Date: Thu, 5 Jan 1995 16:53:34 +0200 (EET)
From: AUTHOR DELETED

Hi!

I am the person responsible for 
Affirmation Norden, covering the Nordic countries. I would first of all 
like to let everyone know information and letters can be sent to me via 
my e-mail address so as to save time and postage where possible!

I am also functioning as the President of the Union of Gay and Lesbian 
Families- HOFA. We are an organisation questioning many of the values of 
Gay Liberation and trying to offer viable alternatives to the "gay life". 
Our criticisms and suggestions of alternative ways of doing things within 
the Gay Community are collectively known as Hofaism. We do not use the 
rainbow flag, but instead our own which consists of three horizontal 
fields, the top field and the bottom field black. Upon the middle field 
which is white is situated a YELLOW triangle slightly to the northwest of 
and nearly entirely eclipsing its black shadow. The white middle field 
symbolizes oppenness, balance and societal prominence. The black shadow 
behind the yellow symbolizes the bars, backrooms and victimized positions 
of the past. The golden triangle symbolizes a new and vital Community 
based on a real and truly functioning solidarity. The colour yellow 
instead of pink symbolizes the right to self-definition, instead of 
merely using the definitions and symbols given to us by our opressors.

I have recently conversed with Rick Fernandez and he was of the opinion 
that, since many Lesbian and Gay organizations (not all) have censored 
our articles and letters (ILGA has unfortunately to be added to this 
list), your forum might be of nature more open to our ideas, philosophy 
and appeals. We have participated at the EuroILGA conference here in 
Helsinki and have held a caucus for which we prepared minutes. The 
minutes will, unfortunately not appear with the rest of the minutes from 
the ILGA-conference, because "they were not approved by the final plenum".

The minutes I have mentioned compose a sort of appeal to the Gay 
Liberationists to perhaps win something by listening to some of the 
proposed ideas of Hofaism. We are not criticizing the political goals of 
Gay Liberation, but instead for the most part begging the activists to 
come to terms with the rather stark and unpleasant reality which many 
individuals within the Gay Community are forced to live with. 
Oversimplified, we are sort of complaining about the amount of "foreign 
politics" being concentrated on at the cost of suffering "domestic 
affairs". We are trying to add a third dimension to the work and focuses 
of an at present rather two-dimensional Gay Liberation. We do not see 
homosexuality as merely sexuality, but 
rather as a culture, a community and a lifecycle (coming out, learning 
about ethics and about our own history and culture, building a family, 
contributing to the wellfare of our minority and growing old).

Many of our ideas have been borrowed. Those of us in Finland live with a 
sort of cold-war with the Finnish Gay organization SETA. Hofaists are to 
be found in Finland, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Holland, Italy, Mexico, 
Canada and the United States. Gay Liberation in Sweden has been the most 
tolerant of our ideas and contributions. Finland, Norway and Germany have 
been the least tolerant. The SPARTACUS guide was even so bold as to 
inform us that they "will not publish any material on our organization 
until such time as our policy requiring monogamy and abstention from 
promiscuity amongst the members is removed".

AFFIRMATION Norden simply uses the same mailbox as HOFA, but is in no way 
a part of the Hofaist Movement. This isn`t to say that I am presuming 
that Affirmationists would not wish to support the work of the 
organization HOFA, but rather is a matter of principle. Everything has 
its time and place. 

Hofa would be interested in help in getting the minutes i mentioned 
published in Queer Resources Network. Is there someone there who could be 
of assistance in aiding the right to free speech, even within the Gay 
Community?

Thank you all for your support and may you all have a very happy New Year!

Sincerely,


NAME DELETED BY AUTHOR'S REQUEST