Pride and prejudice: History to learn from

Dino Ðula (he/him)

Love. Equality. Pride.

These words encompass what comes to mind when observing the annual celebration of loving oneself – Pride. All the while those that walk pridefully are prone to telling a different story. A story of the fight for the right of self-expression and the very right to exist. A story whose tone was set over 50 years ago, in the aftermath of a police raid.

The world’s first Pride was organized on June 28th, 1970, commemorating the events from the previous year known as the Stonewall riots. Even though modern-day Iceland proudly places itself at the forefront of the fight for equality, it took five long years before the events from the US ever made waves in Iceland.

“Some people call it the interview of the century. It was [published on] the 1st of August 1975 in a magazine called Samuel”, says Hörður Torfason, talking about the day when three short words he uttered began a long-standing change in his life, as well as the life of the whole country. At this point an Icelandic activist and a famous trúbador, Hörður came out, effectively becoming the country’s first openly gay man, which made him a centerpiece toward which most of the hate was being directed. “It really upset the whole society. When I was walking alone along the main street, people were spitting in my face, calling me names and threatening me, back in ‘75, ‘76. Violent people telling me how to behave, think and dress... But I wasn’t scared of them – I challenged those people.”

The following years were hard for Hörður, who briefly left the country, struggling with dark thoughts, before realizing he had a bigger role to play in this conversation. He then returned to assume the role of a promoter of gay rights, and used his position to help found Samtökin ‘78, the national queer organization of Iceland. But alas, his career was one of an entertainer, his life a theater. He soon parted ways with the organization and went traveling around Iceland for the next 30 years, performing in many towns and villages to virtually non-existent crowds. People were

suddenly afraid of him, afraid of “the gay music” (“The same one they enjoyed just earlier!” Hörður likes to add), but he persisted, slowly gaining back popularity, respect, and, eventually, bigger crowds.

“I write my concerts like a play and each and every song has a purpose. They are stories of people, funny stories, tragic stories... everything! I just sing them. It has been said time and time again that I am a strong performer. Many people have told me I’ve changed their lives.”

Capital changes

While the wave of inclusivity was spreading slowly around the countryside, the state of things in the capital city of Reykjavík was changing much quicker. With the first Pride still a full decade away, the 90’s served as a catalyst for that change.

In 1991 Páll Óskar rose to stardom with the high school theater’s production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. He went on to open Moulin Rouge, a drag entertainment venue, which marked the beginning of queer entertainment culture in Iceland.

Following the demonstrations held in 1993-1994, led by Samtökin ‘78, the biggest legal steps thus far were made in 1996 when cohabitation between people of the same sex became nearly identical to marriage. This law went into effect on June 27th and was followed by a celebratory program in The Reykjavík City Theater. Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, then president of Iceland, joined the festivities which marked the first time in the world that a national leader joined a public reception for homosexuals. The day is still a fond memory for those who lived through it.

“When you start reading media history of queer representation from the early 90’s, positive images start being predominant so there is a more positive vibe towards queer people”, explains Íris Ellenberger, a historian currently working as an associate professor in the faculty of Subject Teacher Education at the University of Iceland. The marches were succeeded by the first Pride march in 1999, at which point critical mass for the success of gay representation had been reached, opening the doors for the first Gay Pride which was held in 2000, to a small, but extremely proud crowd.

Heads held high

Reykjavík Gay Pride (today known simply as Reykjavík Pride) has undergone quite a few changes in the past 20 years, but through it all it has remained one of the proudest days of the year, not only for the LGBTQIA+ community who created it, but for the allies and the government to show their support for their fellow countryfolk.

“From the beginning, there was an emphasis on joy and happiness regarding this parade,” says Íris but quickly notes there were a few exceptions. “For a while, there were “the leather men”, wearing BDSM outfits that got on people’s nerves a bit. So, they stopped showing up – at least I didn’t see them for a while – which is a shame because sometimes they were the only ones who were dedicated to turning our norms on their heads. In 2013, Pride was also more political than it had been in the previous years. Trans Iceland had a strong, political, even confrontational float at the time. They were protesting their own treatment within the healthcare system, actively talking about how much they were being discriminated against by it. And I remember people being offended by the parade for not being joyful and entertaining for the onlookers.”

It can be argued that everyone is a winner when talking about the Pride parade, even though the surrounding conversations more often than not suffer from lack of understanding and acceptance of change. However, in recent years there has been a group that has risen in infamy among the LGBT- QIA+ community to the point that many call for their full removal from the parade – the police force. Even though their main role is to serve and protect, a recent controversy in 2019, where they arrested a peaceful participant of the Parade, was the straw that broke the camel’s back for many. The general non-positive stance on the police’s participation in the Parade has gained more traction with an increased number of people calling for their complete removal, reminding them (and others) of the fact that the first Pride was a reaction to the police’s wrongdoing. That the first Pride was a riot.

A queer future

Hörður believes there is plenty of space for improvement. “There have been debates about things going backwards but I don’t see it. History has a tendency to repeat itself and it probably will if we don’t look out. We always have to keep the conversation going; it’s our human right.”

“I think there are going to be more alternative pride events – there was such an event already this year, Hinsegin heift,” Íris adds. Some feel that Pride has become a spectacle for corporations and people in power to build up the queer-friendly, human-rights loving reputation of Iceland, while systematic oppression of queer people is still very much present. Hinsegin heift, or queer rage, was held this year and consisted of a series of concerts for people to gather in queer, radical solidarity.

The future of Pride is uncertain, but the future of queer solidarity and events seems prosperous. We can’t forget that the world we leave behind is the one others changed from the generation before and will, most likely, continue to change with the generation that follows. What will lead us through these changes time and time again, is what truly makes us people - love and understanding towards one another, despite our differences.

Image: Michal Parzuchowski

The Inn-discriminated

In the middle of the past century, organized crime hid itself in plain sight by running bars all around New York City. But these were very specific bars that attracted another kind of social outcasts – those whose differences were not easily visible, such as gender, race, or ethnicity, but with rivaling amounts of suffering. Forced to hide their true selves and encouraged to act differently, there weren’t many places that allowed gay people to feel like they belonged. But such was Stonewall Inn which, by the end of the Sixties, became one of New York’s most popular gay bars.

At the time, being gay was considered a criminal offense which carried with it other regulations that further exposed the already sensitive community to the whims of the justice system. One such thing happened in the early morning on June 28th, 1969, when under the guise of investigating illegal sales of alcohol, the police raided Stonewall Inn and started arresting offenders. They believed the job was easy as many of the people found on the premises were noted as “cross-dressers,” having been wearing more than 3 articles of gender-inappropriate clothing and, as such, in direct breach of the law. But, by the end of the day, the uprising had started, filled with rage and discontent over the treatment of gay people by many segments of society. It lasted for six days, serving as a catalyst for gay rights movements all around the world, paving the way for more peaceful protests in the future.