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07/06/2009
Butterfly Is Free
Shi Pei Pu, the male opera singer who fooled an accountant at the French Embassy in Beijing into believing he was a she during a lengthy affair that inspired the Tony-winning play M. Butterfly, died at age 70 (link may be NSFW) on June 30 in Paris.
Pu convinced Bernard Boursicot he was a woman forced to play male roles, keeping both his lover and their carefully orchestrated sexual activities in the dark. Boursicot, whose previous erotic experiences had been with men, was hoping to become straight by sleeping with Pu. Where was Ex-Gay Watch when you needed them?
Years after Boursicot left China, Pu purchased a child and claimed he was their son, which Boursicot believed. Their affair was rekindled when Boursicot was stationed in Mongolia, but the Chinese pressured him to become a spy once they learned of the arrangement.
In the '80s, the former lovers were both convicted of espionage in France, allegedly the first time Boursicot realized his lover was a man. Making an already interesting story much more so, Boursicot had since become openly gay, and yet slashed his own throat upon hearing of Pu's deception.
The lovers were sentenced to six years. Both were pardoned after a year.
Told Pu had died, Boursicot said:
"He did so many things against me that he had no pity for, I think it is stupid to play another game now and say I am sad. The plate is clean now. I am free."
Posted 11:12 AM EST by Matthew Rettenmund in Deaths, France, Theatre | Permalink
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From 'Un bel di, vedremo'
Chiamerà Butterfly dalla lontana.
Io senza dar risposta
me ne starò nascosta
un po' per celia
e un po' per non morire
He will call Butterfly from the distance
I without answering
Stay hidden
A little to tease him,
A little as to not die.
Posted by: bading | Jul 6, 2009 11:30:13 AM
Pu says: "He did so many things against me that he had no pity for, I think it is stupid to play another game now and say I am sad. The plate is clean now. I am free."
Are you kidding me?? You lie to someone about your gender for years, even going so far as to purchase a child and say, "It's yours" ... especially to a man who has such low self-esteem and insecurity that he's trying to change his sexuality ... so you play up to that weakness in him for your advantage ... leading him to attempt suicide when the ruse is uncovered ... and yet somehow you are the victim????
Posted by: Kevin | Jul 6, 2009 11:58:31 AM
You may want to put a "NSFW" tag on that Outrate.net link, as there are porn ads on the sidebar.
Posted by: soulbrotha | Jul 6, 2009 12:33:16 PM
isn't it always the sad one that's dead? RIP
Posted by: cd | Jul 6, 2009 12:35:43 PM
Kevin -- I think you have it backwards. Boriscout said that, not Pu.
So it's Boriscout trying to play the victim.
Posted by: me | Jul 6, 2009 12:47:32 PM
@Kevin
It was actually Boursicot who made that statement, not Pu.
Posted by: Joao | Jul 6, 2009 1:02:11 PM
Truth is stranger than fiction. I never knew that film was based on a true story... Knowing it is, now, I just feel sad for both of them. Both self-deceiving puppets of corrupt belief systems. Still, the fake baby thing has the cunty edge - so I'm on Frenchy's side.
Posted by: Donovan | Jul 6, 2009 1:02:32 PM
Kevin that statement was made by the french guy Boursicot not Pu.
Posted by: mike | Jul 6, 2009 1:18:07 PM
I never this was a true story either. And in the film you're lead to believe that the frenchy died. Poop on Pu. That queen lied her ass off.
Posted by: Tralfaz | Jul 6, 2009 2:32:57 PM
M.Boursicot, I don't believe any of it.
Posted by: Mark | Jul 6, 2009 7:40:00 PM
Did Shi Pei Pu or Bernard Boursicot benefit financially at all from M. Butterfly?
Posted by: frankcity | Jul 7, 2009 3:22:15 AM
Thanks for the correction!
Posted by: Kevin | Jul 7, 2009 12:01:11 PM
I mean, Oh my God, couldn't he tell the baby was fake when he saw the tag that said "Tiny Tears", honestly.
Posted by: Troy | Jul 7, 2009 9:26:34 PM
M. Butterfly by David Huang and the film of the play by Cronenberg were based on public record, so, No - they never saw a penny.
I doubt we will ever know what really happened. With the generational and cultural differences, I don't think a queer in 2009 could even imagine what was going on - how much role play was intentional, how much was subterfuge. What was for pleasure, what was for 'business' and safety? The baby seems to have been 'invented' by Pu to leverage against Boursicot to get him, Pu, out of the very dangerous country. Despicable? maybe - but it saved his life.
Posted by: OttoErotica | Sep 9, 2009 12:02:56 PM