#gerd brantenberg

[butcharium]

I want to share this story about coming home, and coming out, for Christmas, first published in 1981 by the Norwegian Lesbian author Gerd Brantenberg. It is sweet, optimistic, and filled with humor!

The author has written several short stories about the couple Anne and Anne, some of them have been published, and others have been read out to larger or smaller gatherings. Of the stories about this couple that I am familiar with, this must be my favourite.

It should be intelligible not only if you understand Norwegian, but also if you understand Swedish and/or Danish. If you don't know any of these languages know that in this case you're really missing out!

However I can also direct you to some of her more well known books, like "What comes naturally" (original title "opp alle jordens homofile") which is translated by Brantenberg herself, and follows a young woman growing into her lesbianism during the 60s. She has also written the humorous "Egalia's daughters" about an upside-down society where women are in power. While mostly a social satire about the world from which feminism (or here masculinism) rose, it also touches upon homosexuality as welll! (if you liked the french movie je ne suis un homme facil/i am not an easy man or for that matter the barbie movie, you might enjoy how this book takes the world building to a much greater extent)

I implore you to listen to this story, or at least check out this author, she is really worth a read!

[haveyoureadthisqueerbook]

[haveyoureadthisscifibook]

vote yes if you have finished the entire book.

vote no if you have not finished the entire book.

(faq · submit a book)

[aforcedelire]

Les Filles d’Égalie, Gerd Brantenberg

Qu’elle fait bon vivre en Égalie ! Dans cette société, les femmes dirigent le monde tandis que les hommes, considérés comme largement inférieurs, se cantonnent à la bonne tenue du foyer et à l’éducation des enfants. Dans ce climat, Petronius, le fils de la directrice Brame et de Kristoffer, s’apprête à faire son entrée dans le monde grâce au bal des débutants. Mais l’adolescent, grand et maigre, qui déroge à tous les critères de beauté, rêve d’être marine-pêcheuse… mais comment s’émanciper de sa condition d’homme-objet ?

J’ai surtout apprécié le travail et l’expérience de la langue entièrement féminisée — permet vraiment de voir l’absurdité et l’inégalité de notre langage.

L’autrice pousse vraiment le bouchon loin, mais je pense que les gens devraient vraiment lire ce livre, surtout les mecs, surtout les politiques… on verra s’ils voudraient toujours réarmer démographiquement la nation après avoir vu, « de l’autre côté », ce que ça fait ! À part ça, la première partie du roman est très cool (j’adore les dystopies, les sociétés futuristes), mais j’ai vraiment eu beaucoup de mal avec la seconde partie : très (trop) politique, j’ai trouvé ça lourd. Parfois c’était très poussé, mais ça permet vraiment de se rendre compte de la débilité de certaines choses (et après avoir lu Les grandes oubliées de Titiou Lecocq, beaucoup de choses m’ont parlé).

Une lecture en demi-teinte, sympa mais clairement pas le coup de cœur du siècle ! En revanche, je pense que ça fait partie des must-read de ces dernières décennies ; d’ailleurs, Les Filles d’Égalie est sorti pour la première fois en Norvège en 1977, et il n’avait jamais été traduit en français jusque-là ! Chapeau au traducteur pour le travail effectué.

20/01/2024 - 22/01/2024

[bn-stands-for-book-nerd]

I'm gettin into discourse, but the whole TERF thing is just bafling to me.

Like, feminism is about getting free from gender norms. "One is not born a wooman, but becomes one", that's what it's all about ! Gender norms are a prison you should try to break out from. Woomen should unleran fear and submission, as much as men should unlearn anger and agressivity. All gender norms are a made up uniform made from a vague understanding of traits that have gone on a feedback loop for decades and made everyone's life unbearable.

That's what "liberating woomen" is meant to be. And you could ask Virginia Woolf, Gerd Brantenberg and so much more about it. Their fictions are about unlearning the idea that woomen are weaker or can't do things or that men should be a danger. If anything concerning men it's about telling them they don't have to be the danger, and that they can't justify harmfull behaviors with "that's just how men are." It's about woomen empowering themselves and men learning softness. It's about finding balance and respect. It's about strating to live as human beings, not grotesque parodies of men and woomen.

