Copenhagen: The Gay Capital of Iceland?
In the mid and late 20th century many gay men, lesbians and other queer people left Iceland and moved to Copenhagen. Lecture by Ásta Kristín Benediktsdóttir
Thursday 19 August 2021 at 17
The LGBTIQ movement in Iceland has been in many ways successful in the past years and gone through significant changes since the 1970s. In the mid and late 20th century, however, many gay men, lesbians and other queer people left the country due to homophobia, lack of civil rights and various limitations related to the small population, and moved to cities in mainland Europe or the United States. In this talk Ásta Kristín Benediktsdóttir will discuss this narrative of 'The Great Escape' with special focus on Copenhagen and the various roles the former capital of Iceland has played in the lives of ‘sexual refugees’ — why they left and what they found.
Ásta Kristín Benediktsdóttir is a post-doctoral scholar in Icelandic contemporary literature at the University of Iceland. Among her main research interests is queer literature and history, and she is a former Parade Manager of Reykjavik Pride.
