Pål Bjørby (born 1948)

Translator's Note: This is a machine-assisted translation completed on July 28, 2025. While care has been taken to maintain accuracy, this translation has not yet undergone human review or validation. Please note that specialized terms, historical references, and nuanced content may benefit from expert review.

Active in HBB, and a driving force behind queer theory and feminist research.

Bjørby was born in Drøbak but moved to the United States at an early age, where he lived for many years. He came to Bergen in 1980 and became active in Homofil Bevegelse i Bergen (HBB). In the interview, he reflects on these different periods of his life, how he became politically aware, and how he later began working with queer theory and feminist research.

An excerpt from the interview can be viewed in the video window below, where Bjørby recounts the time he and his partner were victims of a hate crime in Bergen—before the term even existed. How did the police and healthcare system respond back then?

The full life history interview is available at Skeivt arkiv, part of the Special Collections at the University Library of Bergen.

Skeivt arkiv met Pål Bjørby in Bergen, November 2017.