For centuries, queer1 people have been oppressed, persecuted and are still subject to discrimination and physical violence. This was horribly brought home to us again last year in Münster when the young trans man Malte C. succumbed to his serious injuries a week after a brutal attack. Unfortunately, such an offence is not an isolated case. Statistics from the Federal Ministry of the Interior on hate crime2 show an increase of over 60% in politically motivated crime against queer people in 2021 compared to the previous year.
This problem must be viewed and solved from an intersectional3 perspective. This is because many queer people face multiple forms of discrimination in our society for a variety of reasons. Even in the queer community. For example, because they are BIPoC4 or have a physical, mental or psychological impairment. As already stated in our demands, queer hostility cannot be viewed in isolation from other inequalities and certainly cannot be overcome. We must therefore oppose the various forms of discrimination and stand up for human rights. The evil of ignorance and hatred must be tackled at its roots. In doing so, we must look beyond our own horizons and also be self-critical.
Nevertheless, we are optimistic about the future. Let’s just look at what we have achieved so far. The abolition of §175 of the German Criminal Code, the opening of marriage to same-sex couples, the changes we are striving for in civil status law and parentage law. After more than 50 years of tough discourse and hard work in the Pride movement, we are getting closer to one of our major goals step by step: the social acceptance of queer realities.
For us, this leads to the realisation that the future is queer. For us, this goes hand in hand with the goal and the task of working towards this future and involving the younger generations in particular in order to shape a future for everyone. We dream of a respectful and non-violent future for all people. Our goal is a hate-free society. A society in which it doesn’t matter who you love or how you describe your gender. In such a society, coming out should no longer be necessary and certainly not have any negative consequences. Neither privately nor professionally.
We are aware that our vision of a queer future is unfortunately somewhat utopian. But it is worth fighting for. Because just as constant dripping wears away the stone, we will continue to stand up for queer people and demonstrate with perseverance. Because together we are strong! And together we can make a difference!
We therefore call on you to take part in the big Pride demonstration on 15 July 2023 and the subsequent street festival on Leipzig’s Augustusplatz and to attend the events of the Pride week.
Let’s shape a queer future together!
1 QUEER is a collective term for transgender people and for people beyond heterosexuality and/or the binary gender system of man and woman.
2 Source: bmi.bund.de
3 INTERACTIONAL describes the overlapping and simultaneity of different categories of discrimination against a person
4 BIPoC is the abbreviation for Black, Indigenous, People of Colour. All of these terms are political self-designations. This means that they emerged from resistance and still symbolise the struggles against this oppression and for more equality. (Source: Migration council Berlin)
