PROUT EMPLOYER Infineon Technologies AG
“I am striving to live and promote the value of diversity in my direct area of responsibility, but do not shy away from supporting beyond that.”
Raphael joined Infineon in May 2016 as a Senior Expert for Ethical Hacking and Incident Management. Before joining Infineon, he worked as a Security Consultant for various national and international companies. In 2017 Raphael took over his first management role at Infineon setting up the Cyber Defense Center as a global team. In 2020 he then took over as Head of the Cyber Security team – in June 2023 the role has been extended to cover all security topics as Head of the newly merged Cyber & Corporate Security teams. Raphael was always part of multinational teams and companies which he enjoyed a lot.
Raphael graduated from University of Tübingen in 2013, where he studied Computer Science. He is married and has two children, lives in Munich but was born in Baden-Wuerttemberg. Fun Fact: His swabian is as bad as his “Hochdeutsch” ;).
You were immediately ready for an interview – thank you again
for that! Why is it important for you to support queer topics?
Raphael Otto: Diversity in all dimensions, being it gender, nationality, physical / mental ability or sexual orientation just to name a few, is very close to my heart. I believe that as a society we benefit from different perspectives. I also believe that as an employer we have a responsibility when it comes to living and promoting our values. I am striving to live and promote the value of diversity in my direct area of responsibility, but do not shy away from supporting beyond that. So, when I was asked if I would be available as a sponsor to our LGBT* & Friends Community, I felt very honored and agreed immediately.
What initiative related to equal opportunities for queer people was successful at Infineon?
Raphael Otto: In June, during Pride Month, Infineon participated in several pride parades (e.g. Munich) to show support and raise awareness for the LGBTQIA+ community, their history, culture and ongoing work for equal opportunities. The very positive feedback we received from our employees and external stakeholders has shown that our commitment is well received and motivates us to continue with our support for LGBTQIA+.
What are your wishes and goals in your role as sponsor for the Infineon LGBT* & Friends community?
Raphael Otto: While the LGBT* & Friends Community already achieved a lot, we are still in the beginning of a journey here at Infineon. My wish is to support the community by providing advice, visibility and hands-on support during various activities and events. In particular I want to support the colleagues when addressing LGBTQIA+ inclusion globally. As we are a globally operating company, we face the reality of different levels of awareness and acceptance of LGBTQIA+ issues which can be challenging for our internal community. I hope I can help with that and advocate for them.
How do you react when people question the importance of
queer inclusion?
Raphael Otto: As for every dimension of diversity and inclusion I am typically trying to listen to the argumentation behind the reservation first. I will challenge the arguments highlighting the importance of diversity for successful teams and the need for all humans to feel a sense of belonging and acceptance in society and of course in the workplace. I make clear that everyone wants to be accepted as they are and that this is a human right which should not be questioned.
What motivated Infineon to become a PROUT EMPLOYER and
what would Infineon like to see in this cooperation?
Raphael Otto: At Infineon, we want to offer a workplace where everyone is accepted, feels a sense of belonging and can bring their authentic self to work. Participating in the PROUT EMPLOYER Program is a great chance for us to express our commitment to Diversity & Inclusion and to further increase our knowledge about how to support Infineon’s LGBTQIA+ members as a PROUT EMPLOYER. We are very happy about the cooperation with PROUT AT WORK, which will accompany us with their expertise to create the best Infineon for people of any sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.
Dear Raphael Otto, thank you very much for the interview!
MYSTORY with …
marit
60 years, ludwigsburg
“Trans* is something wonderful – this sentence sums up what I call gender euphoria.”
Published: January 2024
There are many coming out stories and for most trans* people they are amazingly similar, even though we all have very individual paths. That’s why I don’t want to go into my various coming-out stories.
I am 60 years old and have been living openly as a woman for almost four years – 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. My environment had to experience this quite abruptly. Apart from my partner and a few trusted people, nobody was prepared. Nevertheless, hardly anything changed for anyone when I suddenly walked out the door as a woman. Here I would like to describe what inspired me on my journey and what brought my life out of the gray area.
