Britt Andersen (born 1952)

Translator's Note: This is a machine-assisted translation completed on May 23, 2025. While care has been taken to maintain accuracy, this translation has not yet undergone human review or validation.

“We were very active; we lived this intensely,” says Britt Andersen, one of the young women involved in the Kvinnehuset (Women’s House) in Rådhusgata, Oslo, from 1975.

In 1975, a group of young women founded Lesbisk Bevegelse (Lesbian Movement), a highly active group of radical feminist lesbians. They felt there was no space for feminist politics within the traditional gay movement, nor did they find room for lesbian politics within the broader women’s movement.

They were involved in establishing Kvinnehuset in Rådhusgata in 1975, which became a vital meeting place for solidarity and activism.

Britt Andersen is now a professor of Comparative Literature at NTNU. But during the 1970s and 1980s, she was one of the young activists in the community surrounding Kvinnehuset.

The theatre group Livets mangfold (The Diversity of Life) was founded after Catrine Telle posted a note at Kvinnehuset in 1977, seeking others interested in theatre. Britt Andersen was among those who responded. The group defined itself as a feminist theatre collective and remained active until the mid-1980s.

The journal Lavendelexpressen (established in 1976) was produced by members of Lesbisk Bevegelse and printed by Sfinxa – Lesbisk trykkeri (Lesbian Press). In the first issue, it is noted that “about five lesbians” contributed to its production, all of whom were members of Lesbisk Bevegelse. Among them were Britt Andersen, Marianne Olsen, and Catrine Telle.

Britt Andersen was one of the first individuals to share her story with Skeivt Arkiv’s Life Story Collection.