Bente Arnesen (born 1958)

Translator's Note: This is a machine-assisted translation completed on May 30, 2025. While care has been taken to maintain accuracy, this translation has not yet undergone human review or validation.

Bente Arnesen was involved in founding AHF’s book group in 1982. She also contributed the column ‘East of the Glomma’ to the magazine Løvetann. In a time without easily accessible information via the internet or mobile phones, educational outreach was a vital part of the work carried out by queer organizations.

Arnesen was born and raised in Høland, Akershus, and studied at the regional college in Lillehammer from 1977 to 1980. She lived and worked in Oslo from 1980 to 1990.

She was involved in KIK (Women in Struggle), a self-defense group in which Bente Ottosen also played a central role.

In 1981, Arnesen wrote a mid-level university paper on ‘Violence Against Homosexuals and Lesbians’, supervised by Nils Christie.

In an excerpt from the interview, she describes the AHF basement in Oslo—what it was like and the activities that took place there. She herself was particularly active in the book group and shares insights into how they worked.

She later built a house in Fet and moved back there in 1990.

The full interview is available in our reading room. Skeivt Arkiv met Bente Arnesen in Oslo, September 2019.