#but then again nrk HAVE posted a video interview with a badass queer disabled lady talking about disabled sex

[fandombokstav]

so june is over here in norway but i just wanted to vent a bit about how important this year's pride month has been for me

first of all this year marks my "13 years since i came out" anniversary (in september), and since i came out at 13 years old it means that i have been openly gay for half my life now!! how cool is that?! i've actually been told by some people that me being open has made it easier for them to come out too, and honestly there is nothing i want more in life

my parents have been flying the rainbow flag on their veranda the entire month, without me asking them to and without me even being in my childhood home for most of it. and just knowing that makes me so happy i could cry

literally any time i see rainbow flags out "in the wild" i just have the biggest smile on my face. did an outdoor concert in front of a residential building and saw two rainbow flags and couldn't stop smiling the entire time we were there

seeing the masses of straight allies putting up rainbow flags this year has honestly been good for my soul. there have been news reports of apartment buildings having their rainbow flags cut down from their flag poles, and to fight back people literally bought hundreds of flags and every single resident put a flag on their personal balcony. a school had their rainbow flag taken down (repeatedly) and decided to just paint a massive flag on the ground in the school yard

for every news article about a rainbow flag being cut down, stolen or burned, there was another article emphasising that *most* people were in support of the queer community, which was even reflected in facebook comments (which we all know are notorious for being awful)!

also let's talk about schools for a second: so many schools seem to be putting up pride flags and talking with the children about what the flag means. some schools have had their own parades!! we're talking primary schools!! 11 year old me would have LOVED that, and i'm so glad these kids get to learn about lgbtq+ stuff in such a positive way. like obviously this isn't *all* schools, probably not even most of them, but it's a thing that *happens* and that people respond *positively* to, and it just makes me all warm inside

there have also been so many small pride events this year, seemingly every single little town has hosted their own parade somehow (even with limited social contact). there have been tractor parades, boat parades, you name it. one of the events was planned and organised by a group of 13 year olds!! how amazing is that?!

nrk (norwegian national broadcaster) have done SUCH a good job this year showing different aspects of pride. a number of articles and interviews detailing queer history, the issues facing the community now (both in norway and in other countries), the various pride events happening around the country. letting actual queer people speak about these topics

and then the tv programs!!

a lovely interview with kim friele, the most badass lesbian norway has ever seen, who played a major part in norway decriminalising homosexuality in 1972, and who is generally considered a hero in the queer community. also the interviewer was a lesbian too (and my personal celebrity crush lmao) so obviously the whole thing was iconic

the whole fucking pride event thing, which was 100 minutes of non-stop queer content, on nrk1 which is like *the channel* in norway, during *prime time* on a Friday evening. they showed clips from pride events from around the country (including the one i went to!!). they talked to trans people about where we're at with trans rights in norway. they talked to queer people from minority backgrounds about what it's like to face discrimination from multiple sides. they talked about queer history, about why pride is a party and a protest, they showed images from the stonewall riots and emphasised the importance of trans woc in our collective history. they talked about norwegian queer history, including how the aids epidemic affected our country, something i have literally never known about before. they did an interview with two kids who came out at 11 and 12 years old, and once again my 11 year old self would have *loved* this 15 years ago. they showed little clips of both queer celebrities and normal people wishing everyone a happy pride, and they included two of my friends! they finished the show with a performance by big daddy karsten, an openly gay rapper (we don't have a lot of those in norway, let's be honest here) who was on stage dressed in a leather harness and ended his performance with "say yes to kink at pride!"

did i mention that all of that was paid for by the tv licence? literally every single homophobe who owns a tv in norway has paid for that show to be aired 🥰

i also had a really good time going to pride myself this year. spent hours with my group of queer students painting banners and posters for the parade, and even going to get covid-tested together was a fun experience. in the actual parade (which was a boat parade for me!) i got to teach some people what terfs and swerfs are, and why they are NOT welcome. i got to listen to some baby gays talk about how they found out they were queer, which included watching paradise hotel and being on tiktok (not that i can judge since i realised because of gosupermodel lol). i felt a sense of community, something i've been missing for a while

overall, june 2021 has been a good month for me, pride wise, and i sincerely hope that all of my followers get to experience the joy i've felt this pride month. i know i speak from a place of privilege (being white, cis and able-bodied, living in a good country), but seeing how the public perception of lgbtq+ people in norway has changed even just from when i came out 13 years ago, i'm hopeful for the future ❤