Johan-Magnus Haakstad (born 1949)

Translator's Note: This is a machine-assisted translation completed on May 28, 2025. While care has been taken to maintain accuracy, this translation has not yet undergone human review or validation.

Haakstad is a retired civil engineer. He has lived and worked in various parts of Norway, spending the past forty years in Oslo.

Haakstad was born and raised in Bergen, where he lived until the age of 20. He describes his childhood and adolescence as having taken place in an environment entirely devoid of any visible signs of homosexuality. It was only when he began his studies in Trondheim that he came into contact with other gay men—initially through personal ads.

In the interview, he reflects on his experiences as a young man in the 1970s and his involvement in queer organizations such as DNF Tromsø, AHF Oslo, and the Health Committee (Helseutvalget). After completing his education, he first moved to Tromsø for work, and later settled in Oslo.

An excerpt from the interview can be viewed in the window below. Here, Haakstad recounts the winding path that led him to his first “meeting” at DNF-48, where, for the first time, he encountered queer people who held a healthy view of themselves.

The full interview is available in our reading room.

Skeivt Arkiv met Johan-Magnus Haakstad in Oslo in November 2019.