For over a century, Berlin has been known the world over as a place of sexual freedom. A
place to explore, experiment, transform. A place to find yourself. A place to lose yourself.
A place to get messy. A place to explore your genderGender describes the social gender of a person. It describes how people experience and express their gender identity - regardless of ... Mehryour desire, your body, your
boundaries.
This city - and its business leaders - make money off that reputation. And that
reputation? It was built by people like us. Queers, dykes, migrants, sex workers, femmes
of colour, sensual mascs, HIV activists, bisexuals, asexuals, hoes and degenerates of every
shade and colour. Our creativity, our experimentation, our refusal to disappear. This city is
"poor but sexy" because of us.
But while Berlin may be a global capital of sexual liberation, drawing visitors and money
on the basis of its slutty reputation, it is not a global capital of sexual healthcare for the
people who live here and build that reputation.
For those of us with vulvas - there is no robust sexual healthcare infrastructure here to
care for us. For those of us who are nonbinary, intersex, and transTrans (short for transgender or transident) describes people whose gender identity does not match the gender they are assigned. Mehr - no robust sexual
healthcare system to attend to our needs. For those of us who are migrants, for those of
us who are refugees, for those of us who don't speak perfect German, for those of us
who are put into the category of "other" by doctors, medical staff, receptionists, state
authorities - no robust sexual healthcare system. For those of us who are low-income,
for those of us who are Black and Indigenous people of colour, for those of us from the
Global South, for those of us who are lesbians or bisexual women - there is no robust
healthcare infrastructure to support us.
This is what a lack of access means:
- No coverage for routine STI testing unless you're already sick
- No opportunities to discuss safety, risk or sexual pain with a medical professional
- No accessible, non-judgmental PrEP pathways for FLINTA*, unless you fit a narrow
profiles - High out-of-pocket costs for many services
- Doctors who refuse to provide care and dismiss our concerns
- Care that focuses narrowly on reproduction and disease, not autonomy or pleasure
This system is failing us. While HIV incidence among cisCis or cisgender describes people whose gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth. Mehr gay men has dropped steadily
for years, transmission numbers for women remain static (are going up?). Worse, forty
percent of new HIV infections in women are caught late - long after immune damage has
already set in. Why? Because no one encouraged us to get tested. Because when we
presented with symptoms of HIV, no one even thought to test us for it.
In this system, we don't feel empowered to lead autonomous sex lives. We hesitate
before saying yes to the sex we want - because we know we might not have access to
the care we need afterward. We live with pain, fear, disease, and risk because we know
we'll be shamed, misgendered, ignored, or simply turned away when we try to seek care.
A growing body of international research shows that adopting an approach to sexual
healthcare that centres pleasure and agency leads to drastically better outcomes: earlier
and more frequent STI treatment, greater contraceptive literacy, more respectful providerpatient relationships, and lower rates of gender-based violence.
What does pleasure-based care mean? It means recognising that people of all genders,
ages, and identities have the right to feel good in their bodies - and to seek support
when they don't. It affirms that sexuality is not a risk to be managed, but a vital part of
life, agency, and self-expression, relevant even when our "reproductive years" are over.
What could a better system look like?
Like equal access to care no matter how you identify or present. Like you being explicitly
welcomed, not tolerated or treated as an afterthought. Like sex-positive medical
counselling for everyone. Like websites and marketing materials that include people who
look like you. Like doctors who know how to talk about genderGender describes the social gender of a person. It describes how people experience and express their gender identity - regardless of ... Mehr, menopause, and
hormones. Like PrEP, contraception, and STI screening covered by insurance - or free if
you don't have any.
It looks like collective power - our power - reshaping the system from the ground up.
We're not asking for miracles. We're asking for what queerQueer is a collective term for people whose sexual orientation or gender identity does not conform to the social norm of "heterosexuality". Mehr people have always
demanded: joy, safety, recognition, and the tools to survive and thrive.
See you on the dancefloor. See you in the darkroom. Long live queerQueer is a collective term for people whose sexual orientation or gender identity does not conform to the social norm of "heterosexuality". Mehr intimacy. Long live
queerQueer is a collective term for people whose sexual orientation or gender identity does not conform to the social norm of "heterosexuality". Mehr love.❤
Instagram: www.instagram.com/safersex.berlin
