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Contents:

• THE TIME SWES CALLED GAY TO WORK 1979
• DID PROTTG SWES REALLY CALL SICK 1979, CLAIMG THEY “FELT GAY”?
• "CALL IN GAY" SAME-SEX MARRIAGE ALLI SAY
• CALL GAY
• CALL IN GAY ED MEANG
• FREE GAY CHAT L
• RIGHT-WG NSPIRACY THEORIST BRAGS ABOUT NOT 'LLG GAY' TO WORK AND TWTER HAS QUTNS
• HOW TO TALK WH A GAY OR LBIAN PERSON

THE TIME SWES CALLED GAY TO WORK 1979

Homosexualy was nsired a mental illns many untri as late as the mid-20th century—if was not classified as an outright crime.

Even Swen, that Sndavian bastn of openns and equaly, intified beg gay as a disorr as late as year, a group of Swes took advantage of the legal amework that ma beg gay an illns and lled sick to work, claimg their homosexualy as the reason. One woman, om the southern provce of Smålanven, managed to get Social Secury benefs for llg gay. Callg gay was part of a larger prott om the RFSL, the Swedish Feratn for Lbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgenr Rights.

Swen crimalized homosexualy 1944, but acrdg to the Natnal Board of Health and Welfare, which velops health standards, was still a disease.

DID PROTTG SWES REALLY CALL SICK 1979, CLAIMG THEY “FELT GAY”?

As a b of ntext, the Amerin Psychiatric Associatn announced that would no longer nsir homosexualy a mental disorr 1973, though ntued to e “sexual orientatn disturbance” to tegorize dividuals who felt distrsed by their sexual orientatn (among other odd disorrs) up wh the lack of tractn was gag through tradnal letter and phone mpaigns, RFSL planned to occupy the Natnal Board buildg as a monstratn agast pathologizg homosexualy.

"CALL IN GAY" SAME-SEX MARRIAGE ALLI SAY

On Augt 29, durg the middle of Stockholm’s “Homosexual Liberatn Week” (which later beme known as Stockholm Pri), RFSL protters gathered to block the stairs of the Natnal Board buildg, chantg and wavg banners. In late October of 1979, the Natnal Board classified homosexualy as a disease, makg Swen the first European untry to do so.

CALL GAY

That turned out to be the se for a tweet that has circulated om var acunts over the last year, which claims: “Homosexualy was still classified as an illns Swen 1979. Swes protted by llg sick to work, claimg they felt gay.

RFSL—the Swedish Feratn for Lbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgenr Rights—provid the five answer. Acrdg to the RFSL webse, although homosexualy was legalized Swen 1944, 1979 was still classified as a mental illns.

Most didn’t want to be known that they were gay, but a few did ed ll sick, claimg that they were unable to work bee they were homosexual. RFSL says that only a few people lled sick, of whom jt one managed to qualify for paid leave on the basis of her homosexualy.

CALL IN GAY ED MEANG

Some same-sex marriage supporters are urgg people to "ll gay" Wednday to show how much the untry reli on gays and lbians, but others qutn whether 's wise to enurage skippg work given the natn's enomic distrs.

FREE GAY CHAT L

Organizers of "Day Whout a Gay" - schled to ci wh Internatnal Human Rights Day and moled after siar work stoppag by Lato immigrants - also are enuragg people to perform volunteer work and rea om spendg Hethergton, a Wt Hollywood edian and personal traer, dreamed up the ia wh his boyiend, Aaron Hartzler, after readg onle that a few angry gay-rights activists were llg for a daylong strike to prott California voters' passage last month of Proposn 8, which reversed this year's state Supreme Court cisn allowg gay marriage. Hethergton said he's been gettg 100 e-mails an hour om people lookg for volunteer opportuni, and that his "Day Whout a Gay" Web se has gotten 100, 000 hs sce mid-November.

RIGHT-WG NSPIRACY THEORIST BRAGS ABOUT NOT 'LLG GAY' TO WORK AND TWTER HAS QUTNS

Dpe Hartzler and Hethergton's attempt to fashn a posive approach, some anizers of the street monstratns that drew massive crowds many ci last month have been reluctant to embrace the ncept, sayg that uld be at bt impractil and at worst unterproductive to "ll gay. ""It's extra-challengg for people to thk about takg off work as a form of prott, given that we are talkg about people who may not be out (as gay) at work, and given the current enomic suatn and job market, " said Jul Grav, 38, ordator of the Colorado Queer Straight Alliance.

Jo The Impact, the onle muny that lnched protts last month over the passage of gay marriage bans California, Florida and Arizona, has urged people to whdraw $80 om their bank acunts Wednday to monstrate gays' spendg power, and to vote the time they might otherwise spend watchg TV or surfg the Inter to volunteer Communitns, a public relatns firm Washgton that specializ the gay and lbian market, published a study this year that timated that gay and lbian nsumers spend $700 billn Weck, the firm's chief executive officer, said would be difficult to measure the succs of Wednday's strike sce gay employe occupy so many fields. And rather than spendg all nsumer spendg for the day, gay rights supporters would have a bigger impact if they voted their dollars to gay-iendly bs year-round, Weck said.

Hethergton said he has been reful to sign Day Whout a Gay - he me up wh the name after the film "A Day Whout a Mexin" and liked bee rhymed - so no one feels exclud or has specifilly urged high school stunts not to walk out of their class and assured llege stunts they won't be disloyal to the e if they go ahead and take their fal exams. He also has listed opportuni - rangg om wrg letters to members of Congrs about feral gay rights legislatn to spreadg the word about Wednday on social workg s - for gay marriage backers who nnot miss Craig, a 5th-gra teacher at Inpennce Charter School Philalphia, had no problem requtg and beg granted the day off.

HOW TO TALK WH A GAY OR LBIAN PERSON

So many of the school's 60 teachers were eager to show support for gay rights they had to make sure enough stayed behd to staff classrooms.