By: Leila Becirevic Period 1 Social Relationships: Gay Germans tap Oktoberfest to make push for marriage rights By: Leila Becirevic Period 1

Christian Schröder sat with his partner Thomas Hartmann and made a toast, “This is to the gays! The right to do this is what we fight for!” On the first Sunday of Oktoberfest, the Bräurosl beer tent in Munich was filled with merry Germans in lederhosen by early afternoon. Politics aren’t supposed to play a role in this 16 day event. It’s all about fun! “Gay Sunday” is a celebration at Oktoberfest that is dedicated to gays and lesbians. A Munich city council member and a Pink List gay rights party member said, “No one would want to see Oktoberfest become officially political, but just the fact that gays and lesbians can go there in lederhosen, can hold hands and kiss, does have political meaning.”

A German lady bringing out beer at Oktoberfest http://www.minnpost.com/christian-science-monitor/2012/09/gay-germans-tap-oktoberfest-make-push-marriage-rights

Gay Sunday is one of the most popular celebrations during Pink Oktoberfest. It has its roots in a the 1970s with the Munich Lions Club, an organization for gays. They organized a meet up during Oktoberfest’s first Sunday at the Bräurosl tent . The tent was supposedly named after the beer firm founder’s daughter. This shows how gays are becoming more involved in some of Germany’s most famous traditions.

A panorama of one of the tents at Oktoberfest http://www.oktoberfest.de/manual/pano1/01_full_of.html

Politics have been more present in Oktoberfest because of the issue of same-sex marriage. The liberal Free Democratic Party, which has many gay members, has given its full support to same- sex marriage, but the more socially conservative Christian Democratic Union has not. Spain, Portugal, Sweden and Norway have already become marriage-equality countries. It is becoming less unusual to see gay couples in a Munich biergarten. 5 million people come to the city each year.

The Bräurosl Tent http://www.oktoberfest.de/de/article/Zelte/gro%C3%9Fe+Zelte/Br%C3%A4urosl+/181

Quiz When did Gay Sunday start? 1960s 1970s 1980s 2.Which tent do they meet up in? Schottenhamel Hippodrom Bräurosl

Answers b) 1970s c) Bräurosl

Citations Gay Germans Tap Oktoberfest to Make Push for Marriage Rights http://www.minnpost.com/christian-science- monitor/2012/09/gay-germans-tap-oktoberfest- make-push-marriage-rights Oktoberfest Seen as Focal Point for Germany’s Same- Sex Marriage Push http://www.queerty.com/oktoberfest-seen-as- focal-point-for-germanys-same-sex-marriage- push-20120928/ German Gays use Oktoberfest to Push Marriage Equality http://gay.americablog.com/2012/09/german- gays-use-oktoberfest-to-push-marriage- equality.html

Prost http://www.amusingplanet.com/2012/09/pictures-from-berlin-oktoberfest-2012.html