This presentation analyses how Germany’s six most relevant parties, spanning from the far left to the far right, have represented LGBTQ+ people and policies from the late 1990s until 2025, and the extent to which LGBTQ+ issues have been politicised in the public space. I demonstrate that LGBTQ+ rights have polarised left and right-wing parties for a long time. However, I argue that, as LGBTQ+ rights became more salient in the 2010s, and the German party system more fragmented, parties became more polarised over the issue. These dynamics can also be observed in the public sphere. While public opinion has become much more favourable towards LGBTQ+ people and their rights, and pro-LGBTQ+ advocacy groups and social movements enjoy freedom and popularity in Germany, queerphobic organisations and movements on the far right are increasingly using the same public space and strategies to attack LGBTQ+ people and their rights. Thus, while Germany has made a lot of progress when it comes to LGBTQ+ representation, it mustn’t be taken for granted.
