The international Pride Month and the Berlin Pride Week are already behind us, but I’m still basking in the positive feeling especially its last weekend left in me. I did a couple of posts about it – it was a big weekend with lots of different events. I got a lot of love and of course also some comments and DMs to make me think. And I did.
In terms of LGBTQIA+ rights and liberation we are living in odd times, because for the first time in a while, we in our happy little bubble in Berlin are feeling the pendulum of progress swinging backwards. To any queer person I don’t need to explain what that means – to everyone else: There is a pushback against queer rights, queer safety, queer spaces. Conservative and right-wing governments around the world are taking some of our hard fought rights away (starting with the most marginalized: trans* people). Queerphobic attacks are on the rise, even in Berlin. Queer spaces are endangered everywhere (also fueled by the recession). And even the police is exerting violence over queer bodies the moment they are standing up for Palestine.
We are at a point where some Pride Parades get canceled, where previously queer-friendly governments no longer raise the rainbow flag, where our leaders compare us to a circus. This means we need the Pride Parades more than ever and we need to stand up for our rights more than ever.
With all that said, the Berlin Pride weekend left an immense sense of joy in me this year – despite all the negative things I just mentioned. I think it’s actually because of all of this that Pride felt different. It felt like a safe space of acceptance and queer joy within this crumbling world that feels less safe to us. It was a reminder of all the good aspects of the queer lives we life today. A sense of unison and togetherness. As long as we are able to stick together and have each others back we can make it through it.
This year I went to Pride on my own for the first time. But I didn’t feel alone, nor did I stay on my own for long. Over the couple of hours I kept running into friends and friendly groups that took me in for a while. It was spontaneous and adventurous and fun. I just went with the flow and had the best time with it.
Don’t get me wrong – I’m not naive and I don’t want to gloss over the problematic aspects of the main Pride parade, such as the presence of right wing media companies, and conservative political parties that actively fight against us – or companies that fund a genocide. They were like a dark and weird shadow over an otherwise happy gathering. But I didn’t let them rain on our parade, literally. But I absolutely understand that some people protest the parade because of that. I’m grateful we have a second parade – the Internationalist Queer Pride in Kreuzberg – which is more political and takes a stern stand against right wing politics and genocide, something I strongly believe the main pride could take a lead from.
But that Pride weekend was about more than the parades and politics. Two major ballroom events happened, as well as countless parties by many of Berlin’s queer nightlife collectives. And this is where a lot of the magic of that weekend happened. The balls were, of course, fantastic – the ballroom scene in Berlin has cemented itself as a safe space and room for empowerment for the most marginalized members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and I’m so happy to see this scene thriving. And when it comes to the parties – everyone was in such a daze of happiness about them. I have heard so much good about the editions of Lunchbox Candy and Puticlub alone. I was personally at Furiosa and this was by far the best and most joyful edition I have been to – I’m still feeling the excitement to this day.
It was a weekend to be political, to show up and take a stand, but also at the same time to cherish the good things in the world. This might sound contradicting, but it is true. Everyone was just yearning for this moment of joy and excitement and carefreeness. This weekend was a testament to the beautiful things that queer people can accomplish – the beautiful world that we can built if it were up to us. We all come from such different places and circumstances, but in queerness we are united somehow.
In a world and time of doom and gloom, this weekend gave me hope that one day the pendulum will swing forward again and bring us further than ever before. To every queer person out there, know that I wish for nothing more than to share this feeling of joy with you.
