Magnus Hirschfeld Book order

Rough trade, drag kings, tea dances, sporty dykes, coded classified ads, campy nicknames, passing, outing, hustlers, beats and cruising at the YMCA – all accompanied by a wave of gay and lesbian activism. Eighties New York? No, Germany’s imperial capital at the dawn of the 20th century. Berlin’s Third Sex reveals an astonishingly diverse gay subculture years ahead of the Weimar era, with cross-dressing cabaret, all-night parties and erotic licence at every level of society. Magnus Hirschfeld’s 1904 report is a foundational text of modern gay identity, queer history captured by an insider, as it happened. Police, blackmailers and moral crusaders are never far, suicide is all too common, but Hirschfeld also invites us into the homes of same-sex couples to witness tranquil scenes of domesticity and devotion. Berlin’s Third Sex formed part of the vast ‘Metropolis Documents’ project, a visionary panorama of early 20th century urban life. This, the first part of the series to appear in English, is offered alongside an earlier Hirschfeld study of the ‘third sex’ (the author’s provisional term for gays and lesbians) as well as comprehensive notes and an informative afterword.

One of the founders of the scientific study of sex, Magnus Hirschfeld, M.D. (1868-1935), led the field in objective examinations of homosexuality, transvestism, and gender identity. The Homosexuality of Men and Women was designed to provide a unified, comprehensive description of homosexuality which would rid heterosexuals of homophobic prejudice and allow gays and lesbians to accept themselves and stop feeling isolated.This encyclopedic study opens with a definition and a detailed biological diagnosis of orientation, including the childhood and adolescent phases. Hirschfeld addresses the physical, mental, and emotional life, while explaining the differences between friendship and same-sex love; genuine and false homosexuality; and the inborn nature of homosexuality and bisexuality. He also disputes the theory that homosexuality is treatable.In the second half of the book, Hirschfeld looks at community life, bonding, roles in society, history, persecution, victimization, and the law. His documentation of gays in the military and the "new technology" of his day-such as the telephone and airplanes and their affect on the lives of homosexuals-offers farsighted observations that strongly parallel today's national debates and new developments.