Some gay activists have reacted against it and have called it a "second class citizen's law," largely because the partnership did not confer the right to adopt children. Undoubtedly, however, it has made homosexual couples visible in society to a much larger degree than previously, when couples simply lived together without any official recognition, often without even mentioning their union to their relatives. Now relatives frequently participate in partnership ceremonies.

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A law against discrimination at workplaces and an ombudsman to investigate charges of discrimination were initiated in 1999. The Ombudsman against Discrimination on grounds of Sexual Orientation (HomO) is appointed by the government and charged with combating and discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation in all areas of Swedish society. Hans Ytterberg (b. 1956) became the first HomO. He has both experience as a judge and a long record of leadership within RFSL.

Work to improve the social position of gay men and lesbians continues. In 2003 the long awaited possibility to adopt children and to become foster parents became a reality. Two women or two men living together can now both be parents of their common children. The non-biological mother or father adopts her or his partner's children, and the same rights are accorded as for heterosexual custody. In 2003, a ban on inciting violence against homosexuals as a group was adopted.

AIDS

The first recorded case of AIDS in Sweden was documented in 1982. The new disease brought much alarm, and an epidemic was feared. AIDS temporarily created a backlash against the glbtq community.

To prevent spread of the disease, much effort was directed towards organizations dealing with homosexual men. These efforts included a strengthening of RFSL and a creation of an HIV-secretariat working within RFSL. HIV education, especially the need for contraceptives, permeated all of society.

As an unexpected result Sweden adopted some of the world's harshest laws against spreading infectious disease. Those convicted under these laws may be kept in custody for an indefinite time.

In 1987 gay saunas were banned, at the instigation of the Minister of Social Affairs, Gertrud Sigurdsen (Bastuklubbslagen). A place where men could have casual sex with strangers was seen as threatening and possibly contributing to the spread of HIV.

Political agitation led to the repeal of this law in 2003. The harsh laws against spreading infectious diseases remain on the books, however. Such laws follow the Swedish welfare state's legal tradition of regularizing social affairs that affect the whole of society.

The Church of Sweden

In 2000, the Church of Sweden separated from the State. An attempt is underway to make it possible for gay and lesbian couples to marry in church. A meeting of bishops in 2003 created a commission to produce a report on how to deal with partnership ceremonies within the church.

Some church officials still regard homosexuality as a sin. An exhibition called "Ecce homo," which featured depictions of Christ in glbtq-environments, produced by Elisabeth Ohlson (b. 1961), caused much alarm in 1998. The indefatigable work of EKHO (The Ecumenical Groups of Christian Homosexuals and Bisexuals) has, however, yielded some fruit.

Conclusion

A long political struggle to make glbtq people visible in society has now made it possible for two women or two men to bind themselves together in partnership and adopt their common children. Bisexual men and women can live freely and with a fairly good degree of understanding from the common citizen.

persons are popular in show business and at gay bars, but still have to fight a great deal of prejudice. On the whole, however, the position of glbtq persons in Sweden has changed immensely for the better in the last forty years.

The Nordic countries have a long tradition of coordination of laws. Their progressive attitudes toward sexual variance has been influential on the European Union as a whole.

AIDS law comprises the legal principles contained in the body of statutes, regulations, administrative rulings, and judicial decisions that emerged in response to legal issues presented by the AIDS epidemic.

Cross-dressers have often been misunderstood and maligned, especially in societies with rigid gender roles.

"Domestic partnership" is the generic term for a variety of forms of legal and institutional recognition of same-sex couples that fall short of same-sex marriage.

A large number of significant twentieth-century European artists focused on gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender themes, making such concerns crucial to the understanding of twentieth-century European art.

Like other Nordic countries, Finland is liberal in regards to gay rights, though it has been slower than its neighbors to assure glbtq equality.

Both parades and marches have served to render the glbtq community visible; whereas marches typically attempt to effect political change, parades and pride events affirm identity and community.

First used to refer only to anal intercourse, sodomy was progressively defined by the Church Fathers, and many later lawmakers, to include all sexual acts that could not result in procreation.

One of Europe's most progressive cities, Stockholm has recently become notably gay-friendly.

Same-sex love in Swedish literature is largely a nineteenth- and twentieth-century phenomenon, and recently gay and lesbian publications have appeared in significant numbers.

Switzerland is a very cosmopolitan nation with a vibrant glbtq community, but it has lagged behind much of Europe, particularly the Nordic countries, when it comes to assuring equal rights.

Enigmatic monarch and enthusiastic patron of the arts, Christina of Sweden shocked Europeans by her aversion to marriage, her "mannish" ways, and her love for women, as well as by the abdication of her throne at the age of twenty-seven.

The founder of psychoanalysis and the discoverer of the unconscious, Sigmund Freud initiated a fundamental transformation in the self-understanding of Western men and women, including especially the role of sexuality.

Mysterious, aloof, occasionally androgynous, actress Greta Garbo ignited the passions of men and women alike.

Gustav III, King of Sweden, was an enlightened despot who encouraged a remarkable flowering of art and culture.

The last Swedish monarch to exert direct power over his nation's government, King Gustav V was a memorable personality, a successful king, and a bisexual.

Perhaps one of the most enigmatic men of prominence of the twentieth century, Dag Hammarskjöld managed to live an intensely private and secluded life in full view of the public, and the nature and extent of his rumored homosexuality may never be known.

German-born Magnus Hirschfeld deserves recognition as a significant theorist of sexuality and the most prominent advocate of homosexual emancipation of his time.

Eugène Jansson, sometimes described as Sweden's first gay artist, has only recently begun to receive the international attention that his accomplishments merit.

Although she only hinted at sexual transgression in her novels, Nobel Prize winner and Swedish Academy member Selma Lagerlöf reflected directly her deep affection for women in her letters.