But no ! TERFs just enforce gender norms. They treat every single man like he's the bearer of every men's sins. They tell them to never talk to a wooman, that they can't understand. That they shoudn't even try to learn or try to better themselves. That they can't. TERFs tell woomen that they are weak, that they should fear men and never try to live with them. And, of course, TERFs tell anyone breaking the gender barier that they are a trespasser. Because having people see both part and be able to articulate masculinity and feminity to help us understand each other can't be a good thing, right ? No. In the eyes of TERF, gender non conforming people are spys, traitors and deserters. Not explorers, experimenters and light bringers.

So what's the endgame ? Nothing. They say they want change, but won't let anyone bludge. Men can't, woomen shoudn't. Anyone inbetween shoudn't exist. Noone moove ! But that's not how anything changes.

If anything, I think we could classify TERF as anti-feminists.

[strugglingclassicist]

Tagged by @pilvenhattara thank you i just needed to actually read again before answering <3

Last read: Egalias døtre by Gerd Brantenberg (really enjoyable and funny would recommend to everyone (daughters of Egalia or Egalia's daughters in english it is available on archive.org)

Current read: Death in Venice by Thomas Mann (i also have some other reading projects I've started and Will finish when I feel like it like the Kristin Lavransdatter-triology by Sigrid Undset, Kjerringer by Helene Uri, Harrow the Ninth, and a biography about Erdogan)

Next read: Jenny by Sigrid Undset! Unless I were to Feel like it and read in one of the aforementioned books, or if I were to randomly decide on something completely different haha. But Jenny is for a friend group read along so it should probably be this book

I am tagging @girlmaturin @fluentisonus @scobbe @linguenuvolose you want to !

[puchkinalit]

Les Filles d’Egalie

En Egalie, les femmes détiennent le pouvoir et oppriment les hommes qui ne sont bons qu’à rester à la maison s’occuper des enfants. Elle en va ainsi. Les êtres fumains sont égaux mais surtout les femmes. Petronius, le fils de la toute puissante directrice Rut Brame veut devenir marine-pêcheuse mais sa mère ne veut rien entendre. Petronius va devoir procréer et donc paterner. Il ne pourra pas courir plusieurs hases à la fois. C’est irréaliste. Rut Brame voudrait bien lire son journal tranquillement, heureusement le potelé Kristofer son mari est aux petits soins pour elle. Mais, nom de Déesse, la révolte gronde chez certains hommes qui en ont marre d'être des citoyennes de seconde zone. Marre de porter des soutien-verge, de ne pas accéder aux métiers réservés aux femmes, d’être considérés comme des objets sexuels par celles-ci. Autour de mademoiseau Tapinois, le professeur martyrisé par ses élèves et de Petronius, une poignée d’activistes vont créer un cercle masculiniste pour tenter de faire valoir leurs droits au bonheur et à l’égalité sexuelle. Mais le chemin est long et semé d’embûches dans une société où le sexe fort fait la loi... Sorti en Norvège dans les années 1970, Les Filles d’Egalie eut un grand retentissement mais il ne sera traduit en français qu’en 2022. Gerd Brantenberg renverse les valeurs dans cette société imaginaire dominée par le matriarcat jusque dans la langue utilisée, tout est écrit au féminin. C’est un miroir que nous tend l’autrice, regardez comment est le monde quand un sexe domine l’autre. Le procédé pourrait être casse-gueule mais fonctionne étonnamment bien car tout est justifié par des arguments biologiques et par le poids de l’Histoire (elle en a toujours été ainsi) et la lecture du roman s’avère aisée, agréable mais surtout grinçante et très drôle. Une pépite !

8,5/10

Les Filles d’Egalie / Gerd Brantenberg.- Zulma.

[mediathequecorbas-blog]

Lire à Corbas a aimé !

