Abstract
This article examines racial discourses in (West) German gay publications between 1981 and 1992 as well as how issues of race and migration factored into AIDS activism during this period. While there were some attempts to organize against xenophobia in gay journals and gay-led AIDS activist groups, it was not until the 1987 Bavarian proposal that would limit the civil liberties of gay men and immigrants in order to fight HIV/AIDS that anti-xenophobia and anti-racism became major themes for AIDS activists. Throughout this period, highly exoticizing perceptions of men of color, particularly men from Muslim-majority countries, remained prevalent in many gay publications, pointing to the limited success of these efforts.
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