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Before the word ‘transgender’ existed, there was Bambi, the dazzling Parisian icon
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Marie-Pierre Pruvot, 89, known as Bambi, one of the first trans women in the world to become a public star, and a pioneer in global LGBTQ+ history, poses during an interview with the Associated Press, in Pantin, outside Paris, Tuesday, May 20, 2025. - photo by AP Photo/Thomas Padilla
PARIS (AP) — The moment that changed queer history occurred on a sweltering summer day in early 1950s Algeria. An effeminate teenage boy named Jean-Pierre Pruvot stood mesmerized as traffic halted and crowds swarmed around a scandalous spectacle unfolding in the conservative Algiers streets. All had stopped to look at Coccinelle, the flamboyant “transvestite” star of Paris’ legendary cabaret, the Carrousel de Paris, who strutted defiantly down the boulevard, impeccably dressed as a woman, sparking awe and outrage and literally stopping traffic.