Radar gay

A key scene from À l’ombre des jeunes filles en fleurs sketches the gay radar or ‘gaydar’, a neologism which refers to the ability to see – through opaque bodies and screens, desired or otherwise – the homosexuality of the other. Radar or X-ray, the gay radar is a function which Charlus possesses and with which he targets the young hero, using a physical language destined to express his homosexuality. But it is of main importance that this language is not understood by the hero.