The Radio Program "Homosexuality and Human Dignity"

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The first Norwegian radio program about homosexuality was broadcast on NRK in two parts, on June 15 and July 1, 1965.

The program was titled "Homosexuality and Human Dignity", with the subtitles "The Closed World" and "Homosexuals and Society". The host of the program was Liv Haavik. In the first part, she was joined by psychologist Kjell von Krogh, author Finn Carling, and two homosexual individuals. Both were anonymous, but we know that the woman was Kim Friele. Friele later revealed that the other participant was the then-chairman of DNF-48, Håkon Nilsen. The participants discussed, among other things, theories about the causes (both physical and psychological), whether one could live happily as a homosexual, and whether the strict gender role expectations of the 1960s could influence a person's sexual orientation.

The program guide printed the following preview, written by Liv Haavik:

We know little about the causes and expressions of homosexual love. We also know little about heterosexual emotional expressions. But regarding the situation of homosexuals in our society, we do know that fear, isolation, and life-destroying concealment characterize most of their lives. When we, in two programs on this sensitive topic, attempt to penetrate this closed world, it is with the hope that light and air can reach in to help someone—on both sides of the sometimes unclear boundary between homosexuals and heterosexuals. Today, we will present an overview of the penal code and homosexuality. We will address the church’s stance on the issue and, more broadly, have a wide-ranging debate about the situation of this group in today’s Norway.

Caro Olden wrote in Dagbladet the following week that “the sensitive topic was treated with delicacy, understanding, and psychological insight. The door to the closed world was opened a crack.” In the program, Kim Friele spoke about how “ordinary heterosexual people” gained their knowledge of homosexuality through newspapers, where it was mainly “the extreme” homosexuals who were mentioned, thus giving a negative impression. Psychologist Kjell von Krogh also discussed why people might have such strong negative reactions to encountering homosexuals:

If one considers the idea that the fear of mental illness lies in an unconscious fear of developing a mental disorder oneself—or perhaps already having a trace of it—then one might say that some of the fear of homosexuality in others perhaps stems from a certain insecurity within oneself.

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Friele was also concerned with shifting the focus away from purely sexual aspects and toward the emotional and romantic lives of homosexuals:

In love there are infinitely many good qualities, and the love I feel is surely the same as that which heterosexuals feel—it is simply directed toward a different object, namely an object of the same sex.

The second part of the program was broadcast on July 1, 1965, two weeks after the first. Participants included Director of Health Karl Evang, Professor Johannes Andenæs, author Finn Carling, Supreme Court lawyer Johan B. Hjort, and Bishop Alex Johnson. The bishop stated, among other things, that

"they [homosexuals] only become more unhappy by giving in to the urge for homosexual acts. (…) I don’t believe any homosexual will ever succeed in convincing themselves that the life they lead, if they give in to this, is all right."

The Director of Health expressed that he was shocked by how little progress had been made since the 1930s.

The program was also mentioned in Oss on July 1, 1965, and in an article from an unnamed magazine, a copy of which is preserved in Kim Friele’s archive. The radio programs can be listened to in full on the National Library of Norway’s website:
Part 1: The Closed World, and Part 2: Homosexuals and Society.
Audio clips from Part 2 are also featured in NRK Kurér’s program about the Queer Archive and media coverage of homosexuality through the years: Part 1, Part 2.