P r in d e M island n t h : There's a party on Saturday - but the game is far from over

- I've got a male boyfriend!

That's how Erni jumped Kristiansen out to his mother. It wasn't planned - but when he found love, he just said it like it was.

- I've got a male boyfriend!

That's how Erni jumped Kristiansen out to his mother. It wasn't planned - but when he found love, he just said it like it was.

In his younger years, he had no idea he didn't that he was into guys.

- I didn't know that I was gay. In my youth I experimented and had women girlfriends. Later I was with a man and began to think that I might was bisexual, says Erni Kristiansen.

But that changed quite quickly.

- After some time I just thought: "Okay, I actually think I'm for men - and not both sexes.”

We went for a walk with Erni Kristiansen to record a podcast with him. During the conversation, he told, among other things, about the work in Sipineq+, about his experiences with discrimination - and how he tackles hate without losing courage. Listen to the entire podcast in Greenlandic below.

Erni is educated primary school teacher, and it was during the studies at Ilinniarfissuaq at the beginning of The 2010s that he really made up his mind.

- I said to myself: "I will not be with women again."

And have you been ago?

- Nope!

Do you regret it?

– Never! he says with one laugh

For Erni it wasn't so foreign to be gay. He grew up in the village of Tasiusaq near Upernavik - where a teacher was gay, his uncle is gay, and his father's cousin is a lesbian.

- It has never been no problem for me. It just feels natural that I have a girlfriend on mine way.

No recipe

But that's a long way off for everyone. - I know several people who have been totally nervous about jumping out. Some cried, when they had to tell their family, says Erni.

Support and acceptance means everything - but not everyone gets it.

- There are people whose families do not accept them. Some hide it from grandparents, even if the parents know it well.

And that may be true hard.

- Some fear that their friends, beloved family or siblings will drop out them. So they keep it a secret instead.

There isn't one right way to jump out, says Erni. – There is no universal recipe for how to jumps out. It depends on the individual person, the family, the place.

- That is why it is an individual experiment. “How is that where i stand? How is my family? How are my acquaintances, and how would it be best for me to come out?” It is very individual.

Slap and fight

Today is Erni board member of the LGBTQIA+ organization Sipineq+, which was founded for a a few years ago. For Erni, it was natural to get involved.

– I have good friends, min family accepts me. I myself have a safe everyday life. But there are some who do not have the same resources. And fighting to have a better everyday life. I want them like to fight for. That is why I have become part of Sipineq+, says Erni.

However, he has himself experienced discrimination. A few years ago he was in Sisimiut and out on one pub.

- A man asked me: "Are you gay?" I answered yes - and then he slapped me. I became uneasy and have decided that I will never go to town in Sisimiut again.

There is still much to do fight for, also legally. Sipineq+ has, among other things, published a report together with the Council for Human Rights and the Institute for Human Rights. They have also the work to develop Greenlandic LGBTQIA+ terms. The work does not stop here.

Sipineq+'s next goal is i.a. to ensure better rights for trans people - so they can have access to hormone treatment in Greenland – and for male homosexual couples, so that they get opportunity to be recognized as co-fathers.

The dream of a child

Because Erni acts the fight is also about something very personal.

- My big dream has always been to have a child, says Erni.

But the legislation does not allow gay men to automatically obtain co-paternity. If his partner becomes the biological father, Erni has no legal rights, e.g. to maternity leave – unless he adopts the child. It does not apply to lesbian couples who already got that right.

- As it should at least be possible to stand as a co-father in the law. The thought that I have no one rights, if something happens to my partner, it makes me sad. I get the very bad of it, he says seriously.

Sipineq+ already has brought the matter before the Greenland Committee in the Danish Parliament, and the process is underway - but there is no guarantee how long it will take.

- Right now the dream of children is dead. But if the law is changed, it might re-emerge, says Erni.

Ready for r e g n b u e party

Fortunately, there is too lots of good stuff. Several parents of LGBTQIA+ teenagers have become members by Sipineq+. And on Saturday, this year's Pride Parade kicks off in Nuuk.

- We are really looking forward to it wild!

The board has laid lots of hours in the planning, and sponsor support has been obtained both at home and from the outside.

There will be both one Sami drag king from Finland, a drag queen from Tasiilaq and a DJ from all over Iqaluit. The party starts in the afternoon and lasts well into the night. and the party lasts from afternoon to night!

- We just hope that the weather plays and that Air Greenland's planes fly, laughs Erni.

But there is one in particular things he looks forward to.

- I am most looking forward to the drag show with the guests from Tasiilaq and Finland. It's going to be amazing!