BR Broadcasting Council still without queer representation
A new chairman was recently elected during the 642nd meeting of the BR Broadcasting Council. Godehard Ruppert now holds the position. However, not everyone is satisfied with the overall result. Among other things, because not all groups of people would be considered equally.
Accordingly, much criticism of the election has already been voiced.
For example, only one third of the members of the committee are women. Politician Susanne Kurz commented that she was "looking forward to working with the new colleagues". However, it is a "drop of bitterness" that the proportion of women is still "stagnating" at one third.
There is also no queer representation. This was criticized by the Lesbian and Gay Association in Bavaria, among others. Among other things, this is not understandable because about 10 percent of the population is queer.
The LSVD board criticizes the result
The Lesbian and Gay Association of Germany reacted indignantly to the election. It said that queer people had been excluded, now for the 642nd time. It calls for a reform of the broadcasting council so that people from the community would be able to participate "democratically.
It remains to be seen to what extent this demand will be met. At this point, however, it should be mentioned that the situation in other federal states is somewhat different. Because: Here, there are sometimes definitely queer representatives in the committees. A particularly well-known example of this is MDR. Here, some people from the scene are represented.
Whether and to what extent politicians will react in the coming days, weeks or months remains to be seen. In the social networks, the mood is already boiling up a bit. Many people, not only from the scene, are of the opinion that it is now the task of those in power to adjust the system around the elections of the broadcasting council at BR and thus ensure more participation for the scene.
A lengthy discussion with an interesting history
If the guidelines surrounding the Broadcasting Council are to change, one of the things that is needed is the right legal framework. Or, to put it another way, Markus Söder, the Minister President of Bavaria, would have to work to ensure that the course is set accordingly.
But: How high is actually the probability that he will do exactly that? Here, it's worth taking a look back. In 2021, he already stated that he was having trouble legislating for a clause to that effect due to privacy concerns.
However, many people are of the opinion that this is a rather pretextual argument. Because: The fact that the fringe broadcasting council is perhaps not as open-minded towards queers as many would wish is shown, among other things, by the fact that a gender ban was pronounced here.
Why would it actually be so important for queers to sit on the BR Broadcasting Council?
In order to be able to answer this question, it is first important to consider what the task of the Broadcasting Council actually is. In simple terms, it is a kind of control body that is supposed to ensure that the principles of broadcasting are adhered to.
More queers on the Broadcasting Council should also ensure greater visibility for the community. After all, queers know best what challenges other queers face in everyday life.
But it's not just the fact that no one from the community is a member of the BR Broadcasting Council that is alarming. The fact that so few women are represented here should also give pause for thought. Surely it is not only the community that would like to see a reform.