Around 5 percent of queers are ready to vote for the AfD

In a poll on the German website queer.de conducted in late 2024, 4.6% of readers said they would vote for the AfD in the federal elections in February.

But why do queer people in Germany choose a right-wing extremist party that questions their equality by threatening to ban same-sex marriage or ban “LGBT propaganda” on the Russian model?

Cultural anthropologist Patrick Wilowiejski from the Humboldt University of Berlin has studied this topic. In an in-depth interview with Der Spiegel, he explained why some gays are attracted to the right-wing AfD – and what kind of gays are actually accepted in this party:

“Among gays, they are a minority. However, the main reason is anti-Muslim racism, in which they are no different from the majority. But when we talk about gays, it is about the fact that Muslims (whether refugees or people with a migrant background) can be a danger to homosexuals. This is partly confirmed by my own experience, which I do not want to deny to anyone. But as soon as this develops into generalized anti-Muslim racism or generalized Islamophobia, then an affinity for the AfD quickly arises.”

But why do right-wing extremists accept gays? The fact is that in this right-wing group the boundaries between “us” and “them” are shifting, the expert believes:

"This is a reaction to changing conditions. In many Western countries, homosexuality is tolerated by a significant part of the population. This is a hindrance to the modernizing far right, which wants to remain attractive to the majority. Homosexuals who conform to gender stereotypes can be included in the national "we". These are gay men who appear sufficiently masculine, do not conform to prejudices about sexual promiscuity and demonstrate respectability. For the AfD, demonstrating the binary is important. Anything outside of it is "perversion" for them."

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