The hashtag “#StolzMonat” or “Pride Month” in German was trending on Twitter yesterday, garnering over 50,000 tweets. However, it was not a celebration of June’s LGBT Pride Month but instead a critique of it, with German conservatives and anti-woke activists substituting the rainbow flag with the German flag.
The hashtag ranked first in Twitter’s trending section at one point yesterday, highlighting the growing culture war in Germany. It was picked up in other countries as well.
The left, and increasingly corporate and government entities, uses Pride Month every year around June to express solidarity with gays, lesbians, transgenders and other sexual or gender minorities. Many companies now change their corporate logos to rainbow colors in June, launch advertisements around LGBT pride, and sell LGBT-themed products.
However, for the first time, German critics of Pride Month have launched a counter-campaign. Anyone who would rather celebrate Germany than the “LGBTQ community” can express their national pride by posting a profile picture with a black, red and gold background. In addition, it is important to use the hashtag “Stolzmonat.” which is the literal translation of “Pride Month.”
The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has been promoting the hashtag, and some of its politicians, including Bjorn Hocke, have changed their profile photo to reflect the trend.
The party also added the German flag to its Twitter profile picture.
“The traffic light celebrates in its absurd parallel world not only #PrideMonth but also #PrideYear, while completely ignoring the real and self-created problems of the people in the country,” the party wrote. The parliamentary group in the Bundestag followed suit a little later.
The AfD’s Young Alternative (JA) has also promoted “Pride Month.” The youth wing is currently under surveillance by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), which the AfD says is politically motivated to harm the party’s image.
The JA in Baden-Württemberg wrote: “Black-red-gold is colorful enough.”
The Social Democrats (SPD) expressed their anger over the campaign on Twitter, writing: “We won’t let #PrideMonth be spoiled for us. Happy Pride to everyone!” the party account wrote, adding the rainbow as well as transgender flag to the post. The SPD also shared a meme to express their dissatisfaction with the campaign, but the image was repurposed and mocked by conservative activists.
AfD supporters have also used “Pride Month” while pointing to yet another poll placing the AfD at 18 percent, following one from INSA just a few days ago that also showcased AfD at 18 percent.
The latest poll from German state broadcaster ARD shows the party has soared in the polls and is now tied for second place in the country with the SPD.
