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Today [August 29] in Swedish media:

Tala klarspråk om var homofobin kommer ifrån.

[machine translation]

Speak Plainly About Where Homophobia Comes From

Homophobia is significantly worse in certain suburbs than in society at large. Yet public authorities in Sweden choose to ignore this. Liberals in Gothenburg now want the city to lay its cards on the table.

In two reports in GP over the summer, representatives from RFSL and West Pride spoke about a harsher climate for LGBTQI people in the city's schools. RFSL's Gothenburg branch has even decided to stop sending its representatives to schools to provide information about LGBTQI issues (GP 15/6) (GP 26/8).

The organization feels it cannot guarantee the safety of its representatives. They are increasingly met with insults and abuse. "The youngest express very open hatred and threats towards adults who come to the schools," RFSL's chairperson in Gothenburg told GP. The situation has worsened significantly in just a few years. Some parents keep their children at home when they know there will be education on LGBTQI issues, according to RFSL.

The question is, what is the reason for this? On this point, representatives from RFSL and West Pride are strangely vague. They refer to a generally harsher climate of debate, not least around the issue of transgender people. But is this really a plausible explanation for what is happening in Gothenburg's schools?

Other sources with insight into the issue believe that the climate of debate online may have played a role in a general backlash. But the truly aggressive attitude that young LGBTQI people encounter is largely linked to macho and honor norms in the city's marginalized areas, attitudes that have increased rather than decreased. This is an integration problem.

The issue is considered sensitive. For the same reason that honor–based oppression was long relativized with reference to "not pitting groups against each other." But homophobia is part of honor norms. A report from the Swedish Agency for Youth and Civil Society from 2022 shows that young LGBTQI people with a foreign background are four times more likely to be subjected to threats than LGBTQI people with a Swedish background.

Young LGBTQI people with foreign backgrounds also experience greater vulnerability when they live in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas. The report refers to a double oppression in the form of racism and homophobia. But is it really racism that makes it difficult to be open about one's sexual orientation in immigrant–dense suburban areas?

The association Gays In Angered, which is now a municipal activity, claims to offer a safe haven for LGBTQI people. The activity must be kept secret. Young people should "feel confident that the location will not be leaked or that unauthorized persons will come here," the activity manager told the magazine QX. They have had to change premises several times after suspected threats. The threats may come from close relatives: "Usually, prospective visitors contact the organization through social media. Then they meet with the leaders for an initial meeting. The young person's safety needs are assessed, and the leaders go through where relatives work or go to school to avoid unwanted encounters" (QX 8/27/2022).

Almost ten years ago, former member of parliament and Gothenburg liberal Robert Hannah was already highly critical of how the Swedish gay movement and RFSL had handled this issue. He believed that they were turning a blind eye to the problems faced by young LGBTQI people in Swedish suburbs. They have simply failed the most vulnerable group within the LGBTQI community by refusing to speak plainly about the problems, for fear of benefiting the "wrong" political forces.

The current leader of the Liberal Party in Gothenburg City Council, Axel Darvik, is on the same track. He believes that it has become something of an "open secret" that it is in Gothenburg's marginalized areas that the really serious problems with homophobia in schools exist. But schools should be a counterforce to honor–based oppression and homophobia, says Darvik. That is why it is serious if, for example, RFSL does not dare to send educators to certain schools, the schools where they are most needed to reach the most vulnerable.

In order to get a clear picture of the situation, the Liberals will therefore propose a survey of what these problems look like and which schools are most affected. It is hoped that the rest of the opposition will support the proposal. As the school authority, the City of Gothenburg has an important responsibility here.

This is a commendable initiative. The fact that there has been public discussion in recent years about how easy it should be for young transgender people to change gender is one thing. The issue is complex and must be possible to discuss in a reasonably objective manner, even in the classroom. However, there should be zero tolerance for threats, harassment, and verbal abuse against LGBTQI people in Swedish schools.

To tackle homophobia, we need to have a clear picture of what it is. There is much to suggest that Robert Hannah's criticism is still valid. The ideological notion that oppressed groups cannot oppress others has permeated parts of Swedish universities and, by extension, government agencies, the media, and activist groups, especially those fighting for human rights. But this notion clashes with reality and relieves people of their moral responsibility. The pattern is repeated in many areas.

For a long time, Swedish public opinion denied that the anti–Semitism faced by Swedish Jews today mainly stems from people with a Middle Eastern background. School educators teaching about the Holocaust face similar problems to those teaching about LGBTQI issues. Similarly, for a long time, it was women and girls with foreign backgrounds who paid the price when honor violence was ignored or even silenced. Now, society is no longer turning a blind eye to the cultural roots of honor oppression. It is high time to also open our eyes to the causes of increased homophobia. The city of Gothenburg should, of course, follow the Liberals' line and create clarity on this issue.

Source:  GöteborgsPosten

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My comment:  Yeah man, where does all this come from?

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