Tonje Gjevjon, a Norwegian actress, faces up to three years in jail on suspected accusations of criminal hate speech for statements she made against transgender people and their sexual preferences. Authorities alerted Gjevjon on November 17 that she was being investigated for her Facebook comments against notable Norwegian campaigner Christine Jentoft. According to the actress, who is a part of the LGBTQ+ community, it is impossible for males to become “lesbians,” just as it is impossible for men to produce a child:
“It is just as difficult for males to become lesbians as it is for men to get pregnant. Regardless of their sexual preferences, men are men.”
Gjevjon’s comment, according to The New York Post, was a jab at Jentoft, who identifies as a transsexual female and often refers to herself as a lesbian mother. In response to the probe, Gjevjon said that she wrote her Facebook comment on purpose to highlight Norway’s hate speech regulations. Her remarks are apparently being scrutinized in light of a 2020 revision to the country’s criminal law that includes “gender identity and gender expression” as under-protected categories from hate speech. People found guilty of hate speech in Norway may face a fine or up to one year in jail for privacy statements and up to three years for public remarks.
Tonje Gjevjon’s previous views on gender identity
Tonje Gjevjon made headlines earlier this year after questioning Norway’s minister of culture and reality, Anette Trettebergstuen, regarding gender identity and biological s*x. She wondered at the time:
“Will the equality minister take action to protect lesbian women’s human rights, by making it clear that there are no lesbians with p*nises, that males cannot be lesbians regardless of their gender identity, and by cleaning up the mess left behind by the previous government’s harmful gender policies?”
Trettebergstuen responded to Gjevjon’s query by saying:
“I do not embrace a worldview in which the only two biological s*xes are to be interpreted as s*x. Gender identity is also crucial.”
Tonje Gjevjon previously said in the Norwegian publication Klassekampen that she had previously been “canceled” for her views on gender identity:
“I have declared that women are female, that l*sbians do not have p*nises, that minors should not be accountable for choices they do not have the ability to grasp the breadth of, and that no-platforming is bad for democracy. I’ve been canceled multiple times because of these beliefs.”
She also stated that, despite being a lesbian artist, she has been “demonized” by gay groups, politicians, and activists, and has been forced out of the art scene as a result of her beliefs. Gjevjon reportedly accused trans activists of “contacting persons” she works with in order to depict her as “hateful” and warn them not to engage with her.
All you need to know about Tonje Gjevjon
Tonje Gjevjon is a visual artist, actor, and filmmaker from Norway. She is also the lead singer of The Hungry Hearts Performance Band. Before premiering her video work and photography at the Autumn Exhibition in 2005, the artist studied at the Oslo Drawing and Painting School, Strykejernet Art School, and the Bergen Academy of Fine Arts. Gjevjon gained attention as the director of The Hungry Hearts Performance in 2007. She has directed films such as In the Closet, Behind the Curtain, and Dunno Y 2…Life Is A Moment.
She was also the chairman of the board of directors of Akershus Art Center from 2006 to 2011, as well as the chairperson of the Visual Artists in Oslo and Akershus from 2009 to 2011. Tonje Gjevjon has often made news for her resistance to giving transsexual people a say in women’s rights, stating that doing so will diminish women’s battles.
