the living embodiment of mediocrity

1903 Aino Malmberg published the first known lesbian short story in Finland, named "ystävyyttä" ("friendship").

1963 Christer Kihlman publishes a break trough novel Den blå modern ("blue mother"). One of the book's themes is homosexuality, and the book ended up winning the national literary price.

1966 Ilkka Taipale publishes a book "Sukupuoleton Suomi" ("genderless Finland"). In it a lawyer Herbert Gumpler criticizes the law that criminalized gay acts, because it left gay people vulnerable to extortion and violence.

1968 Keskusteluseura Psyke becomes the first registered queer association. It later starts to publish a magazine "96" for queer people.

These literary works and formal associations might seem boring compared to the "first pride was a riot" we hear from America. But the truth is that these published materials slowly moved people's opinions, and in 1971 "gay acts" were no longer a crime.

Also reminder that our nowadays well known and beloved gay icon Touko Laaksonen, "Tom of Finland" started his career in 1956 by publishing his art with that pen name in a magazine based in USA, because that stuff was still illegal in Finland, and even publishing with his real name could have got him into trouble before the law changed. But damn it he found a way to get them published anyway.

This one hurt, her work had such a profound effect on my life, thoughts, and politics.

May her memory be a blessing

Persepolis (2007) dir. Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud, based on Satrapi's autobiographical graphic novel of the same name.

The success of Persepolis established Satrapi as one of the most widely read Iranian authors in the world, and her role in co-directing the film led to Satrapi becoming the first woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.