"Get involved" - Interview with Kristmundur Pétursson

Hallberg Brynjar Guðmundsson (he/him)

Kristmundur Pétursson is a 25-year old trans man and a student at the Department of Social Work at the University of Iceland. Kristmundur’s zodiac sign is Aries; he is also a secretary of Röskva and has been actively engaged in the human rights fight of queer people in Iceland. A journalist from the Student Paper sat down with him and discussed the issues of queer people at the University of Iceland, since the University Board has received criticism regarding the slow response to students’ demand to increase the number of gender-neutral bathrooms on campus.

Kristmundur Pétursson (he/him)

When asked about his opinion on the university tending to the rights of trans students, Kristmundur says that a lot has changed, but that the university can do better.

“As an institution, the university has done a lot, they have procedures and solutions for a variety of situations, but I do not think they are accessible enough to students. For example, it felt particularly good to be able to change my name in the university's systems (Ugla and Canvas) even though I had not already done so in Registers Iceland. It was something I learned through my peers who had done the same thing, this was not the information that came from the university. It is a thing at school, you must figure it out yourself.”

Kristmundur says that it would be easy to improve the information flow from the university, and mentions various solutions:

“It would be great to get a brochure from the school that is tailored to queer students, or to have a queer freshman day.”

Another thing the university could do better for students who are trans is to remove gender markings from bathrooms within the school. As a trans man, Kristmundur has found himself in an uncomfortable situation when it comes to bathroom trips.

“I was particularly bothered by it when I started school. Then I was insecure about going to the bathroom marked as men’s, especially when there is one cubicle and urinals. It was uncomfortable being in there, especially when I had to wait to use the cubicle. I just want to get in and out.”

Another thing that Kristmundur has been forced to do is to walk between buildings to find a suitable bathroom.

“I have hopped between buildings because I don't trust myself to use the bathroom at Háskólabíó e.g., and then I go to Veröld. (Veröld is one of the few buildings on campus that has gender-neutral bathrooms.)

To improve trans people's access to bathrooms on campus, Kristmundur suggests a solution that seems to be easy to implement: “Just take down the gender markings. “

When asked about other things that the university could do better, Kristmundur suggests queer education for teachers.

“There are a lot of teachers who have to know the vocabulary needed when talking about queer and trans people, teachers need to stop talking about two genders. All teachers could also be offered queer education, because treating queer and trans people with respect is something they could embrace.”

However, when it comes to social life at the University of Iceland, Kristmundur describes a positive

experience with the reaction and behavior of his fellow students towards trans and queer people.

“It is especially important that there are both queer events, like the ones that hosted by Q–félagið, as well as a welcome participation of queer people in public events. As a secretary of Röskva, I can say that queer people are very welcome within Röskva and among other students at the school. I have not experienced any issue being trans and I feel support from an open and diverse group of fellow students. I have not experienced prejudice from my peers, but I have experienced microaggressions, usually from misunderstanding or ignorance of queer issues,ore often coming from teachers.”

In recent months, prejudice against queer people has been repeatedly displayed in Iceland. Pride flags have been cut, and hate speech has become more prominent on the internet, therefore it is important to respond to this trend, no matter how insignificant it may seem. When asked what people can do to fight against prejudice, Kristmundur says it is important to counter inaction.

“Do not be neutral, do not ignore it. Although this is a bit of a far-fetched conclusion because once progress is made, setbacks can always be expected. Although the setbacks are now appearing in a milder form, it is always just as damaging. I am very saddened to see that prejudice is being used against young people and trans women in particular. They are receiving a lot of backlash, and my heart is with them. If people are experiencing harassment at the university, I recommend that they contact Q–félagið, they should be able to help. Another thing I want to say is that all awareness raising is important when it comes to fighting prejudice, social media has helped a lot with that. Do not be silent when

it comes to prejudices and spread the word to make it possible to revolt against them. “

Finally, after this informative and interesting interview with Kristmundur, he bids farewell to the students to actively engage in social life. This is especially important considering a global pandemic that has crippled students’ social lives in recent years.

“I encourage people to get involved in the school community instead of being isolated. There are all kinds of clubs, so everyone should find their own. It is an important message, especially after those 2 covid years. Take part, you will not regret it.“

Image: Regn Sólmundur Evu (they/them)