Mahide Lein

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Mahide Lein
Mahide Lein (born 1949) at Side By Side 2009.JPG
At the 2009 Side by Side Festival
Born1949 (age 76–77)
Höchst, Germany
Education Goethe University Frankfurt
OccupationActivist

Mahide Lein (born 1949) is a German LGBTQ+ activist, organiser and head of a concert agency. She has also campaigned for sex workers' rights and with the anti-psychiatric movement.

Contents

Biography

Lein was born in 1949 in Höchst, Frankfurt am Main, Hesse, Germany. [1] Her mother was an accordionist and draftsman, and her father worked as a master goldsmith. [2] She was raised as a Protestant. [1] Lein studied political science and religion at Goethe University Frankfurt and apprenticed as an office clerk for two years after graduating. [3]

Lein became involved with the New Women's Movement and ran the women's café Café Niedenau in a squatted house on Kettenhofweg in Frankfurt am Main from the 1970s. [4] The café hosted exhibitions, political discussions and concerts. [5] She was also one of the founders of the first lesbian centre in Frankfurt. [4]

After moving to Berlin, Lein is credited with shaping Berlin's lesbian scene in the 1980s and 1990s. [6] [7] She was an organiser of the Berlin Christopher Street Day (CSD, Germany and Switzerland's counterpart to pride parades), [8] the anti-psychiatric Irren-Offensive  [ de ] Tribunals, [5] and the KultHur-Festival to promote sex workers' rights. [5]

During the 1990s, Lein worked with gay men on a Russian-German cultural exchange. [5] In May 1992, Lein, the German filmmaker and LGBTQ+ activist Andreas Strohfeldt and the Tschaikowsky Foundation in Saint Petersburg organised the first Russian CSD. [4]

Lein launched the lesbian magazine television programme Läsbisch TV, [6] [1] with 27 one-hour episodes broadcast on the Berliner Kabel station from 1991 to 1993. [4] [9] [10] She has also been interviewed for lesbian documentaries, commenting on "the problems of speaking openly about taboo desires in sexually less tolerant societies" [11] and on queer aging for Vice magazine. [12] She sat on the jury for the queer film prize TEDDY for two decades [4] and spoke at the 2nd Side by Side LGBT Film Festival in 2009.[ citation needed ]

Lein is the founder and head the international concert agency AHOI Kultur. [3] [4] [6] [13]

Awards

She was also honoured with an award for her 75th birthday by the Berlin Music Commission. [15]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Läsbisch-TV". Kiez und Kneipe (in German). 15 February 2024. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  2. ↑ Schwab, Waltraud (2016). "Meine Eltern waren Hausbesitzer". Kreuzberger Chronic. Retrieved 12 January 2026.
  3. 1 2 Kretschmer, Christina (18 June 2005). "Die Welt bin ich". Taz.de (in German). Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "SEX IM ALTER: Homage for Mahide Lein's 69th Birthday". Schwules Museum. Archived from the original on 4 June 2025. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Nestler, Fabian (9 November 2022). "Mahide Lein: 'Courage and humor have made my work bearable'". Creative City Berlin. Archived from the original on 4 June 2025. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  6. 1 2 3 Anhamm, Ulrike (11 October 2015). "LESgende: Mahide Lein". LESPRESS (in German). Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  7. ↑ "Lesbenaktivistin Mahide Lein: 'Kultur ist kein Luxus!'". Siegessäule (in German). 9 November 2020. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  8. 1 2 3 Balser, Saskia (8 November 2024). "Pionierin für lesbische Sichtbarkeit: Mahide Lein wird 75 Jahre alt". Mannschaft.com (in German). Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  9. ↑ Clarke, Kevin. "'Das erste lesbische Fernsehmagazin auf diesem Planeten'". queer.de (in German). Archived from the original on 5 July 2024. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  10. ↑ Die Andere Welt (in German). Vol. 4. Die Andere Welt. 1993. p. 29.
  11. ↑ Kuzniar, Alice A. (2000). The Queer German Cinema. Stanford University Press. p. 158. ISBN   978-0-8047-3995-5.
  12. ↑ Theis, Alexandra (4 April 2023). "Joyful Portraits of Queer Elders". VICE . Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  13. ↑ Lochte, Paula (9 May 2021). "Lesbenfrühlingstreffen 2021 in der Kritik: 'Wie weit sind wir gekommen, dass wir nicht mehr miteinander reden!'". L-mag.de (in German). Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  14. ↑ Tepest, Eva (19 July 2018). "Mahide Lein im Queerspiegel-Newsletter: „Wir sollten über Sex im Alter reden"". Der Tagesspiegel Online (in German). ISSN   1865-2263 . Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  15. ↑ "Mahide Lein". LISTEN TO BERLIN (in German). Retrieved 28 July 2025.
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