The major Norwegian clinic for transgender people is run by doctors who are invalidating large sections of the transgender community.
Doctors at the National Treatment Unit for Transsexualism (NBTS) at the University Hospital of Oslo are now complaining about the large number of trans men coming to the clinic post puberty, insinuating that they are not real men.
This tells us a lot about how old stereotypes and prejudices among gate keepers can ruin the lives of young trans people.
This is not a problem limited to Norway.
Fortunately Norway has a minister of health, Bent Høie, who does not accept attempts at excluding some transgender people from public health services.
Here is his response to the university clinic’s complaints about young trans men getting counseling and hormones from alternative health providers:
Young people who struggle and ponder on whether they are born in a wrong body, need – most of all – someone to talk to about difficult feelings and chaotic thoughts.
The leaders of The National Treatment Unit for Transsexualism ask me to take responsibility for treatment-eager sexologists who give the daughters of the nation dark voices and lost fertility. I am more concerned about we can do together to give desperate young people quick and good treatment – whether they remain the daughters of the nation or become the sons of the nation.
This weekend the Norwegian newspaper Stavanger Aftenblad told the story about “Two Brothers who became Two Sisters”.
There are actually quite a few stories around about siblings who both find out that they are transgender. The Wachowski sisters, the makers of Matrix and Sense8, come to mind.
Thea og Dea-Renate from the town of Sandnes presented as brothers once.
Dea-Renate came out at a family confirmation party:
- That was the best thing that happened that day, her little sister Thea explains. - The reactions were all positive, even though there were those who believed it all was a joke.
Thea Ingersson Husebø is in secondary school. She has used several years to find out that she feels most like a girl. She felt different already as a child, in primary school. During fifth grade she told her friends that she would no longer be called a boy.
- At first they used the word “hen” to refer to me [Norwegian gender neutral pronoun], but bit by bit I came to the conclusion that I mostly feel like a girl.
Big sister Dea-Renate tells a similar story:
- I have never felt like a man. In many years I identified as “kjønnsskjev” [genderqueer/nonbinary], but when Thea went from being addressed as “hun” [her] instead of “hen” [”they”] last summer, I realized that this was also about me.
Dea-Renate has changed her name and gender in the national people’s register (which in Norway you can do all by yourself, without asking any gatekeepers). She is now going to the national gender clinic for treatment.
- We cannot force our children into a life they do not want, their mother Inger Anette says. - The most important thing for us is that they trust us and dare to talk to us about this. Thea is the same person to me, whether she is a girl or a boy.
Dea-Renate adds:
- We are an open and liberal family. It is much easier for us to break with gender norms. We have never felt the need to deny gender related feelings.
- Vi er en åpen og liberal familie. Da blir det mye lettere for oss å bryte med normer. Vi har aldri kjent behov for å fornekte følelser knyttet til kjønn.
Inger-Anette’s friend Elisabeth also has a transgender kid. Iris-Marie is now Marcus.
- When Marcus asked if I could cut [his] hair, I said no at the beginning. It became too much for me. I needed a break. Everything happened so fast, Elisabeth says.
But she got used to the new situation pretty fast:
- I react negatively when someone uses his old name or refers to him as her, she says.
Marcus went in 10th grade when he told his class about being transgender. The class reacted positively, as did the teachers.
Nurse Hilde Egenæs, specialist in sexology, says to the newspaper:
- No one chooses this because it is cool or they get attention. This is a hard journey. They [trans people] often experience mistrust and curiosity. This is not necessarily a sign of ill will, but of a lack of knowledge. Some [trans people] feel safe because they are allowed to be themselves. Others I meet, are scared of being outed. They are afraid they will be ridiculed, laughed at and talked about in a derogatory way.
This post contains excerpts from the Stavanger Aftenblad article. The original article was written by Julie Teresa Olsen and Jarle Aasland. Photos: Jarle Aasland.
Rights group Amnesty International has slammed Denmark for discriminating against its transgender population, forcing them to undergo psychological evaluations in decisions about their bodies despite law changes aimed at protecting them.
On January 1st, Denmark removed transgender from its list of mental illnesses. Despite this, transgender Danes must still go through a series of much-criticised psychological evaluations before they can receive the green light to change their gender through surgery.
Denmark no longer considers being transgender a mental illness, but the leading institution for transgender health care still has a lot of power.
Campaign leader Helle Jacobsen from Amnesty argues that transgender care should be disconnected from the psychiatric establishment.
Amnesty had a similar campaign in Norway. The Norwegian government now allows anyone to determine their legal gender, without medical approval. Being transgender is no longer considered a mental illness in Norway and the “fetishistic transvestism” diagnosis has been removed from the Norwegian version of the ICD-10 manual.
