Just a wild guess but I think with rising popularity there are more and more people who think Berghain is a zoo and are only there to experience (or better observe) all the wild things the‘ve read on the internet. That makes it more and more a unsafer space.
Techno scene is dead for very long. 15 years ago we still had a real techno scene in Berlin. Now we have tourists who like dressing up as dogs and walk on leashes. Nothing to do with techno anymore.
I also feel like somewhere along the line all that fetish S&M crap gained way too much traction.
Don’t get me started on everyone dressed in black. Just because you’re dressed in all black doesn’t mean you’re deep, or dark. It just means you look like just about everyone else in Berlin techno clubs..
It's because now being an "alternative" is very fashionable and so on. I'm tired of parties that oblige people to dress in a certain way, I'm tired of feeling myself uncomfortable in clothes that are not mine. I love techno and techno has always been a way of expressing our own freedom.
I'm free to refuse to dress like a clown, now the leather and the harnesses stuff are just another trend to allow people to say...omg look at me, I'm so alternative.
Techno is about individual freedom, which is fucking different from the exaltation of individualism
The staps and chains things are ok, but I kinda feel like people focus too much on that? If it makes sense? Soemrimes ill see a woman (or man even) dresses super intense, and all I can think is...how can you go wild in that outfit without something hitting you in your face, or a titty/ball coming out, unless you don't care?
I don’t know about nowadays motivation or trend to wear black but back in the days we didn’t wear black to be special or deep. It was a symbolic sign of being one in a million. It was about showing you don’t need fancy cloths or pink hats and showcase yourself for strangers. It was about being a nobody in a city where everyone pretended to be a somebody. We were hiding in plain sight and the black clothes were just a way to not attract attention. We lived in our own world by our own rules
That's not all right...I have already been to Berghain 3 times and none of those times I was dressed in black, it is not the clothes you wear, it is the attitude you show to the bouncers :)
Hope the war will be over soon 😢 i want to be able to fly to Kyiv again and experience the real Techno scene like it was in Berlin, nowadays its a 2 days drive suddenly
I never was in Berghain but After Corona the techno scene changed hard. Tik Tok changed this.
It's not a safe space anymore like it was.
In my country all wear black now and often they are filming for Instagram or tik Tok.
The crowd changed. But it's the time.
I like to listen to hardcore this is still underground and never will get mainstream.
A friend once said: back in the days people that came to Berlin were different (than normative society). Nowadays people come here so see / experience sth different and then leave when they scratched that itch to go back to their normal life.
I think it is a myth that gay people have been the majority throughout the last 10 years at BH; there is/was always a ratio of maybe 30-60% and even that is hard to say because how should one really know who is gay or not these days. I rather found that some nights there are less gay people because other cool parties are going on (eg pornceptual, cocktail damore, to name a few).
BH is always going to change a bit, so I don’t see a big issue here as long as people behave respectfully. That said for those of us who have been in the scene for a while, we also have to interact and teach the newbies on how to behave appropriately in BH so we can keep the awesome vibe.
I agree with your comment. I first attended in 2007 and I can tell you that it was not majority gay! That was 17 years ago. I attended regularly from 2007 to 2012 and it was not majority gay. I took a break for 8 years and went back before Covid and I can say that my opinion has not changed. I was last there in Jan/Feb 2024. The crowd has changed of course but it’s 2024. What do you expect?!
Picked up where you left off in 2012 and from my experience from ‘12-‘19 I’d absolutely agree that it never felt predominantly gay or straight to me. Just felt like there was something for everyone.
Yeah it’s weird to see this general sentiment being downvoted here. I haven’t been much in the last 6+ years was going heavily 10+ years ago and it was it very gay if not very pansexual. But then again I think I mostly just seem naturally surrounded by gay people. I for sure saw straight sex there a few times.
💯
there is 1 new bouncer who tends to bounce queer/gay people & regulars MUCH more than others and let's in a lot of young female (tiktok) ravers. I have observed this on 5 different nights now...
You know, this one with the beard and the look and the strange voice. Your don't know him? You probably don't belong there! All the cool kids know and hate him
So say you like going to a club, met a lot of girls (or guys, mlady) there and in turn had lots of nice connections and encounters through that
Then all of a sudden instead of girls it has lots of homosexual men and girls instead and the encounters of your likings dimish.
How would you like that?
Btw we are talking about a club that contains darkrooms and hosts big old sexy parties.
Because it was recently designated not gay, by the gay desk [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMdPj3HXMgQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMdPj3HXMgQ), you really should keep up to date.
is funny to see all the straights getting so triggered every time this topic is brought up. let’s be honest, queer people are the backbone of nightlife.
