TY - JOUR
T1 - We too deserve a place in the sun
T2 - The politics of transvestite identity in weimar Germany
AU - Sutton, Katie
PY - 2012/5
Y1 - 2012/5
N2 - Cross-dressing took on new political meanings in Germany's Weimar Republic, with the emergence of organizations and periodicals aimed at promoting the interests of self-identified 'transvestites.' This new sexological category, developed by Magnus Hirschfeld in 1910, formed the basis for a shared sense of identity and belonging among individuals who identified as members of the 'opposite' sex. Drawing on the experiences of the homosexual emancipation movement and discourses of bourgeois respectability, middle-class transvestites came together to demand legal and social recognition, including acknowledgement of 'transsexual' desires. Their efforts represent a critical but forgotten moment in the history of transgender political activism.
AB - Cross-dressing took on new political meanings in Germany's Weimar Republic, with the emergence of organizations and periodicals aimed at promoting the interests of self-identified 'transvestites.' This new sexological category, developed by Magnus Hirschfeld in 1910, formed the basis for a shared sense of identity and belonging among individuals who identified as members of the 'opposite' sex. Drawing on the experiences of the homosexual emancipation movement and discourses of bourgeois respectability, middle-class transvestites came together to demand legal and social recognition, including acknowledgement of 'transsexual' desires. Their efforts represent a critical but forgotten moment in the history of transgender political activism.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84867959863&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1353/gsr.2012.0095
DO - 10.1353/gsr.2012.0095
M3 - Article
SN - 0149-7952
VL - 35
SP - 335
EP - 354
JO - German Studies Review
JF - German Studies Review
IS - 2
ER -