Harry Benjamin and transgender medicine

I’m delighted to have a new article out today in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, titled “Harry Benjamin and the birth of transgender medicine.” It draws from my research for Wondrous Transformations and describes some of the key influences that led Benjamin to become a pivotal figure in the early history of transgender medicine. Especially important was his friendship with Magnus Hirschfeld, the German physician, sexologist, and activist for homosexual rights, who headed the Institute for Sexual Science in Berlin in the Weimar era. Trans people found employment and practical aid at the Institute, and some of the earliest people to receive surgical gender transitions were treated there, including Dora Richter and Lili Elbe, the subject of The Danish Girl. The image above shows a “transvestite pass” that Hirschfeld developed in cooperation with sympathetic Berlin police officials which allowed the bearer to wear clothing associated with their gender identity without fear of harassment.