Still, Norway’s main health transgender health provider remains the Oslo University Hospital, known for its conservative ideas about what constitutes a “proper” transsexual. This is the same as for Denmark’s Sexology Clinic in Aalborg.
Norwegians now can change genders legally with a mouse click
Norway, a wealthy, progressive nation of 5 million people, recently became the fifth country in the world to allow adults to legally change genders without a doctor’s agreement or intervention. Argentina, Ireland and Denmark have similar laws. But only Malta and Norway have extended the liberalized rules to children.
Provided they have parental consent, Norwegian children as young as 6 can now self-identify as male or female, effectively overruling the gender assigned to them at birth. Anna is one of nine minors in the country to have taken advantage since the new rules were adopted in June.
With no requirement for surgery or counseling, the process is as easy as filing a tax return. So far, Norway has not refused a single application. Soon, Anna will receive the official letter confirming the government recognizes her as the girl she always knew herself to be.
Norwegian trans activist Christine Marie Jentoft is one of the adults who have made use of the new online form. To the Washington Post she says that she welcomes the ability to self-identify, adding that it’s not the government’s place to decide her gender.
Indeed, she is the only one who can possibly know her true gender.
June is #Pride Month and we have again decorated our building in rainbow colors! June is Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month in the U.S., and it serves as an important reminder that all people deserve to live with dignity and respect, free from fear and violence, and protected against discrimination, regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation.
Happy Pride, y’all! <3
Crossdressing in 19th century Norway
The Preus Museum in Horten in Norway found some really wonderful photos from the studio of Marie Høeg and Bolette Berg. The pictures were taken between 1895 and 1903. Many of them picture Marie Høeg dressed up as a man.
I have found no information about her sexual orientation or gender identity, but as the photos shows, she was an active crossdresser. The fact that she also has images of herself with an MTF crossdresser proves that this was at least an exploration of gender expressions.
Marie Høeg is known as one of Norway’s feminist pioneers.
In a time where so many Christians are channeling the Dark Side, it may be helpful to know that many of that faith remember that the gospel primarily is about humility, tolerance and love.
The Church of Norway (which used to be known as the official state church of my country) has also a past of homophobia and transphobia, but as this article proves: This is changing. The church now embraces same-sex marriage.
But much suffering could have been avoided if they had not arrived at the goal post several centuries late.
The Norwegian Conservative Minister of Health and Care Services, Bent Høie, recently made an important argument about why there should be no trial period for people who want to transition.
“When I started working on these issues, I believed that a period of reflection was necessary – before you take such an important decision. But, a meeting withSkeiv Ungdom [the Norwegian organization "Queer Youth”] made it clear to me that such a requirement is unreasonable for those concerned.
These people have had a lot of time for thinking. Some of them have felt a misalignment between body and gender since they were small kids, while others have spent a lot of time questioning and doubting their way to the same answer.
To demand a period of reflection means that they will once again feel that they are not believed or taken seriously. You tell them that they have not spent enough time to think this through on their own.“
Bent Høie is a married gay man, so yes, you might say that the Norwegian Conservatives are much more openminded than most of their American counterparts. The party took part in this years Oslo Pride under the banner “Conservatives Love Diversity!”.
You know the world is changing when the big companies start supporting LGBT issues.
7 Eleven is the main sponsor of this week’s Oslo Pride in Norway.
Marabou, a Norwegian/Swedish company owned by Kraft, has launched a limited edition rainbow version of their Plopp chocolate bar in Sweden.
Ramlösa is sponsoring Stockholm Pride. They have a special edition of their mineral water called Kärlek (Love). The text on the back reads:
“How does love taste? Love comes in many forms and tastes differently to all of us. How does love taste to you? Ramlösa is proud sponsor of love in all its colors!”
This is not the first time Scandinavia based companies have supported LGBT issues. Absolute Vodka from Sweden started doing so in the late 1980s. In 2008, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Rainbow Flag, Absolut released a special rainbow colored bottle. Absolute is one of the supporters of this year’s Copenhagen Pride. Here’s an ad from 1989:
This is in no way a Scandinavian phenomenon only. American companies like Apple, Google, Oreo, Starbucks and Levi’s have announced their support for gay, lesbian and transgender rights. Ben & Jerry’s is currently celebrating same-sex marriage in this way:
I am sure this advertising reflects genuine LGBT support in company leaderships, but what happens now also reflects the current shift in public opinion. The economic benefits gained from being seen as a tolerant and progressive supporter of love and diversity, far outweigh the negative effects of attacks from homophobic and transphobic circles.
