In 1977 I made my first (and only) trip to the UK - five days in London, leaving my one-year-old daughter, Louise, with her father at our home in Copenhagen. Back then I could never have imagined that I would end up embroiled in a British political issue, or that one of my children's books would become a weapon in a war over the teaching of sexuality in schools.
I loved those few days in London. I travelled with a friend, and we saw all the sights. We walked by the Thames, crossed the bridges, went shopping on Carnaby Steet and Kings Road for fancy clothes you could only dream about back in Copenhagen.We went to the theatre, and saw wonderful performances with a humour and an attitude to life that felt very close to the Danish way of thinking. A friend took us to a punk concert and we felt like two old aunties from the country. As we made our way home afterwards we agreed that Britain was miles ahead of Denmark.
But my next encounter with this promised land was very different. It came in 1983 when I was overwhelmed by journalists from different British papers who all hoped to get a story about how badly life had turned out for the little family in my book, Jenny Lives with Eric and Martin. They were very disappointed to discover that it was a fictional story, that the real people who inspired it hadn't fallen victim to any unmentionable disease - and, not least, that I was straight. When they concluded there were no scandals to be found, they lost interest and I didn't have any contact with the British press until recently when my Jenny book was sucked once again into the argument over section 28.
My first book was published in 1977 and I have been writing children's books ever since. The entertainment value has always been important to me, but it seems just as important to give children relevant stories and, in a gentle way, to help them understand themselves and the society they live in. I believe that a good children's book has a built-in tiny bit of wisdom - like the old fairytales. As mother, father, teacher or author we should give our children stories that give them all the time in the world to remain in, and enjoy, their childhood. But we are also responsible for giving them stories that gently open their minds and prepare them for meeting the world as adults - a world in which adults are no longer available to solve the children's problems with a hug and a kiss.
This is the foundation of all my books. I wrote Jenny Lives with Eric and Martin back in 1981 because I became aware of the problems which some children face when meeting family groupings different from the ones they are familiar with, ie mum and dad, possibly mum and dad divorced, maybe a step-parent. It's not possible to go through life without meeting people living in different ways, and they shouldn't come as a shock to anybody.
W hile researching for the book I became aware that there are a lot of children in Denmark living with a homosexual father or mother, and that there was a need for a book for these children to identify with. So I wrote this everyday story about Jenny living with her father - and stepfather. And it was absolutely shocking to see the book vilified as homosexual propaganda in the British press back in 1983 and (to a lesser degree) again now. I feel angry that my intentions in writing this book - namely to give children a little more knowledge about the world - have been twisted by grown-up people who chose to use it as a weapon in a political battle. It has also been depressing to see my own words from interviews misrepresented to fit this or that position.
For what it's worth, I don't personally think homosexuality (or any other subject) should be aggressively promoted in schools, but I do think it should be talked about in an informative, unsensational, way. One way of doing that is by making books like mine available to children in schools and libraries - as is done in Denmark - and by letting teachers and parents be prepared to answer questions without unnecessary drama.