Queer history?

Queer history is the history of the diversity of gender and sexuality, also called LGBTQIA+ history.

Friends of Queer History (Finnish: Sateenkaarihistorian ystävät ry, Swedish: Queerhistoriens vänner rf) is an association established in Finland in 2020, aiming to raise awareness on history of gender and sexual diversity, and advance researching, collecting and presenting queer history in Finland.

Our website is mainly in Finnish, with a limited translation to English. Here you can find basic information about Finnish queer history, a queer history-themed event calendar, instructions for documenting your own history, an online magazine that publishes general information about queer history, and much more. Welcome to learn about Finnish queer history!

Latest English Journal Texts

The online magazine Writings of Friends of Queer History focuses on issues around Finnish queer history and is mainly published in Finnish but we also publish texts in Swedish and English. The whole content is on display on the Finnish side of the magazine.

  • Eva Konikoff

    Mercédesz Czimbalmos

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    Queer Jewish Past and Present in Finland

    Previous studies have pointed out that while the Finnish Jewish communities have in fact operated as Orthodox over the course of their time, due to the general societal changes, and partially to the changes in the legal sense the congregational membership started to become more and more secular.

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  • Jean Lukkarinen

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    International glimpses of Finnish trans activism in the 1990s

    As the international history of trans activism originating from Finland has barely been researched, Dreamwear Club has usually been examined only from the national perspective. In their research, Jean Lukkarinen has proven that Dreamwear Club had international connections, and the association sought to cooperate with foreign groups to develop the Finnish transgender field.

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