Growing Up as a Queer Person in East Germany

The tension between queerness and rural regions is particularly relevant in light of the rise of right-wing narratives, especially in eastern Germany. As Cheers Queers Chemnitz, a queer party and event collective, we’d like to organize a young, diverse, and intersectional panel discussion at Kosmos on the topic of queerness in rural regions of eastern Germany, where we’ll explore how growing up in the countryside has shaped people’s experiences of queerness. We aim to explore different perspectives, such as an activist perspective, which will be presented by Malik Yannick (a content creator focusing on issues of class). We also plan to feature someone active in cultural work—a role that Lara Siegel from Cheers Queers will take on—and invite Christoph Schmidt (as the drag queen Athena Owls) to moderate and represent queer educational work.
We invite you to ask questions afterward and share your own perspectives.
In this event, we’d like to engage in a discussion about how diversity and critical discourse can be put into practice in our social interactions.