{"id":20892,"date":"2026-04-24T11:48:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T09:48:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/?p=20892"},"modified":"2026-04-24T11:48:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T09:48:13","slug":"berlin-isnt-just-queer-its-fighting-to-stay-that-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/20892\/berlin-isnt-just-queer-its-fighting-to-stay-that-way\/","title":{"rendered":"Berlin isn\u2019t Just Queer, It\u2019s Fighting to Stay That Way"},"content":{"rendered":"

Berlin has been long framed as Europe\u2019s queer capital, a city associated with liberation, freedom and cultural experimentation, with VisitBerlin describing it as on of the most open and tolerant cities in the world. Major Events such as Christopher Street Day attract up to 750,000 participants autumnally in Berlin, and yet beneath this global reputation lies a more complex reality<\/p>\n

\"\"The Schwules museum, founded in 1985 is one of the first and largest institutes to actively preserve queer history. Anna, an older volunteer from the museum and long-term resident, who\u2019s worked there for over 7 years, explained how the museum attracts visitors from across the world not just to see art, but see parts of their identities and history in the material. Leaving many visitors quite emotional. Anna describes moments like these \u201creally touching\u201d and turn the museum into something more than just an exhibition space<\/p>\n

This internation reach says a lot about Berlin, it isn\u2019t just a city people visit, it\u2019s a city people come to understand themselves. But inside many queer museums, queer identity is still evolving.<\/p>\n

The Schwules museum has come a long way, what began as a space centres on gay male history is now trying to tell a much bigger story. Anna tells us of a shift toward a more inclusive representation for trans, intersex, lesbian and non-white communities. Identities that are often limited in history and art. As Anna puts it, \u201cthe visibility of different parts of the \"\"<\/p>\n

queer community is changing, thankfully\u201d. But it\u2019s not finished. Representation is still uneven, and the museum is still catching up to the diversity it aims to show.<\/p>\n

And then there\u2019s growing tension outside its walls<\/p>\n

Despite Berlin\u2019s reputation, there\u2019s a shift taking place. \u201cI am concerned\u2026the opinion polls show that the right-wing part is increasing more and more\u201d Anna say\u2019s later putting it even more bluntly that we are living in \u201cthe times of the backlash\u201d<\/p>\n

Queer life is more visible than ever, but that visibility doesn\u2019t guarantee safety. If anything, it can be argued that communities are more exposed. The \u201cothering\u201d of minority groups leads them to become targets of political discourse.<\/p>\n

\"\"The museum has then taken a different role, no longer just telling stories, but holding onto them. \u201cit\u2019s very important\u2026to have a queer archive and to save this\u2026for the next generation\u201d Anna explains. In the political climates where rights and attitudes are shifting faster than ever, preserving history becomes a form of protection.<\/span><\/p>\n

But even preservation isn\u2019t secure. The Schwules museum runs largely on volunteer work, with many roles unpaid. Behind the curtains, are over a million archived items, untold stories, far more than can be displayed. Space is limited and funding is tight, especially as political parties change hands. The city may celebrate queer culture, but the institutions holding that very culture\u2019s history are far less stable.\"\"<\/p>\n

Berlin is not just a city of freedom, it a city constantly doing the work to hold onto the freedom decade after decade. Inside the Schwules museum, that effort is on full display. Messy, unfinished and more necessary than ever with the global rise of the right wing.<\/p>\n

