A Norwegian woman is under police investigation after claiming it is impossible for a man to be a lesbian.
QUICK FACTS:
- Norwegian woman Tonje Gjevjon is now facing a prison term after posting on social media that a man could not be considered a “lesbian.”
- “It’s just as impossible for men to become lesbian as it is for men to become pregnant,” Gjevjon said in the post. “Men are men regardless of their sexual fetishes.”
- Gjevjon, an artist and lesbian herself, discovered on November 17 that she was under investigation for “hate speech” after creating the post on Facebook.
- The artist later explained that her post was intended to bring attention to Norway’s hate speech law, which makes hate speech against individuals identifying as transgender illegal.
NORWEGIAN ARTIST TONJE GJEVJON ON BIOLOGICAL BEING ‘NECESSARY’ FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS:
“I believe it is absolutely necessary to place biological sex as the basis in all contexts where sex has legal, cultural, or practical relevance, and that equating sex with gender identity has harmful, discriminatory consequences for women and girls – especially lesbians,” Gjevjon said.
BACKGROUND:
- In July 2022, Norwegian feminist Christina Ellingsen faced similar charges after saying that men could not be lesbians or mothers.
- Ellingsen was investigated under “hate crime charges” for tweets she made directed at a representative for the Norwegian trans activist group Foreningen (FRI) between February 2021 and January 2022.
- “You are a man. You cannot be a mother,” Ellingsen said at the time.
- Norway’s parliament passed the hate speech law in November 2020, requiring that people found guilty of hate speech could face a fine or up to a year in jail for private remarks, and a maximum of three years in jail for public comments.
- The European country is one of the most liberal places to live for LGBT people, with legal rights for trans people to change gender without a medical diagnosis.
