Samtökin '78 now has almost four hundred members and receives financial support from both the national government and the city council of Reykjavik to carry on their important work in support of glbtq people and their rights.

Sponsor Message.

Other glbtq organizations include FSS, a lesbian, gay, bisexual, and student associaton, and KMK, a lesbian group. FSS offers discussion forums as well as social activities for university students. KMK (Konur með Konum "Women with Women") is an organization that provides opportunities for lesbians, who are often not as visible publicly as gay men, to meet and socialize. Members are of all ages. The group's activities range from dances and poetry readings to camping and fishing trips and sports.

Political Successes and Challenges

Political success did not come immediately for the Icelandic glbtq rights movement. When Samtökin '78 pressed in 1985 for a parliamentary motion in the Althing protesting discrimination against gay men and lesbians, the measure failed to pass "due to the non-importance of the matter." Seven years later, however, a similar motion was put forward and passed by a unanimous vote.

Iceland's law now sets the same age of consent, fourteen, for both same-sex and opposite-sex couples.

Following the examples of Denmark (1989), Norway (1993), and Sweden (1995), Iceland passed a registered-partnership law for same-sex couples in 1996. On the day that it went into effect, June 27, two gay couples and one lesbian couple were married at the Reykjavik Registry Office. The ceremonies were followed by a reception at the Reykjavik City Theater, which President Vigdis Finnbogadottir attended.

The registered-partnership law did not give same-sex couples all of the rights enjoyed by opposite-sex spouses. It allowed one partner to adopt the other's children, and in 2000 the law was revised to permit the adoption of the partner's stepchildren. However, it is still not permissible for same-sex couples to adopt other children. This issue remains an important one for the Icelandic glbtq rights movement.

It is also of concern that while glbtq people in Reykjavik are able to live open lives and enjoy social opportunities, those in smaller towns often have a much more difficult existence.

Bergsson's The Perfect Equal

The difficulties that Icelandic glbtq people still feel in their quest for assimilation into their society are reflected in The Perfect Equal by Felix Bergsson, an actor as well as a playwright. He is one of the most popular children's entertainers in Iceland and does voice-overs for Disney films.

The Perfect Equal, which incorporates the poetry of Walt Whitman, tells the stories of five gay Icelandic men of varied ages and social circumstances who choose different strategies in life, including living openly, remaining closeted, and emigrating. The play has been translated into English and was performed in London in 2000 with Bergsson playing all five lead roles.

Iceland Today

Iceland is not a populous country. It has only about 280,000 inhabitants, approximately three fifths of whom live in Reykjavik. The capital is the only city with a real gay scene.

The Samtökin '78 Community Center provides social support for glbtq people and also has a café and library on the premises (the latter discreetly lending pornographic material--the sale of which is illegal in Iceland--from its "backroom" collection). Several clubs and bars are gay-friendly and draw a mixed but primarily gay male clientele. The MSC leather bar is the only public space exclusively for men.