PRIDE: STK's article collection about LGBTQ+-related themes

Collage of pictures from protest marches and pride parades

^{Illustration: Top row l-r: Photographer unknown. SKA/A-0033 Løvetann, Skeivt arkiv; Photographer unknown. SKA/A-0033 Løvetann, Skeivt arkiv; Cecilie Johnsen/Unsplash. Bottom row l-r: simmersholm.net, Oslo Pride Parade 35, CC BY-SA 4.0; Photographer unknown. SKA/A-0009 LLH Bergen og Hordaland, Skeivt arkiv.}

Have you ever wondered why we celebrate Pride? Pride is about making queer culture visible, and celebrating queer love and diversity. It is about remembering battles that have been fought, victories and losses, which have led us to where we are today.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the decriminalization of sex between men in Norway. These five decades have seen huge cultural shifts in relation to how we understand sexuality and gender. Now, Pride has become a celebration in which the majority population, businesses, and political actors participate. Internationally, we also see that Pride is being celebrated in more and more places and a strong mobilization for the rights of LGBTQI+ people worldwide over the last decade has led to many breakthroughs. Yet Pride is not only a celebration, but also an opportunity to consider the challenges that still remain, both locally and internationally.

STK has collected a handful of texts on LGBTQI+ topics from UiO researchers and other relevant partners, that we hope can provide some insight into the research being conducted on these issues.

Theme: Rights and international solidarity

Are all genders and sexualities equally protected against discrimination?

Photograph of statue against dark clouds

Despite legislation that recognizes sexual and gender diversity both in Norway and internationally, we see that binary gender norms and heteronormativity stubbornly persist in our legal structures. This means that in practice, people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans or intersex (LGBTI) might not be protected from discrimination.

Photograph of soldiers walking next to Pride parade

The anti-gender movements and the backlash against women and LGBTI+ persons weakens the further enhancement of the WPS agenda, and possibilities of LGBTI+ persons inclusion into international security policy. While the topic areas discussed as part of the WPS agenda have distinct identifying factors and unique challenges, the gendered dimensions of the WPS agenda could be a way in for LGBTI+ issues on the security side of the UN, writes Johanne Rokke Elvebakken, Coordinator of the PRIO Gender, Peace and Security Centre, The Peace Research Institute in Oslo.

Latin America: Between populist forces and rainbows by Benedicte Bull, Professor at the Centre for Development and Environment, UiO
Poland's LGBT problem by Agnieszka Graff, Associate Professor at the American Studies Center, University of Warsaw, Poland
Equal rights, recognition and respect? by Ragnhild Helene Hennum, Professor at the Department of Public and International Law, The Faculty of Law, UiO

Theme: Nordic perspectives

Queer Sámi organization

Sámi people who were openly queer early on risked a lot, including being bullied in public, but they also met those who harassed them with appropriate response. A handful of people stood on the barricades when no one else dared, shouting to the public about verbal and physical violence, harassment, discrimination and suicide. Their openness and work prepared the ground for what was to come over the next ten years. They showed a fighting spirit that reminded those of us who came after that we have the right to be here, write Dávvet Bruun-Solbakk, board member of Garmeres - Norwegian section and Elisabeth Stubberud, leader of Garmeres - Norwegian section and Researcher at NTNU and Nordland Research Institute.

Gender roles in the Viking Age are often presented as a neatly segregated affair, wherein men and women inhabit different social roles and even spheres. New research however, indicates that things are likely to have been more complex. Numerous sources indicate that Viking Age society had a completely different relationship to the body and to bodily functions than what eventually became the ruling norm through the Christian Middle Ages and more recent history. Sexual acts were not something to be hidden for example, nor were they shameful or polluted in any way, writes Marianne Moen, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Museum of Cultural History, UiO.

LGBT activism in Scandinavia by Peter Edelberg, Associate Professor at the SAXO-Institute, University of Copenhagen

Theme: Health, the body, sexuality and gender identity

Understanding Intimate Partner Violence Among Ethnic and Sexual Minorities

We do not know enough about intimate partner violence in the LGBTQ+ community, and those who belong to both an ethnic and a sexual minority are especially vulnerable. This can mean that they do not receive the help they need.

The asexual flag in black, grey, white and purple

Asexuality can nuance our perspectives on sexuality. For instance, there is not necessarily a correlation between physical responses and subjective experiences of desire for those involved in sexual activities. This is one reason why explicit consent is so important: a person’s physical responses are no guarantee that they want to engage in sexual activity, writes Sunniva Árja Tobiasen, Research Assistant at the Centre for Gender Research, UiO.

The significance and potential of popular culture by Wencke Mühleisen, guest researcher at the Centre for Gender Research, UiO
Gay, queer, trans – politics and theories in motion by Agnes Bolsø, Professor at the Centre for Gender Research, Department of Interdisciplinary Studies of Culture, NTNU
Gender dysphoria by Reidar Schei Jessen, PhD candidate at Oslo University Hospital/Department of Psychology, UiO
Was Jesus queer? by Halvor Moxnes, Professor Emeritus at The Faculty of Theology, UiO

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More places to study gender and sexuality

PRIDE: STK's article collection about LGBTQ+-related themes

Theme: Rights and international solidarity

Are all genders and sexualities equally protected against discrimination?

International peace and security policy

Further reading:

Theme: Nordic perspectives

Queer Sámi organization

Gender and sexuality in the Viking Age

Further reading:

Theme: Health, the body, sexuality and gender identity

Understanding Intimate Partner Violence Among Ethnic and Sexual Minorities

The Asexual Potential

Further reading:

Do you want to study gender and sexuality?

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