La patience des traces, de Jeanne BENAMEUR Psychanalyste, Simon est très à l'écoute de ses patients mais trop peu de lui-même. Un matin son bol se brise sur le sol et ce banal accident crée en lui le besoin de faire le point. Pour lui ce voyage intérieur passe par un vrai départ. Vers les iles du lointain Japon : ses rituels, son art de réparer (l'ancestrale technique du kintsugi), ses floraisons. Dans l’IIe de Yaevama hébergé dans une maison d'hôtes par un vieux couple, Simon entamera au sein de leur foyer protecteur un voyage introspectif qui le changera à jamais. Madame Itô est collectionneuse de magnifiques tissus anciens, son discret mari travaille dans son atelier de céramiste où il pratique le kintsugi qui consiste à réparer les objets brisés en recouvrant avec de la poudre d'or les jointures laissant ainsi les cicatrices apparentes. L’analogie ici avec les blessures intimes est finement traitée. C’est un livre de silence(s) et de rencontre(s), le livre d'une grande sagesse, douce, têtue, et bientôt, sereine. C’est pénétrer dans un havre au recueillement, c'est être à l'écoute de son propre silence, de son intériorité, de ses blessures non cicatrisées, réunifier corps, cœur et esprit mais c'est aussi devenir attentif à chaque bruissement de vie, se ressourcer en pleine nature, c'est enfin trouver l'élan, le souffle vital qui mène à la liberté intérieure, à la paix de l'âme.

Les Filles d’Égalie, de Gerd BRANTENBERG (norvégienne) La société d’Égalie est un matriarcat où les femmes ont la position qu’ont les hommes dans notre société et les hommes, celle des femmes. L’auteure s’est amusée à tout inverser, grammaire comprise puisqu’on ne dit pas « il faut » mais « elle faut »..., ce qui est un peu déroutant au début mais on s’y fait vite. Un livre plein d’humour, de trouvailles et de mordant qui contrebalance les romans américains comme la servante écarlate de Margaret Atwood ou Vox de Christina Dalcher qui font froid dans le dos.

Ce genre de petites choses, de Claire KEEGAN L’action se passe en Irlande fin 1985. Bill Furlong est marchand de bois et charbon.Veillle de Noël, il va livrer le couvent voisin. Le bruit court que les sœurs exploitent les filles non mariées ayant eu un enfant : les travaux effectués par les filles sont très durs, mauvais traitements et bébés vendus quand ils survivent. Ce soir là, Bill surprend une jeune femme grelottant, cachée dans la réserve à charbon. Il l’emmène avec lui. Malgré la désapprobation de tout le monde, il fera tout pour l’aider. Livre touchant, un homme simple qui n’accepte pas ce qu’il découvre et agit contre l’avis général, bref quelqu’un qui se conduit en héros ordinaire.

[seoulstages]

2019-10-25 ~ 27 대전예술의전당

김수정, 이갈리아의 딸들

원작: 게르드 브란튼베르그 (Gerd Brantenberg, 소설 『이갈리아의 딸들 Egalias døtre』), 번역: 권미나, 각색/연출: 김수정, 드라마터그: 김지혜, 조연출: 고주영, 박미르, 무대감독: 김성수, 강현후, 안무/움직임: 모지민, 무대: 이윤수, 조명: 윤해인, 의상: 김미나, 분장/소품: 장경숙, 음악: 이율구, 음향: 전민배, 영상: 박영민, 사진: 박일호, 출연: 강지연, 권미나, 김명기, 김보경, 김선기, 김시영, 김정화, 김형준, 민현기, 박지아, 이강호, 이진경, 이창현, 조영규, 하동준, 하재성, 기획/제작: 두산아트센터, 극단 신세계, 주최: 대전예술의전당, 장소: 대전예술의전당 앙상블홀, 2019년 10월 25일 ~ 27일 (10.25일(금): 19.30시, 10.26(토): 15시, 10.27(일): 15시), 입장료: 20,000원, 문의: 042-270-8333, 예매: via Interpark.

