This CSD was marked by a noticeably large number of young people. They were out and about in small groups, often wrapped in flags, their faces painted in rainbow colors, and informed themselves at the stands. The graduate psychologist Christopher Knoll explains why young people are now taking to the streets.
SZ: Mr. Knoll, why were so many young people there this year?
Christopher Knoll: We see the desire of young people to live in a world that functions according to fair rules. And she shares that with the LGBTIQ community. This generation has understood that we can only solve the world’s problems together, climate change as well as homophobia and transphobia.
The graduate psychologist Christopher Knoll has been working as a consultant for Munich Aids Help and at Sub, the gay communication and cultural center on Müllerstrasse, for almost 30 years.
(Photo: Susi Knoll)
So it’s not just the desire to go out and party? Has the younger generation become more political?
That certainly applies to many young people. They no longer accept the elderly way of life. This can also be seen in the popularity of Fridays for Future. The young people recognize where there is a need for action.
And the older generation?
There are now many organized groups, not just lesbians and gays. The community is also faced with the challenge of becoming more inclusive, bringing these different groups together and supporting one another. We all have to become LGBTIQ, so to speak, especially in old age.
Older homosexuals know hostility because of their otherness. Some do not want to be recognized at work or by neighbors. Where do young people get their courage to show themselves from?
It cannot be said that young people have no homophobia experience. School in particular is definitely a place where homophobia is experienced just as it is omnipresent in our society. The expression “gay pig” is part of the youth language. But yes, the young people are brave, more politicized and they dream of another world. And rightly so. You don’t want to be dissuaded from that either.
At the CSD there were many young allies, i.e. supporters. They are visible with their own flag: black and white striped and an A in the rainbow colors.
This is exactly what shows how much young people feel that there is a need for change. They do not want to grow into a world that they see in the generation of their parents and grandparents: with clear role models, with hatred and efforts to separate themselves.
So you want to break up the role models of the parents. But getting married and having children is definitely a dream of young people? Isn’t that a contradiction?
Homophobia correlates with religiosity, traditional masculinity norms and the frequency of contact. The more young people overcome traditional gender roles and are in contact with others and less religiously bound, the less likely they are to be homophobic.
What could of the Schools Against Exclusion Are Done?
There is, for example, the city’s educational institute, which organizes city tours for classes, among other things. Among other things, they come to us at the Sub and see how such a gay center works and why it even exists. This is a good way to go. The city of Munich tries very hard to counter homophobic tendencies.
For example with the rainbow lighting in the arena. When will homosexual footballers be able to show themselves?
For a sport that is so dependent on sponsorship money that only wants streamlined advertising media, I have little hope. One can only hope that the walls of the IOC and Uefa will also shake the youth.