People from Saxony who have to experience (multiple) discrimination share their view of nightlife here in literary contributions and testimonials.
"I am looking for a person who understands my language and speaks it himself. A person who, without being an outcast, questions not only simply the rights and rights of existence of those who are cast aside, but also the meaning and purpose of those who claim to be normal." - Xavier Dolan
I wish for new idols. I wish for renewed self-evidence.
The crisis
Even when we had not yet completely outgrown our children's bodies, the looks followed us and promised an unfree future. The adults warned: "You shall not go with strangers (...)". Later the phrases were replaced - they became demands - : "Don't wear this, don't wear that (...), don't go home alone." The whistles and exclamations that shout at us in spring echo until autumn, and even the thick fur of winter cannot free us.
Crammed into the decision between man and woman, between male and female, between attractive or unattractive, between defiant or submissive, between normal and abnormal. Whether a shopping trip, at the supermarket, a trip to the lake or a walk at dusk - nothing is just casual - no everyday life free of judgment. No everyday life without thinking along the danger, the concrete danger of a (sexual) assault, an act of violence or discrimination.
Dangers from which it seems impossible to protect oneself, because there, too, not only the responsibility but also the power lies with the perpetrators. With the perpetrators. Every Flinta person seems to have to be ready to face the stranglehold of patriarchy at any moment.
Now there is not only in Leipzig, but in many places, the so-called safer space. Not all Safer Spaces deserve this title, but in some clubs and locations it finally seems possible to combine hedonism and safety. There are flinta events where, at least statistically, the likelihood of experiencing harassment decreases. There are queer events where the creation of one's own self-evident truths might finally come to an end. And there are friendships that may, at some point, drown out the echoes of experience and, if not, at least make them more bearable.
The utopian safe places are not free of the crisis, however; it does not disappear when a club raises the rainbow flag, an awarness team stumbles through the club and corresponding house rules apply. Open questions line up in an unanswered chain: Where to put all the perpetrators once we have canceled them all? Yes, in the leftist scene and also in the techno scene there have been more outcallings, sanctions, house bans in recent years. And yes, perpetrators have no business in our clubs, on our decks and on our stages! But where do they go and how much control can there be over the processing? Are we ultimately pushing female perpetrators into venues without awareness teams? Without a feminist self-image? They do not disappear, but remain part of this society - as solutions I can only think of compromises that I do not want to make.
According to which "new" criteria may a person enter the club in order to exclude female perpetrators? Will we reject everything supposedly male in the future? People's gender cannot be read off from them. People cannot be identified as perpetrators. Nevertheless, admission to the club is based on a superficial analysis of an individual decision of different people, their background and their personal history.
Who can feel safe and under what circumstances? The boundaries of persons are diverse. Likewise, the circumstances under which people can unfold, feel safe, or are safe vary. Even when concepts of mindfulness and consensus take hold and the club promises a refuge for a few hours, problems return on the way home. Sometimes with ridiculous brutality: the pursuer who is not deterred by the loud, feigned phone call. The fascists on the train. The drunken group, around the corner, from whose collective mouth, with every passing, an insolence is spewed onto the street.
Our news is full of these reports, the way home, its planning, and how one incident can ruin the longest and most beautiful night. Then it's like waking up from a beautiful dream - but - when does it become reality?
Part of the crisis is the invisibilization of all discrimination that goes beyond the problematic situations of white cis women. Yes, even the invisibilization of the mere existence of persons who are not heterosexual and do not fit into the binary system. While intersectional experiences are increasingly discussed, they continue to be staged as individual cases. The processes of invisibilization take hold in clubs, on the streets, and through all our institutions; naming them is the first step.
A big part of our activist work is therefore to make visible ALL experiences that reach us, to acknowledge them in their diversity without hierarchizing them. By writing the experiences that are sent to us on the street with chalk, we also make clear the omnipresence of e.g. gender-specific discrimination. The chalkings in the places where it happens can show: It happens, every day, always, everywhere.
We protest and say: this is wrong, this is not right, this is not accepted by us. It is not normal that we are already taught to live in discrimination. It is not normal that we have to be afraid. It is not normal that we have to protect ourselves. It is not normal to live in the stranglehold of patriarchy and have to free ourselves every day.
People see the creeds on the street and the experiences of those affected find a concrete expression, a place. The system to be fought becomes visible and is carried from the street into households, into families and circles of friends, into milieus that all too often ignore those who are pushed aside. Only through this process can reflections and discussions be opened. Only through visibility is networking and self-empowerment possible.
Through each exchange it becomes clearer that we are dealing with a social problem, that solidarity is the least we can do, and that we all have a responsibility to fight patriarchy. We are not alone. No one- should be left behind.
About me: I am a freelance artist, performer and writer in Leipzig. Before moving to Leipzig, I was active in the Horstklub in Kreuzlingen for many years. I have co-organized a few events in Leipzig and performed in different venues, including Mjut, Werk 2 and Ilses Erika. At CatcallsofLpz I've been part of the core team since the beginning, in 2020 - our group and work means an unspeakable amount to me and has given me a lot of strength. One of the nicest compliments I've ever received is: You master the perfect balancing act between avangard and kitsch. I am chaotic, angry, tender and radical.
My favorite artist:
A favorite artist? Impossible! From early punk to dark wave, from art-pop to techno via hip-hop, there is a lot.
The Knife, Tooth Paint, FKA Twigs, Tocotronic, Hildegard Knef, Joy Division, the Paranoyds, Soko and Kraftwerk - probably sums it up best.
I never go party without:
Standard: Sunglasses, swivel kit, cell phone, keys, mask, pocket alarm (but also like to forget some of it)
A successful night is for me:
- An Awareness Team!
- Few Mackers: A pleasant audience with whom I feel safe and am.
- If the music is varied, well-timed and I like it (lots of dancing)
- If there is room for different states of mind: a nice dance floor, maybe more stages with a different vibe, seating, niches, etc.
- Cheap drinks (optional)
- when I had charming moments with myself and others close to me
- When I go home feeling warm or a little chipper.
- Sometimes just a rancid adventure is enough
My favorite location or event in Saxony: E4, Unterschall, Hunger
Instagram: @catcallsofLpz@cyclotronfrequency@abgruende_
