By Brandy Schillace edited by Michael D. Costume party at the Institute for Sexual Research in Berlin, date and photographer unknown. Magnus Hirschfeld in glasses holds hands with his partner, Karl Giese center. Late one night on the cusp of the 20th century, Magnus Hirschfeld, a young doctor, found a soldier on the doorstep of his practice in Germany.
Distraught and agitated, the man had come to confess himself an Urning βa word used to refer to homosexual men. It explained the cover of darkness; to speak of such things was dangerous business.
But the soldier had already made up his mind. It was the eve of his wedding, an event he could not face. Shortly after, he shot himself. If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today. Hirschfeld sought to specialize in sexual health, an area of growing interest.
Many of his predecessors and colleagues believed that homosexuality was pathological, using new theories from psychology to suggest it was a sign of mental ill health. Magnus Hirschfeld, director of the Institute for Sexual Research, in an undated portrait. Credit: Magnus-Hirschfeld-Gesellschaft e. If this seems like extremely forward thinking for the time, it was. It was possibly even more forward than our own thinking, years later. Current anti-trans sentiments center on the idea that being transgender is both new and unnatural.
In the wake of a U. But history bears witness to the plurality of gender and sexuality. Hirschfeld considered Socrates, Michelangelo and Shakespeare to be sexual intermediaries; he considered himself and his partner Karl Giese to be the same. And in cases where the desire to live as the opposite sex was strong, he thought science ought to provide a means of transition. By it would perform the first modern gender-affirmation surgeries in the world. A corner building with wings to either side, the institute was an architectural gem that blurred the line between professional and intimate living spaces.
