The Lesbian Movement () was a Danish organization for

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

s established in 1974 in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

by a group of women including

Vibeke Vasbo Vibeke Vasbo (born 9 July 1944) is a Danish writer and women's rights and LGBT rights activist. In the early 1970s, she participated in the Redstocking movement and in the Danish Lesbian Movement. She embarked on a literary career in 1976 with '' ...

who were unhappy about the degree of intolerance towards lesbians in the Danish Redstocking Movement. The Movement was Denmark's first lesbian organization. It was established on 10 March 1974 by a group of women from

Rødstrømpebevægelsen The Red Stocking Movement () was a Danish women's rights movement which was established in 1970 and was active until the mid-1980s. Inspired by the Redstockings founded in 1969 in New York City, it brought together left-wing feminists who fought fo ...

(The Red Stocking Movement) together with a smaller group from the homosexual organization Forbundet af 1948 ( The 1948 Association). The main reason for setting the organization up was that a number of lesbians found that members of the Red Stocking Movement were not ready to accept their identity and their problems. They had even been called a group of "lesbian men haters". Like the Red Stockings, the Lesbian Movement consisted of several freely organized groupings, without any specific management structure. While the Copenhagen group was the largest, there were active sections throughout the country. In addition to general support for

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...

, the Movement strove for progress on lesbian rights. By means of courses and publications, they encouraged lesbians to become more open and visible and to fight discrimination against them. Despite their differences, they conducted much of their work in collaboration with the Red Stockings, becoming part of the evolving

feminist movement The feminist movement, also known as the women's movement, refers to a series of social movements and political campaigns for Radical politics, radical and Liberalism, liberal reforms on women's issues created by inequality between men and wom ...

in the 1970s. As a result, many of their individual activities were shut down. In 1985, the Movement was dissolved. The Lesbian Movement's main publications were ''Kvinder-Kvinder'' (Women-Women, 1972–78) and ''Hvidløgspressen'' (The Garlick Press, 1982–86). In the 1970s, they congregated at summer camps on the islands of

Femø Femø is a Denmark, Danish island north of Lolland. The island covers an area of 11.38 km2. Femø had 147 inhabitants in 2009, and 112 inhabitants 2023. Women's camp Every year since 1971 women have met and spent their holiday together in the ...

and

Sejerø Sejerø is a Danish island in the Kattegat sea, north-west of Zealand. "VESTSJAELLAND DENMARK Geography Population" (coordinates), Tageo.com, 2007, webpage: Tageo-Sejero Sejerø with its 301 inhabitants

References

{{Lesbian feminism 1974 establishments in Denmark 1985 disestablishments in Denmark History of women in Denmark Feminist organizations in Denmark Lesbian culture in Europe Lesbian feminist organizations Lesbian history Lesbian organizations based in Denmark LGBTQ history in Denmark LGBTQ organizations based in Denmark Organizations established in 1974 Organizations disestablished in 1985 LGBTQ culture in Copenhagen