Trans* is something wonderful – this sentence sums up what I call gender euphoria.
My first appearance as a woman at a seminar group meeting was a big moment for me. Apart from a brief email, I hadn’t let anyone know about my change beforehand. As I hadn’t seen some of the participants for a while, not everyone recognized me straight away – but I felt the same way. I was initially taken aback, but then the ice was broken and the unanimous opinion was that the ladies present (including me) had held up better than the more or less aged men. When I was accepted into the group of women as a matter of course, it was clear that I had arrived in my own world.
Hormone therapy wasn’t actually my goal, but I didn’t want to lose my hair, so I agreed to replace testosterone with oestrogen. What I didn’t know was that it wasn’t just my body that would change and suddenly become sensitive to cold and less strong. I was also suddenly able to perceive and allow my feelings. Sometimes I stood in the kitchen and had tears in my eyes for no external reason – with happiness that all this was still possible for me, which I would never have expected before. Later, there were also sad occasions to cry, such as goodbyes or broken friendships.
Self-confidence was never my thing as a man. Why should I be, I was a creature that wasn’t at peace with myself. I was always defensive, afraid of making mistakes or embarrassing myself. I was almost invisible because of my caution.
As a woman, I now have the courage to do things, make decisions and accept help. Why? What could happen if something goes wrong? After all, I am a human being with strengths and weaknesses and I am allowed to make mistakes, but also to be successful.
This was most noticeable at work. My colleagues accepted me, even though I often went out on a limb and sometimes had to back down.
Are women at a disadvantage compared to men at work? Yes, and this is mainly due to structural reasons rather than differences in personality. Nevertheless, as a late-career woman with a male socialization, I always automatically see the (working) world from two perspectives. On the one hand, I know the “typical male” behavioral patterns such as competitive thinking or fear of failure and can adapt to them. On the other hand, in recent years I have developed “typically female” characteristics such as communication skills, empathy and a willingness to cooperate, and I consciously use these to achieve the respective team goal. It never ceases to amaze me that I am much more effective in my working environment as a woman than I was previously in my imposed male role.
An important prerequisite for my transition was the support I received from my employer. The management’s statement in favor of diversity and against discrimination allowed me to embark on my journey without any existential fears. However, I received hardly any support with the practical implementation. I had to work out every step myself and obtain the necessary information. I also had no role models in my working environment apart from a colleague in the queer company network who had managed to change her first name.
I wanted to improve this situation and started offering online training sessions on the topic of transgender and also wrote a company guide. My presentations are now well attended and contribute to the visibility of transgender issues in the workplace. They bring the topic out of the dark taboo corner. We have received a lot of positive feedback on our transgender guide and an English-language version is due to be published soon. Volunteers have already come forward to translate it into other national languages.
Positive visibility has increasingly become a matter close to my heart. There is already enough negative visibility for trans* people and I want to do something about it.
So I started to offer my experience in the corporate environment as a consulting service for other companies. However, visibility or reach is crucial in online business and I still have a lot to achieve in this area. My new project has potential, but still has a long way to go.
I would like to conclude my thoughts with a personal experience that has shown me that I am on the right path. A few weeks ago, I saw an attractive woman through a window in a building with lots of glass. Only the upper half of her face was visible and she maintained intense eye contact. I immediately liked her and wanted to reach out and speak to her. As I started to move, I realized that I already knew her. This woman was me – reflected in the window glass at dusk.
There are many beautiful, small and big events and developments on my path – just like on the path of all other trans* people. I would like to share this here in order to focus on the positive in these difficult times.
dear marit, thank you very much for YourStory!
MYSTORY mit …
julia
29 Jahre, düsseldorf
„sich über erlebnisse, Gedanken, empfindungen, gefühle und wahrnehmungen auszutauschen und dabei eine verbindung zu menschen zu spüren, ist ein aspekt von vielfalt, auch geschlechtlicher vielfalt, den ich sehr wertvoll finde.”
