Different Denmark

by Terje Raa 

In front of me sits a legend - the 94 years old Axel Axgil - who made history on October 1st 1989 when he married another man, Eigil, the first gay couple in the world to marry in accordance with a same-sex partnership law, formally called register. It took place in the famed Wedding Room of Copenhagen's City Hall.

That was the end of a 40 years long engagement, although Axel and Eigil had created their own special union long ago, ironically accepted by the authorities - simply combining their first names to a new common last name, Axgil,  not only a name for identification, but a name full of attitudes. The Axgils became an institution, and their part of history is relived in between as part of celebrations or proposed improvements.

There were the World Outgames in 2009, coinciding with the partnership´s 20th anniversary. The fight for medals was a fight for equal rights too, in that couples from around the world flocked to the Copenhagen Cathedral to receive a church blessing of their gay or lesbian relationship, thereby also paving the way for church weddings, which are again on the political agenda in Denmark, this time inspired by Axel's 95th birthday on April 3rd.

This birthday is a double opportunity for politicians to profile themselves - by recognizing an old activist and promote Denmark as an example in the struggle for human rights. The Prime Minister has already come out with his support. It's just a question of time before church weddings are standard, their way prepared by Axel ever since the 1948 appearance of the UN Declaration of Human Rights, in which gays and lesbians were non-existent. In a more recent Human Rights Conference, parallel with the Outgames, Axel was received with standing ovations.

1948

Liberation took a leap forward in 1948, as Axel started organizations for gays and lesbians in Denmark, Norway and Sweden, named Forbundet af 1948 or The Association of 1948, soon splitting into three independent units, each knowing best where the national shoe was pinching most and where discrimination was driving people to suicide. Axel knew the harassment - his own coming out had the immediate effect that he lost his bookkeeper job in a car company, was thrown out of his living quarters and lost his political party membership in Retsforbundet, the Party of Justice.

Eigil, a Copenhagener, entered the life of Axel in 1950 and stayed by his side till his own death in 1995, in  periods torn apart by the authorities. Between the two of them, there was never a harsh word. Axel himself started his life in the fairy tale city of Odense, but two days old, he found himself the kingpin of his life's first drama - adopted away to grow up on a farm, a childhood leaving him with no complaints at all, though. That must be where he developed his energy, courage and focus on justice and reforms.

Less mobile was Helmer Fogedgaard in the town of Rudkøbing, yet he was able to complement Axel who needed a magazine to keep his members informed and motivate them for necessary improvements. Helmer supplied him with such a magazine - Vennen, The Friend. No pictures at all, but that was no problem, for the Axgils had started a publishing business in Copenhagen, later relocated to the provincial part of Zealand. Innocent pictures of more or less scantily clad men could harm nobody, they thought.

There was still a ban on pornography, except for drawings like the smiling bodybuilder universe created by the pseudonym Tom of Finland, sheer porn and yet defined as art. The Axgils knew the rules, but underrated the general hostility toward homosexuals, particularly in the police force who succeeded in sending the two gentlemen to jail, Axel for one year. Speculation in lust, said the indictment. Memberships revoked, said Forbundet af 1948.

The reputation of Forbundet was at stake indeed. Axel had been its chairman till 1952. The Vennen magazine got independent at that time. Its place of production was identical with the address of the Axgil photo business, and who sat in the editor stool - Axel! To understand the confusion of things, one should take into account the overriding atmosphere of that period - there was a Cold War going on, Danish sex offenders were castrated in large numbers, whereas a local judge suggested they were treated with rat poison. Being gay was until 1980 synonymous with mental illness. 

 Normalization 

One certain police officer was nearly religious in his gay-hate, disguised as scientific methods. His claim that gay men were preying on young boys, was widely accepted and resulted in "the ugly law" from 1961, which criminalized the customers of male prostitutes under the age of 21. That law was a perfect tool in the hands of the persecutors; all was clear for lies, harassment, extortion and abuse. It took four years for the politicians to understand the madness, and after seeing for themselves who was preying on whom in the bars, the law was abolished. So was the final ban on pornography in 1969.

After the imprisonment, during which Axel and Eigil saw nothing of each other, they started from scratch - selling newspapers and soda pops, then switched to Male Models. They worked their way back, bought an old school in beautiful surroundings near Ringsted, installed their printing equipment, later opening a gay guest-house, Axelhus, a pre-aids haven and playground for gay men from all over the world, though with a German majority, some 70%. They got their memberships back, from 1974 as honorary members of Forbundet, The Association of 1948. The Axelhus adventure lasted a dozen years.

The capital, Copenhagen, was nevertheless the main magnet, in particular for gay men, offering them networks, a bar and club scene and some degree of anonymity. Compared with other major cities, Copenhagen was probably a gay paradise, growing more and more visible to the point of becoming "in", thanks to Forbundet being on the forefront as disco and bar owner, often expanding to several floors. Axel has never been much of a go-out man, he occasionally frequented Cafe Intime, located a little distance away from the center and with the old Oda on the piano - the most private and nostalgic bar, still going strong with live music. 

History is written in the footsteps of Axel. On a delayed honeymoon, he sat with his life-companion in a direct TV broadcast from Berlin - when The Wall started coming down around their ears. With contacts everywhere, the Axgils toured the world. However, Axel's passion for travel is gone, he has other interests now - after joining the group behind Regnbuen, the Rainbow, a gay burial place of urn graves. He promotes the idea passionately - and its inscription could be the motto of a born activist: "Struggle is needed for life to grow".