[taliawinters]

@1998fairy tagged me, ty so much Aurora!!

last song: KMB - Nova Twins 

last show: Part VI of the Kenobi show and nobody even TALK to me 

currently watching: Only Murders In The Building

currently reading: Gerd Brantenberg’s The Daughters of Egalia, which is a fascinating read for sure (and apparently one of the things that cemented my father being a feminist back in the 80s; how it holds up within todays feminist and gender studies is certainly up for debate)

I’d like to tag @electrictype, @corvidaedream, @karliahs and @transpathfinder

[butcharium]

do you have any favourite lesbian (especially gnc lesbians) book/film etc characters? Or any recommendations for lesbian books?

hmmm I am not so certain I have any favourite fictional lesbians, but I do have som lesbian books to recommend! 1. another mother tongue: gay words gay worlds by judy grahn is my go to book to recommend, i really really love it (although it took two attempts for me to be able to read it). talks about gay (and especially lesbian) culture not only in the US in the period of the 60s to 80s, but also across history and the world. I found it a very grounding book to read as it talk about the position of the homosexual in society in a way which really spoke to me.

2. what comes naturally by gerd brantenberg a book about being a lesbian during the 1960s in Norway, slightly distant and ironic, but also really funny narrator. My favourite scene is when she enters the secret gay society (based on a real organisation) for the very first time.

3. wherever is your heart by anita kelley for something easy and sweet about two adult butches falling in love.

[haveyoureadthisqueerbook]

Ok, it's me again with books by Gerd Brantenberg.

I'm going to take the German titles first, a translation to English in brackets and an original title, if I found it. For one book I'm totally baffled. Even though I own a German first edition, the original title is nowhere to be found.

- Vom anderen Ufer (From the other shore)- Opp alle jordens homofile published in Norway in 1973

Lesbian scene in Norway in the 1970s

- Ohne Rauch gehts auch - oder wie frau auch ohne Zigarette eine Liebeserklärung aussprechen kann (Works also without smoke - or how a woman can make a love confession without a cigarette) published in Germany in 1988

The protag Gertrude hates aggressive non-smokers. But life is bad, her heart is at least bruised and she needs a change. What could be a bigger change than a chain-smoker giving up smoking? Without telling anyone. We get to accompany her through the first few weeks and learn a lot about the rise of smoking.

The author and translator both managed to never use a gender pronoun for her existing long-distance lover. We just get an initial.

These are queued now! Thanks!

[genrerolereversal]

Books and Texts

(Last updated: 5 Apr 2021)

Books

A Brother’s Price by Wen Spencer

An early modern (?), Wild West-influenced setting where there is one man for every ten women, resulting in a female-dominated society where polygynous arrangements are the norm. Men are coddled and protected by their mothers and sisters. The story follows a young man named Jerin Whistler as he draws the attention of the princesses who rule the land and becomes entangled in a plot involving the royal family.

Egalia’s Daughters by Gerd Brantenberg

Takes place in an alternate version of Earth. Gender roles are switched, and there is a growing movement of men fighting for their rights. This was written by a feminist and tackles many gender issues such as restrictive clothing, economic and reproductive rights, abuse, and heteronormativity, albeit in a reversed version where men are the victims.

The main character is Petronius Bram, the son of wealthy director Ruth Bram. He rebels and tries to become a fisherman before eventually finding himself in a relationship with Gro, a fisherwoman and an advocate of Marxism (while hypocritically being abusive to him--this is how deep the book goes into social issues). Petronius is torn between wanting to fight for men's rights and to live a "traditional" life as Gro’s husband and the father of their child. The book also expands on the stories of other men like Owlmoss and his secret past affair, and Christopher Bram and his crushed dreams of studying architecture.

If you can only read one book about gender role reversal/a matriarchal setting, pick this one. It explains the origins of this society in great detail, which is helpful if you’re looking to write your own matriarchal world and would like some pointers about worldbuilding.

Trigger warning, however: this novel pairs a male teacher with one of his students when he is older, and the relationship isn’t presented in a negative light.

The Power by Naomi Alderman

“What if women were to develop powers that would let them dominate men?” This is the central premise of this book. All of a sudden, women develop an ability to generate and conduct electricity. These newfound powers lead to a worldwide revolution that will forever alter the roles of men and women, with women ending up on top. Fast-paced with a lot of action as well as themes of power and gendered oppression. It doesn’t shy away from brutality, so do look up the warnings if you’re uncomfortable with things like rape and mutilation.