Veröffentlicht: Dezember 2023
Zuerst ein paar Fakten über mich: Ich bin 29 Jahre alt, trans* und lebe seit etwas mehr als fünf Jahren als Frau. Aufgewachsen bin ich in einer Kleinstadt in Süddeutschland, wohne aber nach einigen Stationen hier und da mittlerweile in Düsseldorf. Dort arbeite ich bei einem Versicherungsunternehmen als Aktuarin und bin im LGBTIQ+ Mitarbeitenden-Netzwerk aktiv.
Als Aktuarin beschäftige ich mich viel mit Formeln und Zahlen. Ich setze mich zum Beispiel mittels mathematisch-statistischer Methoden mit der Modellierung, Bewertung und Steuerung von Risiken auseinander – bin also ziemlich rational im Job unterwegs. Gleichzeitig freue ich mich als Teil des LGBTIQ+ Netzwerks über jeden Austausch mit Menschen, um Gedanken, Gefühle und Perspektiven besser verstehen zu können, insbesondere zu Themen aus dem Bereich DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) und LGBTIQ+. Daraus können viele Ideen und Verständnis entstehen und ein gemeinsames, inklusives Miteinander wachsen. Beide Seiten der Arbeit machen mir viel Spaß!
Im Umgang mit geschlechtlicher Vielfalt am Arbeitsplatz stehen für mich folgende Fragen im Fokus:
- Schweigt man über einen wichtigen Teil der eigenen Identität oder kann man offen damit umgehen?
- Kann man ein authentisches Selbst mit der Welt, den Mitmenschen und den Personen im Arbeitsumfeld teilen?
- Wird man angenommen, wie man ist?
- Funktioniert der Arbeitsplatz als System für eine Person?
- Wird inklusiv mit Personen, Identitäten und ihren verschiedenen Bedürfnissen umgegangen?
Es geht um die Fragen: Wer bin ich? Wer möchte ich sein? Und dann auch: Kann ich diese Person am Arbeitsplatz sein? Diese Fragen sind sehr tiefgreifend. Das zu erkunden und herauszufinden war ein langer Weg für mich, der auch nie wirklich zu Ende sein wird, denke ich. Ein essenzieller Teil meines Weges waren die Menschen, die ich um mich hatte.
Für mich ist meine Identität als Frau, mein trans* Sein, mein Hier und Jetzt auch stark mit Menschen verbunden: mit meiner Schwester; mit Freundschaften, die mich schon lange begleiten; mit Menschen, die sichtbar waren und Raum eingenommen haben. Sie haben mir das Gefühl gegeben, die Freiheit zu haben, mich ausprobieren zu können, ohne dafür verurteilt zu werden.
Sie haben manche Fragen gestellt, aber gleichzeitig oftmals keine Fragen gestellt und mein Sein sich einen Weg bahnen lassen. Das Gefühl, wenn sich etwas richtig anfühlt, ist unglaublich erfüllend und überwältigend. Dieses Gefühl musste ich zulassen können. Mit diesen Menschen habe ich viele dieser Momente zusammen erleben dürfen: gemeinsam Sport zu machen, den eigenen Körper wahrzunehmen und eine Beziehung dazu aufzubauen, den Körper als Medium des Ausdrucks zu nutzen, zu tanzen; Kleidung, Make-Up, Musik und Kunst als Interaktion mit der Außenwelt zu sehen und zu nutzen. In ihrer Vielfalt können sie so viel ausdrücken: Freude, Freiheit, Stärke und das Gefühl, die Welt umarmen zu wollen – aber genauso Ruhe, Schwäche, Trauer und das Gefühl, sich unter einer Decke verkriechen zu wollen. All das hat eine Dynamik in sich, die mir sehr viel gegeben und mir geholfen hat, die Fragen „Wer bin ich? Und wer möchte ich sein?“ zu erkunden.