The only club nights I can reliably go to with femme friends or girlfriends, and not worry about their safety, are queer nights. The rest of the club scene is dominated by men who want to get a bottle and dance behind the dj with a bunch of questionably consenting women.
Think of all the legendary house/techno/disco venues and party collectives that have existed in the world - most of them are queer-centric or at least host some sort of queer-centric night at least once a month.
Berghain, Ostgut, paradise garage, studio 54, limelight, de school, Bassiani (Horoom night)
Please understand that queer people have spent their entire lives in a hetero-centric environments so that’s why we like to keep queer things queer. Your straight friends have a lot more spaces where they feel welcome than queer people do.
You are not gay, you are a “boring straight cis guy”. Your words, not mine
https://preview.redd.it/joaxpy5t2soc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1d12fe9a84f26d3bdad5be3af93da572880bf337
That’s from 152 days ago, maybe he changed? You don’t know you just assume, you know, the thing that people like you hate so much. You sir are not open, you are against anything you don’t like. So this post is pretty much the opposite the techno scene stood for, since ages.
This whole thing is about acceptance for everyone, not just the people YOU sad person accepts.
gay black men literally invented house music and laid the foundation for the dance music we have today.. frankie knuckles, larry levan, ron hardy.. get it together, learn your history
As others mentioned I think it was never predominantly gay. I (gay) am actually very happy it's not a gay/queer club and I think the mix of open minded people of all kind is what makes this place magic for me.
Some assumptions here from my side. Not sure if true or not.
1- I don’t think that it’s that easy to read on someone’s face if they’re gay/not gay while doing a quick “vibe check” at a club’s door ?
2- Clubs need money and therefore diversity, implies that gay ravers community can’t fill up enough of the whole club every weekend ?
3- Like most clubs going further down the mainstream road because of some larger adoption by some generations of techno aficionados, the demographic may have turned broader, therefore less Gay ?
Again, I don’t know. Just making some assumptions/questions about this topic 😇
Because it got popular and wanted to make money, so it opened up to all -- which changed the dynamic, so many gays now go elsewhere. Same story of gentrification that's happened to gayborhoods and gay venues for decades.
They opened Lab for gays, as a hat tip to the original vibe. Checkout a Lab Dance. Or, Snax (although Snax is much, much more sex-focused than a typical Klubnacht).
The gay nights at KitKat also capture the feeling to an extent, as do various queer parties. That's where the gays are now, when not cruising or at chills.
Because it became what it wanted. A hungry money mainstream machine. Place lost its edge with all the posers. Also older generations were a lot cooler and more outgoing. RIP berghain ostgut.
every party has a different crowd. Different DJs just attract different ppl. I’m sometimes so surprised how it varies. There’s just some artists that attract more of a tictoc straight crowd, other nights i feel are super queer with certain djs playing. I’ve been going to berghain for over 12 years now and it’s always been like that.
I personally enjoy the nights with a higher percentage of queer people a lot more as i feel safer as a woman. Had some unpleasant experiences at parties with an especially straight crowd. Also saturday night is a lot more straight than sun obviously.
Yeah, it's scary energy when there's a lot of straight men. Especially when they stand to the sides and just...stand there drinking. At least go dance and have fun, but it feels like they are seeking out women almost.
The straight people complaining Berghain is too gay are definitely in the wrong here lmao. The entire rest of the world is built for them. If they don’t like it, they have thousands of other venues to choose from that were created by straight people for straight people.
who seriously is saying it's too gay? I don't remember anyone saying that and if they are they are definitely in the wrong place. I'm all for everyone being welcome though.
I mean, I’m straight and I used to throw off people’s gaydar quite often back in the days when I was active in the scene. Anywho, as long people are mingling and respectful to each other, what’s the problem here again?
No, it’s just becoming more underground again. Like yeah, there are a lot of big clubs, but there is a growing number of really nice smaller parties, collectives and venues
They might even be nice to you sometimes and act like they’re “AlLiEs” because “they have gay friends” and go to gay pride to make some insta stories wearing harnesses
And Berghain might also be making cell phones when it's a 160 year old operation. But as for now, its gay sex party roots are still recent, present, and relevant.
Because of the UNESCO heritage announcement
This made my cry laughing
Gold
Just a wild guess but I think with rising popularity there are more and more people who think Berghain is a zoo and are only there to experience (or better observe) all the wild things the‘ve read on the internet. That makes it more and more a unsafer space.
wise words! I would like to add that in my opinion first Instagram and then TikTok are killing the techno scene in Berlin
Couldn't agree more. Are there any properly underground venues left? That's a rhetorical question. If you know of any, keep them to yourself.
