Eldur Deville from LGB teymið in Iceland explains the reasons an Icelandic group of the LGB Alliance had to be formed and the enormous challenge the activists face from “The National Queer Organisation of Iceland”.
LGB teymið in Iceland was formed in September last year after when a small group of same sex attracted and bisexual men and women found a common ground to start talking.
What we all had in common was that we were being bullied into submission and pressured to fall in line with everything that our so-called “umbrella” organisation preaches at any given time. We were all members of various Facebook discussion groups that appeared to be places where it was possible to exchange opinions and ideas on topics relating to lesbians and gay men.
Let me start by setting the scene a bit because this is an extraordinary story which needs to be given context.
Iceland is a small country with 350,000 people. 80% of the population lives in Reykjavik and the southwest region. The size of the LGB and T communities is maybe the size of that in Blackpool.
As you can imagine, most of us know each other either directly or indirectly, and many of us are even blood relatives!
In the last 10 years the organisation has undergone a fundamental change in character. It has stopped being an organisation for LGB people and it has adopted the offensive Queer label. Its official English name is “The National Queer Organisation of Iceland”.
The lesbian and gay organisation of Samtökin 78 was founded in 1978. Between 1990 and 2010, gay and lesbian rights progressed remarkably well and we were one of the first nations in the world to legalise same-sex partnerships, marriage and adoption. We also have constitutional protections.
In the last 10 years the organisation has undergone a fundamental change in character. It has stopped being an organisation for LGB people and it has adopted the offensive Queer label. Its official English name is “The National Queer Organisation of Iceland”.
What was once the lesbian and gay liberation front is now an umbrella organisation that has absorbed a range of groups. Not one of these is a lesbian or gay organisation that embraces all gay men or lesbians. The Icelandic organisation has degraded sexuality and homosexuality to the extent that it now conflates kink and sexuality. It classifies BDSM as a sexuality and advocates for constitutional protections for people who are “BDSM sexual”. This move nearly broke up the organisation seven years ago and older lesbians and gay men made an attempt to take back the organisation they founded but to no avail.
Many prominent activists who paved the way in Iceland have now left the organisation, since it has changed beyond recognition. There are many open wounds in the gay and lesbian community, but because of its small size, people do not speak out; their voices are suppressed by the small, but very loud and effective gender and kink lobby.
Any expressions of gender-critical views or complaints about the homophobia of the gender ideologue organisations community are inevitably met with hysterical responses and reporting. Online our detractors engage in bullying of the “disgusting hateful transphobes”. In fact that Icelandic “Glitterati” launched a “network tree” to start silencing us before we had even started LGB teymið. They went so far as to contact some of our parents – and mind you, we are all adult human males and females aged 21 and over!
In the end we were all excommunicated and kicked out of these groups – even though our communication was not disrespectful or unfair in any way. We were not allowed to have any discussions with other LGB people.
All this left us with no option. If we were being denied a platform, we would have to create one. Well, here we are!
What is the current situation in Iceland?
There is not a single gay bar, lesbian bar or single-sex space for same-sex attracted people in Iceland. They have all gone. There is one “Queer” bar which is very small. Lesbians meet in private and gay men try to organise themselves to have a single-sex space, but are often smeared with accusations of transphobia if the idea is to have male-only events.
In December last year, Iceland introduced self-ID: it was enacted by Alþingi – the Icelandic Parliament. Unfortunately, most parliamentarians paid little attention when the proposed legislation came up for discussion since it was regarded as a “small matter”. Nobody wanted to talk about the issue and what it really meant. This is what the trans lobby does best. Their “no debate“ tactic results in these fundamental matters being almost whispered into law with the assistance of completely passive parliamentarians. The only politicians who expressed any criticism of the bill were those of the Centre Party of former Prime Minister, Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson.
The self-ID bill went far beyond self-identification and also covered gender autonomy. As a result, children born with various differences in sex development cannot receive adequate medical treatment until they are able to speak for themselves. Parents and doctors can therefore not make the best decisions anymore on behalf of the child. It is quite astounding to see Iceland, which in many respects is such a progressive country, actually denying infants healthcare that would help make their childhood more bearable, while at the same time allowing minors to use puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones. Furthermore, 15-year-olds can now legally change their gender without parental consent.
There is not a single gay bar, lesbian bar or single-sex space for same-sex attracted people in Iceland. They have all gone. There is one “Queer” bar which is very small. Lesbians meet in private and gay men try to organise themselves to have a single-sex space, but are often smeared with accusations of transphobia if the idea is to have male-only events.
Iceland has seen the same trend as the UK and other Western countries, with growing numbers of gender non-conforming women wanting to abandon womanhood and transition.
We have tried everything to get the figures, but we have not yet succeeded. We contacted the Youth Ombudsman, which directed us to the Trans Team at Youth Mental Health Department at the State Hospital. We have written to the head of department twice, and as things stand, months later, we have received no reply.
We do know that the ratio of females to males among those legally changing gender was 9 out of 15 in the first month after the law passed.
According to the law, everyone can change their gender marker in Iceland for a small £50 fee. So if you fancy a trip into a single-sex space, you now know how much that costs.
What to do? What is the plan?
The plan is to continue to be vocal and continue to speak up. We have already made one submission to the United Nations Human Rights Council and we intend to become even more active from now on.
Young lesbians in particular are being bullied into gender ideology and transition. Children are being denied adequate medical interventions for DSDs. LGB people are by nature gender non-conforming. This gender ideology is enforcing and creating new gender stereotypes. That is regressive and we will resist it.
2021 is election year in Iceland. We have a general election in October and we invite politicians to have a conversation with us, and educate themselves about our cause. We would like them to read our content, and content from other LGB Alliances around the world, so that they can develop an informed opinion of us and what we stand for.
Homosexuality is nothing else than same sex attraction. Those who cannot accept that are homophobic. It is really that simple. It has to stop.
After we announced the launch of our group, many gay men and lesbian women contacted us and encouraged us to continue. A few Icelandic parliamentarians have started to follow us and we hope more will. We do not get many likes or follows on our social media platforms, but we see the statistics. We are being widely read and our posts reach a large audience. Unfortunately likes can be traced to users, which makes it problematic for some to engage with our posts. We are in a position similar to that of Samtökin 78, decades ago, when content from the organisation was posted in unmarked envelopes to ensure discretion.
2021 is election year in Iceland. We have a general election in October and we invite politicians to have a conversation with us, and educate themselves about our cause. We would like them to read our content, and content from other LGB Alliances around the world, so that they can develop an informed opinion of us and what we stand for.
Follow us on Twitter at @teymidLGB and on Facebook LGB teymið.
Such a small population. It must be really difficult for you. Hope you manage to push back. With you in spirit,