German conservative politicians are jumping on the GOP'S "culture wars" bandwagon
Members of CDU and CSU have been cozying up to Republican narratives - and in some cases, like Andreas Scheuer and his CSU delegation, actual Republicans like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis
There has been a shift in the last couple of weeks. While conservatives in Germany have long held anti-LGBTQ views, they had not copied the exact same narrative and lies on trans people and Drag Queens yet. But they have always looked across the pond for inspiration. German politicians of the CDU (The Christian Democratic Union) have been throwing around the word “woke” for months now, as a re-appropriated buzzword to mark everything they view as ridiculous on the left: anti-racism, inclusive language, sexual and reproductive freedom, after attempts by conservative writers to copy the “Critical Race Theory” moral panic largely failed (probably because Germany has not yet come to terms with its own racism, let alone what terms like “whiteness” even mean).
But German conservatives - including elected politicians - are onto a shiny new thing now: Smearing Drag Queens. Two years ago, I wrote a book called “Amerikas Gotteskrieger” (America’s Godly/Holy Warriors) on the history, culture, and political influence of the Religious Right in the US. In the chapter “Culture Wars - Streams of Blood”, I detail the attacks on Drag Queen Story Hour, whipped up by right-wing media outlets and conservative influencers. During these events, usually held in public libraries, Drag Queens read to children - from children’s books, sometimes, they do arts and crafts together afterwards. It is meant to show different gender expressions, be fun and a good time for the kids and further understanding and tolerance.
The Right has used these events and tried to smear them as inherently sexual, where kids are preyed upon and indoctrinated by predatory sexual deviants that snatch them away from the loving arms of their parents, to turn them gay or trans or queer (conservatives are unsure of what they “turn”, but considering they believe it is outside of traditional gender norms, they are losing their minds). This is built on the narrativ of queerness as fundamentally depraved and perverted, of queer people as sexual predators.
In Munich, the CSU, AfD and even the SPD have tried to smear a Drag reading for kids as “sexualization” of children, Hubert Aiwanger (“Freie Wähler), deputy prime minister of Bavaria told the conservative outlet WELT:
“This is child endangerment and a case for the youth welfare office, not cosmopolitanism as the Greens trivialize it”.
Former CDU Secretary of Education, Kristina Schröder, told right-wing tabloid BILD that sexuality
“is not something we adults are allowed to bring to children on our own!"
Meanwhile, former head of the CDU’s youth organisation, “Junge Union”, Tilmann Kuban directed hatred and vitriol towards a daycare centre who had announced that in order to respect all kinds of families, “Mother’s Day” would not be celebrated as such in their facility. Kuban posted the letter - including the day care’s contact information and letterhead - and tweeted:
“The Insanity knows no bounds”
After heavy criticism, Kuban took down the tweet and reposted the image of the letter with the contact information blocked out - but it was already too late. Hate was raining down on the facility’s educators.
Kuban’s digital pillory worked: The day care - which belongs to the diocese Fulda - was flooded with hateful comments, and responded with a response that caved to the threats and pressure, which stated that the kindergarten:
"continues to have a Catholic profile and will advocate for the Christian image of the family, which includes the role of father and mother."
In the US, politicians and right-wing media personalities regularly set their base onto institutions from schools to restaurants, which they deem to strain from the path of White Christian nationalism - which includes a strict binary world view, and uses “family” as code for a married, heterosexual cis couple with children. Anything that deviates from this line, in their eyes, is a threat to the “natural” order and must therefore be squashed.
Granted, Kuban setting up the day care to be harassed by right-wingers is still some degrees removed from Fox news and right-wing extremist influencers causing bomb threats to be sent to children’s hospitals, but it is not too far off. In both cases, the underlying argument for singling out those who seek to care for or include those who belong to marginalized groups - or simply do not adhere to traditional, White Christian nationalist gender roles, is that they pose a threat to what these people see as the fundamental structure of society: The Christian, heteronormative family, where everyone is assigned to a strict place in the gender binary and adheres to the traditional roles expected of them.
Given the recent visit of Florida by a CSU delegation lead by former Secretary of Transportation Andreas Scheuer, this turn bodes not well for the approach parts of the conservative spectrum seem to have taken - or how they see the Republican Party: Not as a threat to democracy but an example to be studied and copied. Asked by t-online about DeSantis draconian anti-LGBTQ views and laws passed by the Florida legislature, Scheuer declared that he endorsed them.
Dark days lie ahead.