Good for Iceland!

Here's some wonderful news I first found out about by reading Letters from the Sanitarium.

From the BBC's coverage of this momentous event:

Johanna Sigurdardottir, a former flight attendant and union organiser, was sworn in as Iceland's first female prime minister - and the world first openly gay leader - on Sunday.

The 66-year-old former social affairs minister is one of Iceland's most popular politicians.

Her appeal has held up even as confidence in the government itself has plummeted, amid an economic crash, soaring unemployment and street protests.

In our national egotism, we tend to think of America as being more advanced than the rest of the world. This definitely needs reconsideration on queer issues. LGBT issues have made more progress in South Africa, Canada, most of Europe, and much of South America than they have in here in the good old USA.

While President Obama has imposed the same pink ceiling on cabinet level positions as his predecessors, a lesbian is the head of state in Iceland. Makes you think, doesn't it?

Ms. Sigurdardottir and the rest of Iceland is pretty nonchalant about the whole thing (again BBC)

According to Ingo Sigfusson of Iceland's public broadcaster, RUV, Ms Sigurdardottir's emergence as the world's first openly gay leader has barely rated a mention among his countrymen and women.

"It's by no means a big deal. It's been reported, but it's not something the public is focusing on," he told the BBC.

"On the one hand, Iceland is a fairly liberal, tolerant country when it comes to homosexuality. On the other hand, she's never been particularly public about her private life, even though her partner is listed on the parliament's website."