Dabei führe ich gern Gespräche auf einer sehr menschlichen Ebene, die etwas Verbindendes ist, ohne dass man sich lange kennt. Menschlichkeit zu spüren und sich zuzuhören kann viel verändern: Man wird sich besser der eigenen Perspektive bewusst und erkennt auch eigene Privilegien. Gleichzeitig erweitert man die eigene Perspektive und sieht auch die Zusammenhänge und systemischen Aspekte. Sich über Erlebnisse, Gedanken, Empfindungen, Gefühle und Wahrnehmungen auszutauschen und dabei eine Verbindung zu Menschen zu spüren, ist ein Aspekt von Vielfalt, auch geschlechtlicher Vielfalt, den ich sehr wertvoll finde.
Liebe julia, vielen Dank für YourStory!
MYSTORY with …
emre
32 years, berlin
“when people ask me how i achieved my success, i answer that it is based on my experiences with trauma.”
Published: December 2023
When I came out to my single mother at the time, she didn’t know what to make of it because she was unfamiliar with same-sex partnerships. After a few attempts to explain, she simply said: “Emre, all your life you’ve known how to tell the good from the bad and always take the right path. If this way of life is right for you, then I’ll support you.” That really was one of the best moments of my life and strengthened the bond between my mother and me. Because it wasn’t always easy …
I didn’t get my A-levels, but after graduating from secondary school, I completed my intermediate school leaving certificate and then trained as a personnel services manager. While working, I completed further training to become a business administrator and thus gained admission to university. Happily, I rocked both my Bachelor of Law and my Master of Science in HR alongside my job.
Studying and working a bit on the side wasn’t an option for me as I didn’t have the financial security. So the only option for me was a full-time job, which I supplemented with studying in the evenings and at weekends.
I didn’t have much free time back then, but it had always been my lifelong dream to study. From my perspective at the time, I always associated studying with a privilege for people from a good family background with a corresponding financial background.
In my life, ethnic discrimination meant that I was told at school, for example, that I wouldn’t have many opportunities because of my ‘background’. Unfortunately, I also dropped out of two apprenticeships because I experienced extreme forms of classism and homophobia due to my poverty and non-binary background. Today, I work at Google, live an openly non-binary life, work as an anti-discrimination expert and have received several awards. I speak as an expert to ministries and the world’s largest corporations.
When people ask me how I have achieved my success, I answer that it is based on my experiences with trauma. In our society, you have to be exceptional to be allowed to exist, and I have learned to deal with that.
I am also a passionate soccer player. During my time in Munich, I played in Germany’s first gay soccer team and got involved in LGBTQIA+ in sport. Most recently, I founded the association ‘WeSpeakYouDonate’, which campaigns for diversity, and ‘Occtopus’. Occtopus is a company that develops children’s games to uncover prejudices and stereotypes in children and parents. I am also a content creator on LinkedIn and run my own YouTube channel ‘Emres Pink Pillow’.
Giving up was never an option for me. I kept motivating myself and just kept going.
dear emre, thank you very much for YourStory!
MYSTORY with …
anastasia
49 years, berlin
“my visible expression as gender non-conforming does not take away my womanhood.”
Published: November 2023
I don’t really know when my conscious and arduous journey to myself began. I’m not even sure if that’s the crucial point for this story. When I look back on my life today, I realize that I need and want to make a distinction between the journey towards me as a transgender woman and my life as a trans* woman. This distinction is important to me personally, because life after coming out in 2015 has shaped me as a trans* and queer person much more than anything before.
At the age of 17, I found myself in my mother’s closet and felt something inexplicable.
I became more and more certain that I was not the man the world saw in me and treated me as such. However I couldn’t and didn’t want to deal with these feelings. I pushed back my true identity and forced myself into the classic heteronormative patterns. I married my first wife in my mid-twenties. At that time, I was already a soldier in the German army. I was drafted in 1994 and then decided to become an officer. My life was shaped by two institutions that both saw me as a man and always expected me to be. I was good at suppressing my needs. The lack of trans* role models in society reinforced my need to actively work against my inner self. Shame and disgust towards myself were my constant companions.
