This is a great story, and not just because it involves a gay guy named Frosti!
Via The NY Times: With the swearing-in of its first female prime minister on Sunday, Iceland became the first country to change its government as a direct result of the global financial crisis. The prime minister, ex-flight attendant Johanna Sigurdardottir, 66, is a political veteran who has served for long periods as social affairs minister. She also appears to be the modern world’s first openly gay head of government:
Although Sigurdardottir’s rise has drawn widespread attention on Web sites for gay men and lesbians outside Iceland, her relationship is considered unremarkable at home. In 1940, while still a dependency of Denmark, Iceland decriminalized gay sex. It approved civil partnerships for gay and lesbian couples in 1996, one of the first countries to do so.
“Iceland is a small society, and the public knows what Sigurdardottir stands for as a politician, and that’s the only thing that is important,” said Frosti Jonsson, a spokesman for Iceland’s National Association of Queers. “Nowadays, not only does Iceland have one of the most progressive legal environments for gay people, there have also been changes in public attitudes towards gay people. It simply isn’t an issue anymore.”
Monday, February 02, 2009
Coffee, Tea or Equality?
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2 comments:
What's interesting about this piece -- besides the fact that it was made by a man named Frosti Jonsson (how do you put that in a Manhunt ad???) -- is that it comes from a LGBT rights group lauding the positive changes in the national government and the larger culture. That would never happen in the US. We're too old unreconstructed lefty reactionary. Iceland's queers seem to know how to acquire and hold power. Might be nice to do that someday -- rather than just the tired old speak truth to power rhetorical stance.
This is really inspiring!
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