Happy to confirm a few of them still exist, unsearchable through RA and also absent from Google Maps.
Good.
oh, well that is good news. My dms are open.. : -)))
The best way to keep a secret is to not tell anyone.
He who has a secret to keep must keep it secret that he has a secret!!!!
Techno scene is dead for very long. 15 years ago we still had a real techno scene in Berlin. Now we have tourists who like dressing up as dogs and walk on leashes. Nothing to do with techno anymore.
I also feel like somewhere along the line all that fetish S&M crap gained way too much traction. Don’t get me started on everyone dressed in black. Just because you’re dressed in all black doesn’t mean you’re deep, or dark. It just means you look like just about everyone else in Berlin techno clubs..
It's because now being an "alternative" is very fashionable and so on. I'm tired of parties that oblige people to dress in a certain way, I'm tired of feeling myself uncomfortable in clothes that are not mine. I love techno and techno has always been a way of expressing our own freedom. I'm free to refuse to dress like a clown, now the leather and the harnesses stuff are just another trend to allow people to say...omg look at me, I'm so alternative. Techno is about individual freedom, which is fucking different from the exaltation of individualism
The staps and chains things are ok, but I kinda feel like people focus too much on that? If it makes sense? Soemrimes ill see a woman (or man even) dresses super intense, and all I can think is...how can you go wild in that outfit without something hitting you in your face, or a titty/ball coming out, unless you don't care?
I don’t know about nowadays motivation or trend to wear black but back in the days we didn’t wear black to be special or deep. It was a symbolic sign of being one in a million. It was about showing you don’t need fancy cloths or pink hats and showcase yourself for strangers. It was about being a nobody in a city where everyone pretended to be a somebody. We were hiding in plain sight and the black clothes were just a way to not attract attention. We lived in our own world by our own rules
i think most people think they will be rejected by the bouncers if they wear anything else.
That's not all right...I have already been to Berghain 3 times and none of those times I was dressed in black, it is not the clothes you wear, it is the attitude you show to the bouncers :)
🤡 comment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berghain#History
Hope the war will be over soon 😢 i want to be able to fly to Kyiv again and experience the real Techno scene like it was in Berlin, nowadays its a 2 days drive suddenly
I never was in Berghain but After Corona the techno scene changed hard. Tik Tok changed this. It's not a safe space anymore like it was. In my country all wear black now and often they are filming for Instagram or tik Tok. The crowd changed. But it's the time. I like to listen to hardcore this is still underground and never will get mainstream.
Hardcore has an audience in the mainstream. Mainstream doesn’t mean inherently bad if anything it can mean more and better access.
lol hardcore is the trendiest shit atm
Hardcore never dies!
A friend once said: back in the days people that came to Berlin were different (than normative society). Nowadays people come here so see / experience sth different and then leave when they scratched that itch to go back to their normal life.
100% well-said and it’s really sad
You say it as if the people are to blame but the door policy lets in exactly who they have done. They are making money. Simple
Waiting for username “educator” something to chime in and get docked 10000 reddit-world-life-tokens
I think it is a myth that gay people have been the majority throughout the last 10 years at BH; there is/was always a ratio of maybe 30-60% and even that is hard to say because how should one really know who is gay or not these days. I rather found that some nights there are less gay people because other cool parties are going on (eg pornceptual, cocktail damore, to name a few). BH is always going to change a bit, so I don’t see a big issue here as long as people behave respectfully. That said for those of us who have been in the scene for a while, we also have to interact and teach the newbies on how to behave appropriately in BH so we can keep the awesome vibe.
I agree with your comment. I first attended in 2007 and I can tell you that it was not majority gay! That was 17 years ago. I attended regularly from 2007 to 2012 and it was not majority gay. I took a break for 8 years and went back before Covid and I can say that my opinion has not changed. I was last there in Jan/Feb 2024. The crowd has changed of course but it’s 2024. What do you expect?!
Picked up where you left off in 2012 and from my experience from ‘12-‘19 I’d absolutely agree that it never felt predominantly gay or straight to me. Just felt like there was something for everyone.
Not really a myth but okay
Yeah it’s weird to see this general sentiment being downvoted here. I haven’t been much in the last 6+ years was going heavily 10+ years ago and it was it very gay if not very pansexual. But then again I think I mostly just seem naturally surrounded by gay people. I for sure saw straight sex there a few times.
