The Norwegian MS Society has a number of members who are gay men and lesbians. Via an article in “MS matters”, Issue 47, 2003, the Society learned that the MS Society of Great Britain and Northern Ireland had created a support group for gay and lesbians affected by MS: “GLAMS”. We thought this could be an interesting idea for our organisation in Norway. The idea was presented to the Board of the Norwegian MS Society, and received a very positive response. The first challenge was to find people interested in taking part in the support group. Since only a few people responded to an article in our Society's newsletter, we contacted a magazine for gay people in Norway and asked them to publish an article about our initiative, and in February 2004, a two-page article was published. The article featured a woman with MS, the Norwegian MS Society and the aims of the new support group. This generated greater interest and we heard from more people who wanted to participate.
The Norwegian MS Society arranged the first meeting for the support group in April 2004. The meeting was held in a restaurant, and six people attended. Last year we organised four meetings and membership has increased to 12 (two men and ten women). Finding a name for the network was simple: LeHoMS (Le (lesbian) – Ho (homosexual) – MS). At the first meeting, we discussed why the creation of the group was important. Some people outside the group could not understand why we wanted to create it. Although the acceptance of homosexuality has improved in recent years, there are still a number of sceptics. Since 1993, gay men and lesbians have been able to formalise their relationships legally in Norway, but it is evident that some people are afraid of diversity and may have irrational feelings. Nevertheless, the group grew in strength and purpose.
An article published in Norway in 2001 about disabled and gay men and lesbians brought up challenges for LeHoMS. It motivated the members of LeHoMS to formulate a list of arguments to support the importance of a network that meets the diverse needs of gay men and lesbians with MS. They are listed here:
- Physical impairment and fatigue make it difficult for people with MS to go to public meeting places such as bars, clubs and restaurants.
- Often, typical meeting places are inaccessible for people using wheelchairs.
- Access limitations make it difficult to initiate and maintain friendships and intimate relationships.
- Negative feelings about one's own body image area barrier to meeting new people.
- Many people face the double stigma of being disabled and gay or lesbian.
- Many gay men and lesbians with MS and other impairments experience loneliness and social isolation.
- Negative attitudes of health professionals create additional barriers.
Members of LeHoMS agree that it is positive to share these joint concerns. It is not necessary to talk about being gay, since this is one of the criteria for participation. This gives members the opportunity to talk about MS and life without sexuality as a predominating theme.
The group has a number of initiatives in the planning phase, including a brochure and seminars. The hope is to plan a meeting with the GLAMS group in England in the future so that we can create an international exchange of experience and ideas.
LeHoMS would be interested in hearing from groups in other countries, or from individuals who are interested in starting a group in their own country. Contact Turid Hesselberg, tel +47 2296 3586 Wednesdays and Fridays, or by email: turid@ms.no
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