We talk to the Gay Museum’s cutest nerd: Felicia Rolletschke grew up on the country side and spent a lot of time in online communities. Like many other queer young people, the internet is an important part of her queer formation story. Today, she is the new educational director for Queer Outreach at the Gay Museum and combines math, psychology and activism into a powerful mix of education and empowerment. In this interview, she talks about her passion for trans* activism, the inspiring work she does with young people and the SNAP moments that can radically change lives. What made Felicia the fighter she is today and how does she want to support queer youth in Berlin?
Hello Feli! First of all, a present for you…
Oh wow, is that what I think it is? These are my business cards, thank you very much!
Exactly, hot off the press and delivered by hand. I’ll have to ask you to introduce yourself now too; feel free to use your cheat sheet!
Alright, I’m Feli and you can use the pronouns “she/none” for me. I actually come from a mathematics and psychology background, so you’ll often find me in chess clubs… I’m a real nerd, I organize Dungeons and Dragons groups and play a lot of games – I’m currently working on the Elden Ring DLC again (laughs) Apart from that, I like going to restaurants, I love restaurant cruising!
What are your topics?
I’ve been doing a lot of work on trans* activism for eight years, for example I’m active in the German Trans* Association and answer media inquiries. I also give anti-discrimination seminars and workshops for anyone who wants them, from small organizations to international companies. Six years ago, I ended up here at the Gay Museum through my work at the Bode Museum. At the Bode Museum, I did sex education for school classes, based on art historical presentations.
That sounds familiar, the “Let’s talk about sex” boxes were from you?
Exactly! I helped develop the transportable “Let’s talk about sex” program. The director of this project had connections to the SMU and then drew my attention to the museum. So, I came straight here and started giving workshops and guided tours – over the years, that must have been over 200 tours.
That really is a lot! Where did you learn this?
In my first years of studying mathematics, I was in a student exchange organization in the business sector. The people were strange, but they taught me how to give professional workshops. It was like an apprenticeship and lasted a whole two years.
Wow! And now you’re using this power for the good side (both laugh).
Exactly, in the association I did time management and leader workshops, today I use this skill for other topics. So, for ten years I’ve been using these skills for myself and of course for social purposes. Leadership is just a variation of that… I think of leadership as a mixture of workshop and theater: there is a performance, people see and hear you, you involve them, and in the best case there is an emotional journey with a learning experience.
And now, what are you doing at SMU? What does it say on your business card?
I’ve been the pedagogical lead for Queer Outreach for a month now, yay! I coordinate and develop the way queer, young voices are heard in the museum and how the museum approaches queer, young people in the city. I do this internally, externally and on a cooperative level with other institutions. For example, we want to set up a youth advisory board in the museum that can contribute structurally to the SMU.
How is the museum positioned in this respect so far?
Better and better! The very fact that the position exists is an expression of the fact that youth work is becoming increasingly important. In recent years, it has also been clear to see how more young people have become involved, as part of the team, as volunteers or as visitors to the exhibitions. Including the perspective of young people will also become even more important.
To what extent does your own age have to do with your ability and willingness to work with young people?
In my estimation, it’s about 70% skills and 30% being close in age. I’m 30 now and I’ve done a lot of tutoring over the last ten years, so I’ve always been in contact with young people. It’s simply part of the job to meet people at eye level, even if they are younger than you. It’s actually a matter of course, but doing it in a way that isn’t weird, that’s the skill… And the fact that I’m chronically online helps too, of course: I’m on YouTube, Reddit and Instagram a lot. It’s important to know what’s going on in the world.
What is it about this work that enriches you?
Perhaps to put it bluntly: it’s inspiring. I draw a lot of hope for the world from it. If you look out of the window, it feels like there are a thousand reasons to be severely pessimistic: the climate is changing, fascism is growing… It’s really bad! But one of the best things I can take from my work and activism is hope. When I see how political, demanding and clever the 18-year-olds of today are… Much further ahead than I was at 18! At that age, I stood in the market square with a sign and demonstrated against nuclear waste. That’s nice too, but the people I meet in my workshops, for example, understand so much about the world and do such meaningful activism! There are incredible intersectional perspectives that I didn’t have when I was 18.
Do you have any idea why that is?
TikTok! (both laugh) It may be a pseudo-global network, but when shit happens somewhere in the world, I’ll take Palestine as an example, young people see it. You hear about it, you can see it! My generation had Facebook and YouTube as sources of information, it just wasn’t the same.
That’s true, a lot has changed in the last ten years. I’m thinking of the moderation of content on the platforms, but also the behavior of the users themselves online – people are much more willing to share things.
Yes, the content was different. Back then, there was simply no LeftTube, i.e. people on the left making educational content. And today there are just big personalities doing progressive politics on YouTube, with huge audiences. This makes it much easier to classify political events in the world as a young person: you can watch commented versions, you have a chat or a comment section that you can use to get feedback… The people who come out of there are then very well practiced in making political analyses because they interact with it regularly.
Do you sometimes experience the reverse side of a relatively early politicization in online space? I’m referring to discriminatory movements like the incel movement.
I rarely see them. In a recent workshop, I had one of those from the Junge Union. I thought to myself: what’s wrong with you that you’re 19 and want to be so conservative? In that respect, the gender divide is really strong, I realize that. But otherwise I don’t experience it much in the places I go.
Lucky you! Shall we talk about your darling?
Yes, of course! I have the “MY SNAP MOMENT” folder from the archive here. It’s the collection of visitor contributions to the SNAP wall from our exhibition “Love at First Fight! Queer movements in Germany since Stonewall”. The idea of the Snap Moments is based on a text by Sarah Ahmed about an interview with Sylvia Rivera. In it, Rivera talks about a moment during the Stonewall Riots when you could physically feel that something was changing. Something like a shift, a momentum, in which those present realized that they could change something and that things were changing. That’s what is meant by “SNAP”, this powerful awareness is suddenly there. In LAFF!, the snap wall poses the question of which snap moments the visitors had: at what point did our guests realize that something could change in their lives? The end result is a queer collection of coming-out moments, moments of activism and community. And because the museum is in such a unique position internationally, these are stories from all over the world and from all age groups. These are incredibly intimate descriptions that take us into not only everyday, but also extreme and intense moments of queer existence.
What is your Snap story?
Good question… I have a few Snap moments, but once I lost a job because the new boss didn’t want any trans* people there…
Did that still happen in the nasty math world?
Exactly. That was a job that I really loved. Then I just lost it. I remember standing outside with a few people afterwards and crying because it was so hurtful. That radicalized me so much in the fight against trans hostility… That moment fundamentally informs my activism to this day. I would say it’s a classic snap moment: you realize something has to change now. The other really big thing was last year, when the suicide of trans* person Ella Nik Bayan happened at Alexanderplatz. I was there with other trans* people for days afterwards to guard the place and protect it from vandalism.
These are all quite tragic stories…
That’s true, but what unites them is primarily their intensity. There are also many stories of Prides on the wall, for example! They tell of how a paradigm shift took place and the people were able to recontextualize themselves and their queerness.
What connects you to your darling?
The most important part of doing workshops is that you have to enjoy seeing people evolve. That’s what happens at the core of every workshop. In this Snap Stories you read exactly that, it’s the same way: you see people become a happier, more confident and fulfilled version of themselves.
That’s very valuable. Thank you for these insights, Feli!
(Image & Interview: mino Künze)