\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Berlin has been long framed as Europe\u2019s queer capital, a city associated with liberation, freedom and cultural experimentation, with VisitBerlin describing it as on of the most open and tolerant cities in the world. Major Events such as Christopher Street Day attract up to 750,000 participants autumnally in Berlin, and yet beneath this global reputation […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4155,"featured_media":20898,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-acls","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBerlin isn\u2019t Just Queer, It\u2019s Fighting to Stay That Way - International Journalism<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Berlin isn\u2019t Just Queer, It\u2019s Fighting to Stay That Way - International Journalism\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Berlin has been long framed as Europe\u2019s queer capital, a city associated with liberation, freedom and cultural experimentation, with VisitBerlin describing it as on of the most open and tolerant cities in the world. Major Events such as Christopher Street Day attract up to 750,000 participants autumnally in Berlin, and yet beneath this global reputation […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/20892\/berlin-isnt-just-queer-its-fighting-to-stay-that-way\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"International Journalism\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-24T09:48:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/378\/2026\/04\/tempImagegeTFHP-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Maryam Suhail\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Maryam Suhail\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/svjmedia.nl\\\/internationaljournalism\\\/20892\\\/berlin-isnt-just-queer-its-fighting-to-stay-that-way\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/svjmedia.nl\\\/internationaljournalism\\\/20892\\\/berlin-isnt-just-queer-its-fighting-to-stay-that-way\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Maryam Suhail\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/svjmedia.nl\\\/internationaljournalism\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7b3edeeaccdf57aa11b6b8721018c58d\"},\"headline\":\"Berlin isn\u2019t Just Queer, It\u2019s Fighting to Stay That Way\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-24T09:48:13+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/svjmedia.nl\\\/internationaljournalism\\\/20892\\\/berlin-isnt-just-queer-its-fighting-to-stay-that-way\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":549,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/svjmedia.nl\\\/internationaljournalism\\\/20892\\\/berlin-isnt-just-queer-its-fighting-to-stay-that-way\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/svjmedia.nl\\\/internationaljournalism\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/378\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/tempImagegeTFHP-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Cultural Journalism\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/svjmedia.nl\\\/internationaljournalism\\\/20892\\\/berlin-isnt-just-queer-its-fighting-to-stay-that-way\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/svjmedia.nl\\\/internationaljournalism\\\/20892\\\/berlin-isnt-just-queer-its-fighting-to-stay-that-way\\\/\",\"name\":\"Berlin isn\u2019t Just Queer, It\u2019s Fighting to Stay That Way - International Journalism\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/svjmedia.nl\\\/internationaljournalism\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/svjmedia.nl\\\/internationaljournalism\\\/20892\\\/berlin-isnt-just-queer-its-fighting-to-stay-that-way\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/svjmedia.nl\\\/internationaljournalism\\\/20892\\\/berlin-isnt-just-queer-its-fighting-to-stay-that-way\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/svjmedia.nl\\\/internationaljournalism\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/378\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/tempImagegeTFHP-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-24T09:48:13+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/svjmedia.nl\\\/internationaljournalism\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7b3edeeaccdf57aa11b6b8721018c58d\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/svjmedia.nl\\\/internationaljournalism\\\/20892\\\/berlin-isnt-just-queer-its-fighting-to-stay-that-way\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/svjmedia.nl\\\/internationaljournalism\\\/20892\\\/berlin-isnt-just-queer-its-fighting-to-stay-that-way\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/svjmedia.nl\\\/internationaljournalism\\\/20892\\\/berlin-isnt-just-queer-its-fighting-to-stay-that-way\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/svjmedia.nl\\\/internationaljournalism\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/378\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/tempImagegeTFHP-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/svjmedia.nl\\\/internationaljournalism\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/378\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/tempImagegeTFHP-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1920},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/svjmedia.nl\\\/internationaljournalism\\\/20892\\\/berlin-isnt-just-queer-its-fighting-to-stay-that-way\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/svjmedia.nl\\\/internationaljournalism\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Berlin isn\u2019t Just Queer, It\u2019s Fighting to Stay That Way\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/svjmedia.nl\\\/internationaljournalism\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/svjmedia.nl\\\/internationaljournalism\\\/\",\"name\":\"International Journalism\",\"description\":\"HU School voor Journalistiek Nieuwssite\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/svjmedia.nl\\\/internationaljournalism\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/svjmedia.nl\\\/internationaljournalism\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7b3edeeaccdf57aa11b6b8721018c58d\",\"name\":\"Maryam Suhail\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/5800ba7ad9e08e4961f4726594c0ac4ab66426ceef9132ed4e62761ef6cf6977?