The publicly owned railway company Berlin S-Bahn is offering its customers so-called ‘QueerCityPasses’ in Berlin, Germany for €23.80. That is cheaper than the standard Berlin WelcomeCard for tourists, priced at €28.50.
Deutsche Welle’s Briana Ekanem did a video report on the pass, which was clipped by the Eurocentric right-wing X account Europa.com. In their post, Europa.com made the claim that ‘Berlin is offering cheaper city passes for people who identify as LGBTQIA+.’ However, that is not accurate.
You can understand why the popular X account with 68,500 followers made the mistake—in the clip they shared, Ekanem herself starts out by saying: ‘I just found out there’s a cheaper ticket for queer tourists in Berlin.’ However, she quickly follows it up with the words ‘kind of’, then an explanation of what the German capital city’s odd QueerCityPass actually is.
No, you do not have to be an LGBTQ person to purchase the discounted QueerCityPass. It simply gives special deals in 70 queer-owned or queer-friendly businesses in the city, hence the name. It also gets you an unlimited number of rides on the Berlin public transport system for up to six days.
Berlin S-Bahn’s official website describes the product as ‘Ticket for LGBTI* travellers in Berlin’, adding to the confusion. It should also be noted that there are similar promotional passes priced at €23.80, just like the gay pass, listed among the ‘tourist tickets’ on the S-Bahn website, such as the Berlin joycard or the Berlin CityTourCard.
However, had it been an actual discounted card for gay people only, it would not have been the first time public funds in Germany have been spent on discriminatory businesses.
Back in May, the story broke that the federal German government had given €662,450 through its ‘Demokratie leben!’ programme to a ‘work and social club’ that claims to exclusively serve ‘BIWoC and TIN*BIPoC people’—which is just a convoluted way of saying anyone but straight white people.
Related articles:
At a time when public debate is increasingly polarized and superficial, Hungarian Conservative remains committed to depth, intellectual honesty, and independent conservative thought.
Producing high-quality journalism requires resources. Your contribution helps us expand our coverage, reach new audiences, and keep our content accessible.
Please consider supporting our mission.
