation through labor in the eyes of the nation-state, leaving his body untraceable. As it is poignantly articulated in the plot of Wild Side, invisible labor makes for invisible bodies.

This exemplification is further buttressed by the familial relationships maintained by each character. The nuclear, heterosexual family is modeled after the nation-state deployment of what is “natural”, and this paradigm is painted with an illusion of the one and only possible norm through the reinforcement of social conditioning. Stephanie, Djamel, and Mikhail each bears a unique relationship to her/his respective family, but the common theme running through each reality is the obvious fragmentation shaping the familial bonds. At one moment, Stephanie’s mother questions her resistance to making eye contact, and a stark tension characterizes the scene. Later, conversation of her father leads to Dominique hurting Stephanie’s feelings. The inexplicable disappearance of her sister also alludes to the splintered relationships. Djamel’s conversation with his brother brews pressure when the subject of his earnings is brought up. Since his work lies outside the boundaries of a job validated by society, too much shame surrounds the subject for the truth to be revealed. It is also made apparent that he has not seen nor spoken to his mother for an extended period of time. Mikhail’s uncle, who moved away without informing his nephew, is suggestive of their frayed ties. His phone call to his mother also alludes to the great distance that separates their relationship. The ties between the queer characters and their respective families symbolize the boundaries of the nation-state. Living outside of such borders renders them invisible in all aspects of society, even within their immediate kinship bonds.

The polyamorous trio lives and thrives in the urban space of Paris, for amidst the turmoil and population of the large city, the obvious transcendence of state boundaries is less noticeable. The nature of the work of the three can be deployed, for there would be little space in a rural utopia for soliciting sex and undocumented worker employment. They live in public space, but beyond close scrutiny of the public eye. This, however, would be impossible in the rural space of Stephanie’s childhood. With sex work, the distinction between public and private space becomes less discernable, as the nature of the work itself occurs in the most intimate spaces of one’s private place. At one point in the film, a client picks up Stephanie, and she calls Djamel and asks him to leave the apartment so that she can use their private home space as a place of work. Also working in public restrooms, the public privacy of the sex work in the film blurs boundaries of space. After all, the borders of such work are rather indiscernible. Rural spaces are not a realistic living space for the three lovers considering their social positionalities and their unconventional relationship. However, there is a certain sanctity aligned with the beauty of nature. Stephanie fondly reflects upon moments of her childhood spent in green pastures with her sister. At one point, Mikhail runs freely and independently through the forest after an emotionally taxing moment. Another scene depicts the three rolling playfully through the green grass as they display their affections for each other. While a certain freedom resonates with the beauty of the nature in the film, these rural spaces are aligned with traditional family values. In such spaces, there is no room for the breakage of so many social boundaries, nor is there availability of work positions for the three lovers. Stephanie, Djamel, and Mikhail are therefore condemned to life in urban spaces so that they can continue to earn wages and allow their invisible bodies to blend into the fringes of society.


Here is a link to a story about a polyamorous trio that was married in the Netherlands, blurring societal notions of conventional relationships.