Maj-Briht Bergström-Walan (17 November 1924 – 25 August 2014) was a Swedish

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how indi ...

and

midwife A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their lifespan; co ...

, as well as the first authorised

sexologist Sexology is the scientific study of human sexuality, including human sexual interests, behaviors, and functions. The term ''sexology'' does not generally refer to the non-scientific study of sexuality, such as social criticism. Sexologists app ...

in Sweden.

Education and career

Maj-Briht Bergström-Walan studied as a

in the mid-1940s and obtained her license in 1947. In 1963, she obtained her licentiate in philosophy with specialisation in

clinical psychology Clinical psychology is an integration of social science, theory, and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and persona ...

. She also held a

Master of Philosophy The Master of Philosophy (MPhil; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. In the United States, an MPhil typically includes a taught portion and a significant research portion, during which a thesis project is conducted under supervision. An MPhil m ...

in the study of the

history of literature The history of literature is the historical development of writings in prose or poetry that attempt to provide entertainment, enlightenment, or instruction to the reader/listener/observer, as well as the development of the literary techniques ...

and

Nordic languages The North Germanic languages make up one of the three branches of the Germanic languages—a sub-family of the Indo-European languages—along with the West Germanic languages and the extinct East Germanic languages. The language group is also r ...

. She also trained as a missionary with the

Mission Covenant Church of Sweden The Mission Covenant Church of Sweden ( sv, Svenska Missionskyrkan), founded in 1878, was a Swedish evangelical free church. It was the second-largest Protestant denomination in Sweden, after the national church, the Church of Sweden. In 2011, t ...

. Between 1958 and 1972, Bergström-Walan worked as a sex educator at the Stockholm School Board and at ''Skolöverstyrelsen'' (predecessor to the present-day Swedish National Agency for Education). In the 1960s and the 1970s, she was the leading personality in

sex education Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including emotional relations and responsibilities, human sexual anatomy, Human sexual activity, sexual acti ...

in Sweden. In 1970, Bergström-Walan founded the Swedish Sexual Research Institute which has among other things researched

transvestism Transvestism is the practice of dressing in a manner traditionally associated with the opposite sex. In some cultures, transvestism is practiced for religious, traditional, or ceremonial reasons. The term is considered outdated in Western c ...

. Bergström-Walan has written several books; most notably ''Den svenska kvinnorapporten: kvinnor i Sverige berättar om sitt sexliv'' ("The Swedish women's report: women in Sweden talk about their sex life"; co-authored with Helle Høpfner Nielsen), ''Din bok om kärlek och sex'' ("Your book on love and sex") and ''Förbjudna drömmar'' ("Forbidden dreams"; co-authored with Malena Ivarsson ( sv)) She has also written columns in

Expressen ''Expressen'' (''The Express'') is one of two nationwide evening newspapers in Sweden, the other being '' Aftonbladet''. ''Expressen'' was founded in 1944; its symbol is a wasp and its slogans are "it stings" or "''Expressen'' to your rescue". ...

, Kamratposten, Mitt Livs Novell ( sv) and Private Magazine. On 31 May 1996, Bergström-Walan received an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

from the Faculty of Medicine at

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in opera ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

She received the 1997

Magnus Hirschfeld Medal The Magnus Hirschfeld Medal is awarded by the German Society for Social-Scientific Sexuality Research (DGSS) for outstanding service to sexual science, granted in the categories "Sexual Research" and "Sexual Reform". It is named in honour of Germa ...

Personal life

Bergström-Walan was married to

church historian Church Historian and Recorder (usually shortened to Church Historian) is a priesthood calling in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The role of the Church Historian and Recorder is to keep an accurate and comprehensive record of th ...

Bror Walan ( sv) between 1949 and 1972, and she has one son, Gustav (born 1952), from that marriage. She then started to

cohabit Cohabitation is an arrangement where people who are not married, usually couples, live together. They are often involved in a romantic or sexually intimate relationship on a long-term or permanent basis. Such arrangements have become increas ...

with the Danish-born psychologist Helle Høpfner Nielsen ( sv; 1929–2013) from 1976, and were then married from 2007 until the latter's death in 2013.

Filmography

* 1969 – '' Ur kärlekens språk'' * 1970 – ''

Mera ur kärlekens språk ''Mera ur kärlekens språk'' (aka ''More from the Language of Love'' and ''More about the Language of Love'', also released as ''Language of Love 2'') is a 1970 Swedish sex educational film directed by Torgny Wickman. It is a sequel to the 1969 f ...

'' * 1971 – ''

Kärlekens XYZ ''Kärlekens XYZ'' ("The XYZ of Love") is a 1971 Swedish sex educational film directed by Torgny Wickman. It is a sequel to the two films ''Language of Love'' (1969) and '' Mera ur kärlekens språk'' (1970). In 1973 the three films were edited tog ...

'' * 2004 – ''

Kärlekens språk ''Kärlekens språk'' (or ''Kärlekens språk 2000'') is a 2004 Swedish sex educational film directed by Anders Lennberg. The title is a reference to the 1969 sex educational film '' Ur kärlekens språk'' (''Language of Love''). Cast * Regina L ...

References

External links

* * 1924 births 2014 deaths Swedish sexologists Women sexologists Swedish psychologists Swedish women psychologists {{Psychologist-stub

Education and career

Personal life

Filmography

References

Further reading

External links