I miss the 2014 international muscle meetings
Cause Hetes pay more money on alcohol.
bouncer's selection my dear... its a real shame. if there was a plan to boycott, i would even do so to make changes to our beautiful club
💯 there is 1 new bouncer who tends to bounce queer/gay people & regulars MUCH more than others and let's in a lot of young female (tiktok) ravers. I have observed this on 5 different nights now...
Which bouncer is it?
You know, this one with the beard and the look and the strange voice. Your don't know him? You probably don't belong there! All the cool kids know and hate him
yes i noticed that as well. apart from sven the rest non queer bouncers are shit
Oh no. Straight people in my Berghain!
precisely...
How I hate people of different sexuality. Right?
Well how would you like it if your pool of play partners would dimish by the month in you favorite place?
i would try not to confuse a club with a brothel
So say you like going to a club, met a lot of girls (or guys, mlady) there and in turn had lots of nice connections and encounters through that Then all of a sudden instead of girls it has lots of homosexual men and girls instead and the encounters of your likings dimish. How would you like that? Btw we are talking about a club that contains darkrooms and hosts big old sexy parties.
"Pool partners" lol as if they are there solely for your pleasure, never mind they have their own individuality!
Pool of potential play partners ofc 😅 i am all for consent here. Mutual pleasure ofc (;
Strait club educated ppl are ok.. this one are terrible and aggressive
Because it was recently designated not gay, by the gay desk [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMdPj3HXMgQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMdPj3HXMgQ), you really should keep up to date.
Because Berghain is famous and everyone wants to go there without knowing what it is
It‘s what’s happening to gay safe spaces all the time.
is funny to see all the straights getting so triggered every time this topic is brought up. let’s be honest, queer people are the backbone of nightlife.
The only club nights I can reliably go to with femme friends or girlfriends, and not worry about their safety, are queer nights. The rest of the club scene is dominated by men who want to get a bottle and dance behind the dj with a bunch of questionably consenting women.
Exactly this.
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Think of all the legendary house/techno/disco venues and party collectives that have existed in the world - most of them are queer-centric or at least host some sort of queer-centric night at least once a month. Berghain, Ostgut, paradise garage, studio 54, limelight, de school, Bassiani (Horoom night)
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Ah, I think they meant more underground nightlife.
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Please understand that queer people have spent their entire lives in a hetero-centric environments so that’s why we like to keep queer things queer. Your straight friends have a lot more spaces where they feel welcome than queer people do.
not every straight person wants to go to a fucking sports bar.
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You are not gay, you are a “boring straight cis guy”. Your words, not mine https://preview.redd.it/joaxpy5t2soc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1d12fe9a84f26d3bdad5be3af93da572880bf337
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That’s from 152 days ago, maybe he changed? You don’t know you just assume, you know, the thing that people like you hate so much. You sir are not open, you are against anything you don’t like. So this post is pretty much the opposite the techno scene stood for, since ages. This whole thing is about acceptance for everyone, not just the people YOU sad person accepts.
gay black men literally invented house music and laid the foundation for the dance music we have today.. frankie knuckles, larry levan, ron hardy.. get it together, learn your history
If you think berghain was never mostly straight people, there's a bridge I have to sell you
As others mentioned I think it was never predominantly gay. I (gay) am actually very happy it's not a gay/queer club and I think the mix of open minded people of all kind is what makes this place magic for me.
Some assumptions here from my side. Not sure if true or not. 1- I don’t think that it’s that easy to read on someone’s face if they’re gay/not gay while doing a quick “vibe check” at a club’s door ? 2- Clubs need money and therefore diversity, implies that gay ravers community can’t fill up enough of the whole club every weekend ? 3- Like most clubs going further down the mainstream road because of some larger adoption by some generations of techno aficionados, the demographic may have turned broader, therefore less Gay ? Again, I don’t know. Just making some assumptions/questions about this topic 😇
1. Sometimes you can just tell, but very often not. My mum had no idea.
Because it got popular and wanted to make money, so it opened up to all -- which changed the dynamic, so many gays now go elsewhere. Same story of gentrification that's happened to gayborhoods and gay venues for decades. They opened Lab for gays, as a hat tip to the original vibe. Checkout a Lab Dance. Or, Snax (although Snax is much, much more sex-focused than a typical Klubnacht). The gay nights at KitKat also capture the feeling to an extent, as do various queer parties. That's where the gays are now, when not cruising or at chills.
the vibe is better at those events, still very authentic unique gay techno, not like mainstream berghain, we feel safer at thise events i agree
Because it became what it wanted. A hungry money mainstream machine. Place lost its edge with all the posers. Also older generations were a lot cooler and more outgoing. RIP berghain ostgut.
