Berlin's Third Sex
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A01=Magnus Hirschfeld
Author_Magnus Hirschfeld
Berlin's Third Sex
Category=JBSF
Category=NHD
early 20th century Berlin
eq_bestseller
eq_history
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
gender non-conformity
historical queer narratives
LGBTQ+ subculture
Magnus Hirschfeld
queer history
queer identity
same-sex attraction
sexual minorities
Product details
- ISBN 9781487558451
- Weight: 1g
- Dimensions: 140 x 216mm
- Publication Date: 14 May 2025
- Publisher: University of Toronto Press
- Publication City/Country: CA
- Product Form: Paperback
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In 1904, Berlin did not exactly look like a haven of tolerance. Sex between consenting males and gender non-conformity were illegal, and other forms of sexual expression faced oppressive societal taboos. But despite fear, secrecy, and blackmail, Germany’s imperial capital nurtured a vibrant and diverse queer subculture.
In Berlin’s Third Sex, German sexologist Magnus Hirschfeld offers a sympathetic glimpse into this queer life, depicting spaces such as gyms, bars, cafés, aristocratic drawing rooms, and tenement apartments that drew the "third sex" – exiles from contemporary gender and sexual norms. Intimate, striking, and surprisingly sentimental, Hirschfeld’s account takes us from drag king cavaliers at all-night lesbian balls to "uranian" men darning socks for their soldier sweethearts, and from cigar-smoking trans men to sex workers in moonlit parks. Hirschfeld reveals vast networks of clandestine connections: coded vernacular, camp aliases inspired by pop culture, encrypted classified ads, and even a pre-Grindr telegraphic service for summoning temporary companions.
Featuring extensive notes, an informative afterword, and an earlier pamphlet on same-sex attraction by Hirschfeld, this volume is of crucial importance for students, scholars, and readers interested in queer history.
In Berlin’s Third Sex, German sexologist Magnus Hirschfeld offers a sympathetic glimpse into this queer life, depicting spaces such as gyms, bars, cafés, aristocratic drawing rooms, and tenement apartments that drew the "third sex" – exiles from contemporary gender and sexual norms. Intimate, striking, and surprisingly sentimental, Hirschfeld’s account takes us from drag king cavaliers at all-night lesbian balls to "uranian" men darning socks for their soldier sweethearts, and from cigar-smoking trans men to sex workers in moonlit parks. Hirschfeld reveals vast networks of clandestine connections: coded vernacular, camp aliases inspired by pop culture, encrypted classified ads, and even a pre-Grindr telegraphic service for summoning temporary companions.
Featuring extensive notes, an informative afterword, and an earlier pamphlet on same-sex attraction by Hirschfeld, this volume is of crucial importance for students, scholars, and readers interested in queer history.
James J. Conway is a Berlin-based writer and translator from German to English.
