The Suomi on queer series deals with the war years.
The Winter War was fought in 1939–1940. It was followed by a truce before the continuation of the war in the summer of 1941. IL ARCHIVE
The outbreak of the Winter War made people, both straight and gay, go sexually wild. Investigator Kati Mustola explain it Finland is queer -documentary series with circumstances. He could be dead tomorrow. If you wanted to enjoy life, you had to do it here and now.
Marriages took place in huge numbers, and STD statistics exploded. Finns wanted sex and a lot of it.
– There was also more homosexuality. Many hundreds of thousands of men were at the front with each other for years, Mustola points out.
– One gay veteran I interviewed said that fear drove men into each other’s arms. They wanted to be close to someone, and they wanted affection. It was seeking refuge.
On the front, on the other hand, an activity was visible, which is described in the documentary as front drag. Men also performed women’s roles in theater, opera and dance performances.
The last episode of Suomi on queer is hosted by Pinja Eskola. Uwa Iduozee / General
On the home front, on the other hand, women had relationships with other women. Women also took care of men’s work on the home front or were mobilized, like the Lotas in the army. There were many women on work assignments.
– Same-sex relationships have indeed occurred in these places, Mustola says on TV.
After the Second World War, the situation changed.
– A huge number of men either had their own gay experiences from the front or at least knew what had been done, Mustola reminds.
Still, it happened that the culture of silence and denial began to make its entrance with a bang.
– Homosexuality absolutely had to be rejected, and such experiences and others are forgotten, says Mustola.
The post-war reconstruction of heterosexuality began. At the same time, homosexuality was externalized. It’s not us Finns, it’s the Germans. And later: it’s not us Finns, it’s the Swedes. It also says something about the situation that, according to the documentary, in the 1950s more people were convicted of homosexual acts in Finland than ever before.
Finland is queer today on Teema & Femi at 20:38 & Areena. See all TV programs and broadcast times in Telku’s TV guide.