I finally broke this pattern in 2015. I couldn’t go on and I didn’t want to. It wasn’t courage, it was desperation. I finally wanted to live. I wanted to be me. This step marked the beginning of the second phase. During the transition, I realized that I could be me, but that this path was also marked by obstacles and a society that was not always accepting. I wanted to be visible to other trans* people. I wanted to be a point of reference for others and I wanted to tell my story. This thought awakened an incredible amount of strength in me. I got more and more involved and slowly became an activist for trans* and queer rights – both in my workplace and outside of society.
I continued to fight against externally determined attributions and role expectations of my outwardly lived, female gender. I have had enough of being constantly judged by how feminine I appear to others.
Which attributes on me, on my body, confirm me as a woman in the perception of others and which give an indication of my non-cis nature. I am happy to have finally reached the point where I no longer need confirmation from others. For years, the feeling of not being able to exist outwardly as a woman has held me back in my identity. And my non-conformity, my visible expression as gender non-conforming, does not take away my womanhood.
I’m Anastasia, 49, colorful, loud and queer. I’m a unicorn in camouflage and I fight to the utmost for the cause I believe in. Revolution instead of evolution.
dear anastasia, thank you very much for YourStory!
MYSTORY with …
duke
28 years, hamburg
“sometimes i wonder if i’m not too ‘boring’ for someone queer.”
Published: November 2023
I’m Duke, actually Aaron Duke, but everyone knows me as Duke. The name Aaron comes from my parents. Since I am a trans* man, I was allowed to choose my first names anew and it was important to me that my parents give me my first name again. I am 28, born in Germany and have Chinese roots.
At the age of 17, I found myself in my mother’s closet and felt something inexplicable.
I didn’t know what was wrong with me for a very long time. I was always different and was one of those people who tried everything to belong. When I was 14, I decided to cut off my hair, buy clothes from the boys’ section and finally be more myself. But even that was really difficult. I realized I was a man, but wondered what makes a man and what men are supposed to be like?
I got lost in a wave of toxic masculinity. Wanted to be strong, wanted to be big, wanted to be a man. Am I a man now? People misgendered me, didn’t understand what I wanted to portray, judged and ridiculed me – I just wanted to be a man.
A man does not cry, a man is not weak, a man does not put on makeup. I had many moments before my transition when I tried to wear makeup. The thought of wearing makeup or nail polish faded more and more with my transition. I am now a man and everyone sees it that way. But are only women allowed to wear makeup? Are only women allowed to wear colorful and glittery things? I have to be honest, I already feel more comfortable in my nondescript, mostly dark clothes. I probably wouldn’t feel comfortable in a dress or with fancy eye shadow. But why not? Why are only women allowed to do that? Why do I feel uncomfortable with it? Because men don’t do that? Because men are always denied that? Because we are ridiculed? Because we are then crazy and unserious?
I continued to fight against externally determined attributions and role expectations of my outwardly lived, female gender. I have had enough of being constantly judged by how feminine I appear to others.
I’m 28, on testosterone for six years. Breast and uterus removal four years ago. Arrived at my self a few years ago. And yet, my self-discovery is not over.
dear duke, thank you very much for YourStory!
MYSTORY with …
Mano
Berlin
“To Tell the truth, I never came out because i was never hidden in the closet.”
Published: October 2023
There are certainly a multitude of people and events that have marked, educated, shocked and inspired me. My parents and my family are my primary role models. Fortunately, they tought me essential basics such as courage, respect and humility. They nurtured the roots on which I can grow. My parents certainly knew about my homosexuality before me, but they never asked me the question. Out of modesty, fear or respect, I don’t know. Anyway, I like to think it’s out of love. To tell the truth, I never came out because I was never hidden in the closet.
I knew at a very young age that I was different from others, by my physical appearance, my origins and also my attraction to boys.
I am very lucky to have a loving and respectful family. I would like other less fortunate people to access better possibilities.