The Power’s characters include Allie, a survivor of spiritual abuse who discovers creative uses of her electric talents and spearheads a global religious movement. She becomes friends with Roxy Monke, the daughter of a mafia boss. Others of interest include Margot Cleary, an American politician, and her daughter Josie, who struggles with the weakness of her new power. For the token male point of view character, we have Olatunde Edo (Tunde), a young man who becomes fascinated with the new power of women and puts himself into danger because of it.

There is an upcoming Amazon adaptation of the book, created with the collaboration of the author herself. Release date is unknown.

The Warrior’s Guild duology by Scarlett Gale

Book 1 (His Secret Illuminations): a virginal monk named Lucian is swept up into adventure by the She-Wolf, a tall and muscular warrior. She needs his skill in the magical arts to help her track down several stolen books. If you think said adventure will throw them headfirst into danger and intrigue, well, that's not what happens exactly. Most of this book is a feel-good romcom consisting of Lucian discovering the world and healing people, while Glory (She-Wolf's real name) teaches him how to be an adventurer and saves him from danger. Lucian struggles to keep his love and lust for her in check, as he believes that his faith in the Lord is the source of his magic. Lucian is a precious cinnamon roll (at least in the first book), while Glory basically has two modes: manic pixie dream girl and a dangerous she-wolf.

Book 2 (His Sacred Incantations): Lucian and Glory hunt for the ominous grimoire, fighting undead creatures and exploring a ruined city with their companions. Compared to the last book, it's a more DnD-style plot where Lucian (mostly Lucian, sorry to say) saves the day by performing incredible acts of magic no one else thought to do. There's femdom, both gentle and otherwise, romance, and pegging. Ain't nothing sacred here! If I had to give a one-sentence summary, it would be that it's a mix of outright pornography and an adventure story that has less stakes than a Disney film.

Bonus Round: Links

This tag on AO3; also this one (although beware that AO3 works vary wildly in terms of quality)

TVTropes pages:

Camp Straight

Gender-Inverted Trope

Gender Rarity Value (e.g. A Brother’s Price; not inherently GRR/matriarchal, though)

Lady Land

Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy

Matriarchy

[silverview]

Do you still struggle with dysphoria or did it vanish overtime after detransing? If the former, how do you cope effectively? I hear people talk about alternatives yet they never say what are those exactly, just crickets. Are people just very protective of their tricks? Am i being parroted by people who've never been dysphoric and just don't want me to transition? Am i just unlucky? So many doubts it's disheartening

hello ❤️ i absolutely still struggle with dysphoria & probably will for the rest of my life. it comes & goes in waves, it affects my sex life and how i conduct myself in many situations so i would hate to give the impression that i’m totally fine now hfhghf, but i AM doing better than when i was trans

the big secret is there’s no miracle cure. in a lot of cases resolving/treating dysphoria means resolving/treating some underlying issue, which for a lot of women is depression/other mental illness or trauma, especially sexual trauma. some need a brain doctor and some need lifestyle changes like getting ripped, logging off, getting a new job/hobby or some friends who aren’t trans. some literally just need to be in a new environment where it’s physically/psychologically safer to be female. there’s no magic bullet, you have to try stuff and change your life until you feel better, a lot of it sounds pedestrian and boring and in some cases insignificant but it can add up to a lot. personally the main changes i’ve made are all just changes in mindset

1) goes without saying but square zero is women can be anything. people tried to tell me this when i first came out as trans but i didn’t believe them, because i knew they didn’t really believe it either. very few people do. i had to RADICALLY COMMIT to the notion that there is no behaviour or aesthetic or vibe or identity inherent (or alien) to women, take the time (and it takes time) to eradicate stereotypes & normalise butch/gnc womanhood in my own head

2) the main way i cope with dysphoria now is the ol Just Stop Feeling Dysphoric. i don’t treat it like an inherent / natural / important part of me anymore & that makes it much easier to dismiss when it comes along. the moment it creeps up i force myself to do/focus on something else. 90% of the time i’m able to distract myself until it passes; 10% of the time i can’t but that’s a better ratio than back when i was actively paying attention to it and letting myself wallow in it. this includes avoiding ftm content as much as possible, avoiding things that are likely to make me envious or trigger my dysphoria

