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.