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/5800ba7ad9e08e4961f4726594c0ac4ab66426ceef9132ed4e62761ef6cf6977?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/5800ba7ad9e08e4961f4726594c0ac4ab66426ceef9132ed4e62761ef6cf6977?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Maryam Suhail\"},\"description\":\"I am a student writer exploring journalism, nature and palaeontology, with an interest in how humans understand their world across time. My work explores how everyday life, identity and history shape the way people understand the world.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/svjmedia.nl\\\/internationaljournalism\\\/author\\\/maryam-suhail\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Berlin isn\u2019t Just Queer, It\u2019s Fighting to Stay That Way - International Journalism","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Berlin isn\u2019t Just Queer, It\u2019s Fighting to Stay That Way - International Journalism","og_description":"Berlin has been long framed as Europe\u2019s queer capital, a city associated with liberation, freedom and cultural experimentation, with VisitBerlin describing it as on of the most open and tolerant cities in the world. Major Events such as Christopher Street Day attract up to 750,000 participants autumnally in Berlin, and yet beneath this global reputation […]","og_url":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/20892\/berlin-isnt-just-queer-its-fighting-to-stay-that-way\/","og_site_name":"International Journalism","article_published_time":"2026-04-24T09:48:13+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1920,"url":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/378\/2026\/04\/tempImagegeTFHP-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Maryam Suhail","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Maryam Suhail","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/20892\/berlin-isnt-just-queer-its-fighting-to-stay-that-way\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/20892\/berlin-isnt-just-queer-its-fighting-to-stay-that-way\/"},"author":{"name":"Maryam Suhail","@id":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/#\/schema\/person\/7b3edeeaccdf57aa11b6b8721018c58d"},"headline":"Berlin isn\u2019t Just Queer, It\u2019s Fighting to Stay That Way","datePublished":"2026-04-24T09:48:13+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/20892\/berlin-isnt-just-queer-its-fighting-to-stay-that-way\/"},"wordCount":549,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/20892\/berlin-isnt-just-queer-its-fighting-to-stay-that-way\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/378\/2026\/04\/tempImagegeTFHP-scaled.jpg","articleSection":["Cultural Journalism"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/20892\/berlin-isnt-just-queer-its-fighting-to-stay-that-way\/","url":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/20892\/berlin-isnt-just-queer-its-fighting-to-stay-that-way\/","name":"Berlin isn\u2019t Just Queer, It\u2019s Fighting to Stay That Way - International Journalism","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/20892\/berlin-isnt-just-queer-its-fighting-to-stay-that-way\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/20892\/berlin-isnt-just-queer-its-fighting-to-stay-that-way\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/378\/2026\/04\/tempImagegeTFHP-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2026-04-24T09:48:13+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/#\/schema\/person\/7b3edeeaccdf57aa11b6b8721018c58d"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/20892\/berlin-isnt-just-queer-its-fighting-to-stay-that-way\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/20892\/berlin-isnt-just-queer-its-fighting-to-stay-that-way\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/20892\/berlin-isnt-just-queer-its-fighting-to-stay-that-way\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/378\/2026\/04\/tempImagegeTFHP-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/378\/2026\/04\/tempImagegeTFHP-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1920},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/20892\/berlin-isnt-just-queer-its-fighting-to-stay-that-way\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Berlin isn\u2019t Just Queer, It\u2019s Fighting to Stay That Way"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/#website","url":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/","name":"International Journalism","description":"HU School voor Journalistiek Nieuwssite","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/#\/schema\/person\/7b3edeeaccdf57aa11b6b8721018c58d","name":"Maryam Suhail","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5800ba7ad9e08e4961f4726594c0ac4ab66426ceef9132ed4e62761ef6cf6977?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5800ba7ad9e08e4961f4726594c0ac4ab66426ceef9132ed4e62761ef6cf6977?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5800ba7ad9e08e4961f4726594c0ac4ab66426ceef9132ed4e62761ef6cf6977?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Maryam Suhail"},"description":"I am a student writer exploring journalism, nature and palaeontology, with an interest in how humans understand their world across time. My work explores how everyday life, identity and history shape the way people understand the world.","url":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/author\/maryam-suhail\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20892","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4155"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20892"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20892\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20899,"href":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20892\/revisions\/20899"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}