Today as Doctor of Pharmacy I work at Parexel International as project director for compassionate programs. These programs provide patients with serious or life-threatening conditions access to unapproved products when no comparable alternative treatment options exist – while ensuring patient safety and superior delivery.
I identify as queer and believe that a diverse, equitable and inclusive world leads to better outcomes for and with everyone. It expands access to better health care, creates opportunities and expands human rights for traditionally underrepresented patient groups.
Most if not all clinical trials focus on male/female behaviors against drugs for purposes of safety and efficacy and to better dose patients. Failure to collect gender identity information means that there may be certain diseases, conditions and risk factors that we are not aware of. Unfortunately, traditional study structures, the templates we use for protocols and informed consent documents, and the data we collect are often designed in ways that do not address the specific needs and demographics of the transgender community.
Our priority commitment to patients must motivate us to recruit a diverse group of patients that represent our society. Indeed, we develop methods, trainings and documents to promote and improve the enrollment of LGBT*IQ patients in clinical drug trials and compassionate programs. There is a need to educate healthcare professionals to encourage diverse patients to participate in clinical trials, including transgender and non-binary people.
We need trust and respect of transgender and non-binary communities towards their healthcare professional in the context of clinical research.
DEAR mano, Thank you very much for YourStory!
MYSTORY with …
alex
34 Years, fRANKFURT
“It was Black trans* women who educated me about
our community’s history and present, the privilege
of being queer in Europe and about the long
way we have to go to eradicate discrimination…”
Published: September 2023
Privileges, Education & Coming outs.
I struggled to sit down and write this. It often feels like I don’t have something meaningful to share, but when it comes to my coming out story, it also feels like it was just super uneventful. It is a super privileged position unavailable to many members of our community who have to fear for their safety if they come out. I wish for all members of our LGBTQIA2S+ community to have uneventful coming outs and possibly even no need at all for coming out in the future.
When I was 15 years old, I realized I was bi. I cared more about Xena, Warrior Princess and her soulmate situation with Gabrielle than I did about whatever straight girls my age were supposed to care about. I was attracted to men and women and didn’t know at the time that the gender spectrum held many more beautiful expressions.
Today, I would describe myself as pan or omni if we must have a label – to me, I’m simply queer.
I’m not attracted to only one gender identity. I just didn’t know because there wasn’t a lot of queer representation back in 2003.The L Word came out in 2004, and while it hasn’t aged well and is not a great example of an intersectional approach, it changed my world at the time, as did The L Word podcast.
I told my mom very soon and it wasn’t a big deal. Mostly because she’s super tolerant, but also because it probably didn’t feel real. I’d never had a boyfriend or girlfriend when I lived at home.
But I must have been worried about her reaction because I kept my first girlfriend a secret. I like to think that this wasn’t just because of her gender but also because we met online, had not met in person as there was an ocean between us and I associated the whole situation with shame. I was 19 and left Germany to move in with my Canadian girlfriend in Brighton, a queer hotspot in Europe. We broke up after 6 months, and I think to this day, most of my family and friends thought she was a roommate. My second relationship was with a man. No coming out needed there, everyone knew him as my boyfriend.
The queer community remained a fixture in my life. Most of my friends and housemates were queer, I had fallen in love with the art of drag and went to every show that I could. I owe a lot to the queer community; they have helped me overcome whatever was holding me back from normalizing my own queerness while I was celebrating everyone else’s. They have shown me how to accept myself, how to fight for my community, how to exist in a world that assumed everyone is straight. It was black trans* women who educated me about our community’s history and present, the privilege of being queer in Europe, in a queer city, and about the long way we have to go to eradicate discrimination for ALL the beautiful members of our community who face violence and discrimination for simply living the life they were born to live. I was an ignorant 20-year-old and have been educated by their kindness and their fights. I wish I could say that I educated myself – I did, in later years – but that initial education was done by the people most marginalized in our society, and I owe them so much. I became an activist for queer and women’s rights and continue learning to this day. Although there is still a long way to go, one of the biggest achievements of our community is this: An elder trans* woman (she allowed me to say that) said to me last year, “Finally, trans* people can have a future! When I grew up, there simply was no representation and only the threat of dying young. I didn’t know I would be happy; that simply wasn’t in the cards. Today, trans* kids can see a future; we have trans* actors and actresses, athletes, politicians, ordinary couples who are happy.” That being said, we both agree that a lot remains to be done to ensure a safe future for trans* kids and adults.
