The term "homofil" (homophile)

Translator's Note: This is a machine-assisted translation completed on May 16, 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 Please note that specialized terms, historical references, and nuanced content may benefit from expert review.

In Scandinavia, the term was introduced by Helmer Fogedgaard (Homophilos) in Vennen in 1950. He writes:

In the May issue of Vennen 1950, I launched the word “homofil” instead of the ugly word “homoseksuel” (homosexual). The intention was to emphasize that it also involves loving feelings and not just sexuality. The average person believes that our orientation is only about lust. The Greek “homos” means same or of the same kind. The Greek “philos” means dear or friend of. Thus, “homofil” means someone who is a friend of those of the same kind. Even though some of our fellow-feeling companions dislike the word because they find it “clinical” or “bourgeois” and prefer the term “bøsse” (gay), I can only be pleased that it is used in the press, radio, television, courtrooms, parliament, etc., and that it has been included in the official dictionary.
(Axgil and Fogedgaard 1985:64)

It is unclear whether Fogedgaard was aware of earlier uses of the term. The term is believed to have first been introduced by the German astrologer, author, and psychoanalyst Karl-Günther Heimsoth in his doctoral dissertation Hetero- und Homophilie from 1924 (Heimsoth 1924). A few months before Fogedgaard introduced the term in Denmark in 1950, it had been presented in the Netherlands by Jaap van Leeuwen, one of the founders of the Dutch organization COC (Cultuur en Ontspanningscentrum). It is unclear whether Fogedgaard was aware of this. The term was introduced in Norway in 1951 through the pamphlet Hva vi vil (“What We Want”) by the Norwegian Association of 1948.