3) i feed myself a steady stream of feminist/misandrist propaganda and yonic imagery to balance out my internalised misogyny. i literally cannot overstate how helpful this has been for soothing the anguish of being female. they sort of cancel out & leave me able to feel kinda neutral about the whole thing, take a more matter-of-fact view of sex and my own body. "egalia’s daughters” by gerd brantenberg was a key text and i think about this passage whenever i'm dysphoric about my genitals

Why didn’t he simply have a neat little opening to pee out of, like [women] had? And a tiny little protuberance for the purpose of sexual pleasure, like [women] had? Why were [men] so idiotically designed?

our self-perceived deformity is cultural, not natural

4) finally i am just a little older now, & more self-confident, by which i mean resigned to myself. i’ve been trans and it didn’t fix me so the temptation to ~magically escape~ myself & my problems by transitioning just isn’t there anymore. part of my problem in the first place is that all my role models are male, and i get feverishly attached to them. as an adolescent i straight up couldn’t handle the fact that i would never be able to grow up like [insert male role model here]

but as an adult i have come to viscerally understand how little that really has to do with my sex and how much to do with the fact that i am only ever going to be me. turning male wouldn’t (didn’t) suddenly make me into a person i admire, or change any of the things i don’t like about myself. i am not at all the person (man) i hoped/expected to be as a child because i’m not, you know, indiana fuckin jones. i am this flawed awkward woman and she’s REAL, she’s not going away. i have learned to love being her irl. i’m not gonna waste my life yearning to be male as if that’d somehow also make me cool and sexy and powerful

i can’t tell you what to do anon, i don’t know how old you are or how long/how severely dysphoria has been impacting your life. if you’re baby i would strongly advise waiting a few years, identify any other things you dislike about yourself & try changing them first

i'm sorry dysphoria is getting you down. whatever you do, i support you & i’m sending you love. i know this answer is rambly & very specific to me but i hope some part of it is helpful, also if you want to vent/ask more questions about this kind of thing you are very welcome

[lesbian-books]

Lesbian Books in Translation

Alena by Kim W. Andersson — originally published in Swedish — horror graphic novel Baby Jane by Sofi Oksanen — originally published in Finnish — contemporary fiction La Bastarda by Trifonia Melibea Obono — originally published in Spanish — contemporary fiction Blue Is the Warmest Color by Julie Maroh — originally published in French as Le bleu est une couleur chaude — contemporary fiction The City of Woven Streets by Emmi Itäranta — originally published in Finnish as Kudottujen kujien kaupunki  — released as The Weaver in the U.S. — fantasy/dystopian Fair Play by Tove Jansson — originally published in Swedish as Rent spel — semi-autobiographical historical fiction The Four Winds by Gerd Brantenberg — originally published in Norwegian as For alle vinder — semi-autobiographical historical fiction Hanne Wilhelmsen series by Anne Holt — originally published in Norwegian — mystery My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness by Kabi Nagata — originally published in Japanese as  さびしすぎてレズ風俗に行きましたレポ (Sabishi sugite rezu fūzoku ni ikimashita repo) — autobiographical graphic novel Notes of a Crocodile by Qiu Miaojin — originally published in Chinese as 鱷魚手記 (Èyú shǒujì) — historical fiction Sweet Days of Discipline by Fleur Jaeggy — originally published in Italian as I beati anni del castigo (this sounds like the title of some bdsm erotica, but don’t worry, it’s not) — historical fiction Taxi to Paris — originally published in German as Taxi nach Paris — erotic romance Thérèse and Isabelle by Violette Leduc — originally published in French as Thérèse et Isabelle — erotic romance Z, a Love Story by Vigdís Grímsdóttir — originally published in Icelandic as Z, ástarsaga  — historical fiction

[strugglingclassicist]

Kan ikke tro at jeg faktisk kommer til å få møte og snakke med Gerd Brantenberg i dag O. O