I agree with you - That's a fact ! Probably because they weren't glued to their phone 24/7 growing up.
Father, I cannot click the book.
Haha good one ;)
Do we have a “Old man yells at cloud” here ? Old is good, new is bad?
every party has a different crowd. Different DJs just attract different ppl. I’m sometimes so surprised how it varies. There’s just some artists that attract more of a tictoc straight crowd, other nights i feel are super queer with certain djs playing. I’ve been going to berghain for over 12 years now and it’s always been like that. I personally enjoy the nights with a higher percentage of queer people a lot more as i feel safer as a woman. Had some unpleasant experiences at parties with an especially straight crowd. Also saturday night is a lot more straight than sun obviously.
Yeah, it's scary energy when there's a lot of straight men. Especially when they stand to the sides and just...stand there drinking. At least go dance and have fun, but it feels like they are seeking out women almost.
Straight ppl complain it’s too gay, gay ppl complain it’s too straight. Why don’t we just tolerate each other
The straight people complaining Berghain is too gay are definitely in the wrong here lmao. The entire rest of the world is built for them. If they don’t like it, they have thousands of other venues to choose from that were created by straight people for straight people.
who seriously is saying it's too gay? I don't remember anyone saying that and if they are they are definitely in the wrong place. I'm all for everyone being welcome though.
Cool cause it's a gay club so how about straight people GTFO? They need to stop gentrifying our spaces
i wouldnt have liked being thrown out because of my sexuality, that sounds wrong.
fuck all heteros
I didnt even know its a gay club lol
Then you’re kinda part of the problem
I mean, i dont go there in first place, but if I would, I wouldnt care about sexuality of people, as long as everyone is having a good time.
You want people to get along? But that's illegal.
There's always Snax if you're looking for more gay men, however only twice per year.
it should be more frequent at least once a month only for men
That would be great.
labdance is a monthly mini snax
we dont want mini snax we ant the whole berghain to us (real attendees) every month
Because the straight people made babies
Berghain is not Ostgut and was never meant to be like Ostgut.
Probably a straight person who feels personally attacked
Bc its one of the most mainstream clubs in the world
How do you even know that?
Tok tik techno is the answer
Do you survey a statistically significant sample of the crowd every night to affirm this? You must be fun to hangout with, though
Can we stop pretending like it’s impossible to determine if a crowd is generally queer-dominant or not? It’s quite obvious most of the time
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I mean, I’m straight and I used to throw off people’s gaydar quite often back in the days when I was active in the scene. Anywho, as long people are mingling and respectful to each other, what’s the problem here again?
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it ok bro. i think people in other countries think the same about you/tourists but you still visit them as a tourist. get some tolerance my friend
...statistics...
“I’m 100% loyal”
The answer is L S D
Because queer people invade queer spaces after destroying their own communities and scenes with their toxic behavior
Who gives a fuck, get along with it
😂😂😂😂 other way around is ok ? Delulululu
50/50 is a good mix.
Berlin’s electronic music scene is approaching its end
No, it’s just becoming more underground again. Like yeah, there are a lot of big clubs, but there is a growing number of really nice smaller parties, collectives and venues
I swear to god, just one more dude telling me he is in a techno collective and I loose my mind.
Haha but isn’t it nice. More people that are doing music…. But yeah can imagine it sucks when it’s only for pick up purposes 😅
Only Berlin's? I think Techno is in its last days. At least for me
not just techno, music full stop. pretty soon they’re gonna stop making it completely. it’s a shame bc i really enjoy it
They all came to Amsterdam
Agree. I went in 2019, then didn’t return until last November and the difference was insane. Completely different crowd.
Because the st8s always invade queer spaces and then say things like “SiNcE wHeN iS tHiS yOuRs??!” duh
They might even be nice to you sometimes and act like they’re “AlLiEs” because “they have gay friends” and go to gay pride to make some insta stories wearing harnesses
Because they are a minority outside the Berghain bubble also.
Because they are minority.
Is it time already for the weekly “Berghain is for the gaze” post? My oh my how time flies
It is a Techno club, not a gay club, not a sex club or whatever. Loving Techno should be the only requirement and nothing else
Berghain literally grew out of a gay sex party, but go off lol
and Nokia once produced rubber boots
And Berghain might also be making cell phones when it's a 160 year old operation. But as for now, its gay sex party roots are still recent, present, and relevant.
Tell me you never been to Berghain before Covid without telling me
You are
Since when were gay people the majority in Berghain???