A Licence to Be (Different)

Magnus Hirschfeld was the most famous scientist and activist involved in the Weimar Republic’s sexual reform movement. In addition to focusing on homosexuality and the campaign for its decriminalization, his work explored variations in gender identity, which he described as ‘intermediate sexual types’. Writing in the DHM blog, Thomas Jander (curator of the Documents Collection) takes a closer look at Hirschfeld’s work and explains what it has to do with documents known as ‘transvestite licences’.