Four months ago, Timon Gremmels, Hessian Minister for Science and Research, Arts and Culture, addressed publishers at the Frankfurt event “#PrideBook: The Literary Aperitif for Pride” and urged them to keep publishing queer titles: “We need this, also in children’s and young adult literature,” the gay SPD politician said in July 2025. At the same time, he announced plans to bolster support for queer literature next year, for instance with fellowships for authors or a children’s and young adults literary prize.
Gremmels’ encouraging initiative understandably sparked horror within the AfD faction. Four lawmakers from the far-right party sought in a Parliamentary Inquiry to know why “even children” should “spend more time with the topic of sexuality and the related identities” according to the black-red state government.
Minister: Queer visibility creates positive role models
In his detailed response (PDF), Gremmels patiently clarified for the AfD faction. “Our lived reality is shaped by sexual and gender diversity. Democratic values mean accepting this diversity and allowing the free development of personality,” reads the minister’s preface. “Making queerness visible in literature, film, and the media means creating role models, offering positive examples, and enabling queer people to feel that they belong in our society.”
Concerning the specific question, Timon Gremmels wrote:
Identity and gender consciousness begin to develop in early childhood. This implies a child-appropriate understanding of closeness, feelings, relationships, and self-perception. Books that show the diversity of love, gender, and family provide orientation and foster a healthy relationship with one’s body and with others — without shame, taboos, or exclusion. Children should be supported in their development regardless of their background, gender, or sexual orientation. At the same time, all children learn to see diversity as normal — a powerful antidote to discrimination. From a democratic standpoint, recognizing difference is a prerequisite for respectful coexistence.
Early encounters with diverse life realities can cultivate empathy, respect, and openness toward others, helping prevent discrimination and bullying. Especially in childhood, value systems and worldviews form to a notable degree, which is why access to age-appropriate literature reflects the diversity of our society. The justification also lies in the social challenges: children grow up in a plural society where different family and life forms are part of everyday life. If they learn this diversity early in a protected, pedagogically guided setting, they can address their own questions and uncertainties while developing acceptance. The state government assumes that such a foundation lays the groundwork for a respectful and peaceful coexistence.
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Queer literature is “not bound by age limits”
In response to another AfD deputy’s question about “which specific content for which specific age groups” would be appropriate in children’s and young adult literature, the SPD politician replied:
Queer literature depicts the variety of gender identities and sexual orientations and is, in principle, not bound by age. As with all other topics in literature, how queer themes such as gender diversity or sexual orientation are handled should be tailored to the readers’ age, and the content should always be designed to match the developmental level of the target audience and provide positive points of identification.
Queer content should always present diversity in a way that does not overwhelm any age group — child-friendly, positive, and respectful — so that all children feel understood and accepted.
AfD speaks of “early sexualization and political indoctrination”
The AfD, unfortunately, did not grasp the minister’s statements. “Minister Gremmels’ response is disturbing, because queer ideology does not belong in the children’s room, let alone in day care,” snapped Frank Grobe, the party’s spokesperson on science and arts policy, in a Monday press release. In the party’s anti-queer statement, he added: “Children have a right to protection from early sexualization and political indoctrination. They are not sexual beings, and a state minister should — instead of being dragged onto the queer ideology’s wagon — ensure that children are shielded from content that would turn them into such beings.” (mize)