I met the woman who would become my wife in 2012. We were colleagues first and then close friends for years before our friendship turned into love. It seems to be an unwritten rule that whenever two women are colleagues, not married, and hang out, they must have an affair. At least that was the rumour at work long before we developed romantic feelings for each other. I remember when we went to the cinema, it was the hot topic at work in certain gossip circles for a whole week. Sometimes rumors got back to me about sightings of us doing suspicious things like drinking coffee and sometimes these rumors were even completely made-up.
People were talking about us being together long before we were together, so when we started dating, we didn’t tell anyone but two friends at work. We just “were.”
Same with my mom. She immediately clocked that we were together, and that was that. I just walked through the world, normalizing the fact that I had a girlfriend who then became my wife, and most people respond in kind. I’ve been privileged enough to be working at a diversity-aware company when I fell in love with her, and when I switched companies, I was in senior enough positions that people did not dare to comment anything homophobic to my face. I’m not ignorant though; I’m aware it happened behind my back. I’m aware it happens to others, and I know that homophobia still is rampant in the workplace and our society. After years of remarkable progress for queer rights (which are, fundamentally, human rights), we find ourselves confronted with a historic backlash that threatens to roll back the hard-fought gains of decades, not just in terms of legal protections but also in public perception.
It is a critical moment for LGBTQIA2S+ communities and their allies, demanding swift action and unwavering solidarity.
There it goes. My Coming Out is not a very interesting story. In fact, a lot of what’s interesting is between the lines: about my own internalized stuff, stuff I had to unlearn, and things about which I was completely and utterly wrong. Like when I assumed my until-then 100% straight girlfriend would only treat “us” as an experiment, that she would never tell her family about us, that this new experience would shake her self-image to the point where she’d run. Or that she would have difficulty adjusting to a relationship after being single for 16 years and wouldn’t be able to make space for me. That it wouldn’t last.
We’ve been together for 100 months in July 2023, married for 4 years. She still doesn’t know how to load the dishwasher like a human being, but other than that, we’re fine.
Attacks against our community are increasing on a global scale. Merely celebrating the few rights and limited acceptance that gay, lesbian, and bisexual individuals have achieved is not enough. The TIN* community is far from experiencing the same rights and acceptance. We must continue fighting until discrimination against queer BIPOC, queer people with disabilities, LGBTQIA2S+ migrants, and especially discrimination against our trans and non-binary siblings is eradicated. We cannot settle for mere awareness and visibility. Society is aware of us; what we need is equal protection, respect, and opportunities that should be extended to everyone within our global community.
(Note: *TIN refers to the transgender, intersex, and non-binary community)
Dear aLex, Thank you very much for YourStory!
Together with Marcus Brieskorn from radioSUB PROUT AT WORK Board Member Jean-Luc Vey talked about the Rainbow Chat Deck.
“The idea behind the Rainbow Chat Deck was to develop a tool, through which people can get into an exchange about LGBT*IQ. Through the questions and individual answer options, the cards are also meant for people who have had very little to do with the topic so far.”
You can find the whole interview here (GERMAN):
Rainbow Chat Deck
RECAP
We were pleased to welcome Maxi Pichlmeier as a guest at our PROUT PERFORMER Lunch Talk on Thursday, May 4, 2023.
Click here for the recording of the conversation (German):
about Maxi:
For those who don’t know Maxi, digital media are anything but foreign to him and he has a lot to say when it comes to queer life, politics and media. Because being queer is still political in 2023! Maxi Pichlmeier’s TikTok account is all about queer news, queer politics and the gay community, to which he himself belongs. In his videos he processes his own experiences and wants to bring news to young (queer) people.