Indochine — 3e sexe (Clip officiel)

JUL 01 1985 · 12:00

Indochine — 3e sexe (Clip officiel) (1985) Director: Pat Le Guen-Tenot Era: French New Wave Golden Age (1985) - Peak of France's synth-pop and new wave cultural explosion; Indochine at commercial zenith with album '3' selling 750,000 copies across Europe Exceptionally high. '3e sexe' (1985) is one of the most culturally significant French music videos of the decade — a document of gender-progressive thought embedded in mass-market pop, decades ahead of its cultural moment. Its fast-cut theatrical aesthetic, warm saturation, and performance-forward grammar make it a definitive artifact of mid-80s French new wave clip production. Essential viewing for researchers of gender history, French popular culture, and music video form. Context: Released in late 1985 as a single from Indochine's landmark third album '3,' '3e sexe' emerged as an anthem of tolerance and gender fluidity at a time when such themes were virtually absent from mainstream French popular culture. Inspired by Nicola Sirkis's observations of London's New Romantic androgynous youth scene — men wearing makeup and embracing femininity — the song became a generational touchstone for French lycéens in 1986. It positioned Indochine as pioneers of social progressivism within French rock, decades before mainstream discourse caught up. The song's frank engagement with gender-nonconformity made it the first significant French pop artifact to openly champion sexual difference, earning it enduring canonical status and a 2020 remix collaboration with Christine and the Queens. Director notes: Confirmed via IMDB (tt14648464) as director of the 1985 official clip for '3e sexe.' The video is a performance-oriented clip produced in France to support the single from the album '3,' which sold 750,000 copies across Europe. The clip was filmed in a theatrical style consistent with mid-80s French new wave production norms, featuring the band performing directly to camera. A separate alternative version of the clip is noted to exist, described as less flamboyant, with footage visible in the 2017 documentary 'L'Aventure Indochine' broadcast on France Télévisions.