Reykjavík Grapevine - 12.08.2016, Page 34

33The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 12 — 2016
and mingle,” he says. “There was
so little control over your private
life.”
The “queer utopia”
More traditional histories of queer
life and struggle in Iceland will
point to years such as 1978, when
the national queer organization
was formed; or 1996, when reg-
istered partnerships were made
available for same-sex couples;
or 2010, when same-sex marriage
was legalized. Queer rights have
progressed quickly on the island,
from when there was little men-
tion of gays or lesbians in the mid-
20th century to when Jóhanna
Sigurðardóttir became the world’s
first openly gay head of govern-
ment in 2009.
Þorvaldur became political
shortly after he came out, and
was at the forefront of some of the
early struggles for queer rights
in Iceland. “We used this main
characteristic of Icelandic society,
which is the fact that everybody
knows everybody here,” he says
about how early queer activists
mobilized momentum for their
cause. “We used the press and we
used our personal contacts in the
parliament, which grew through
the years.”
Today, Iceland is considered
by many around the world to be
something of a “queer utopia,”
which is a subject also studied
by Íris. She’s concerned that this
concept of utopia will mask some
of the issues still faced by queer
people in Iceland. “That serves a
certain group of queer people,”
Íris says about legal rights such as
same-sex marriage. “But not the
others who are dealing with very
severe issues, like the right to con-
trol their bodies.”
“There is no queer utopia in the
world. I don’t believe in utopias!”
Þorvaldur says in agreement. “It’s
easy to enjoy life as a gay person.
Our daily lives are peaceful, filled
with friends and filled with re-
spect,” he says. “But the rights of
transgender people and intersex
people is still limited, and there is
a lot of work to do.”
Victory or defeat?
Íris is measured when it comes to
celebrating the successes of the
queer rights movement in Iceland.
“These mythic histories that we
are telling have been shaped by
certain people or certain inter-
ests,” she warns. “And they have
certain interests in telling it a
certain way.” As a historian, she
recognizes that there are plenty
of sides to each story, including
queer stories.
“The story that we tell doesn’t
only tell the story of the queer
movement, but it also tells the
story of the Icelandic nation,
and how it has opened its arms
to queer people and it loves us so
dearly,” she goes on. “When maybe
it actually loves just a small group
of people who have assimilated
or who don’t pose a threat to the
dominant ideology.”
It’s hard to say whether or not
the story of queer people in Ice-
land is one of a victory, as it may
seem each year at a celebratory
rainbow-striped parade, or one of
defeat as certain queer identities
are assimilated, leaving others
behind. However, if there is one
thing that this history can teach
us it’s that queer people will con-
tinue to create spaces for them-
selves on this island, even in the
moments of silence.
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