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A review by babywren
Gay Berlin: Birthplace of a Modern Identity by Robert Beachy
challenging
dark
informative
slow-paced
2.75
This was so hard to read, oh my God. Not only was this book incredibly dense, but the combo of didactic and unfamiliar language really challenged me. The choice to slap 11 pages of images in the middle of an unrelated chapter was also annoying - just put them in an appendix at the end.
I did appreciate how critical Beachy was of instances of antisemitism, xenophobia, and misogyny, and his comments on the predatory nature of some of the masculinist's (ie Brand's) ideas of ideal male-male relationships (an older man being involved with a much younger male) were gratifying.
My main issues with the content of the book are Beachy's descriptions of trans people. There are so many instances (particularly in Chapter 6) where Beachy misrepresents the experiences of trans people and media, twisting it to fit his "Gay Berlin" narrative. Not only this, but he consistently misgenders trans people and uses outright transphobic language.
Here are some of the problematic bits that stuck out to me:
- Beachy discusses a movie called "I Don't Want to Be A Man" (1918), which centers around a trans woman and her love interest. Beachy reduces intimate moments between the two as "homosexual encounters".
- Beachy misgendering a trans woman who has written to Hirschfeld, seeking surgery to replace her testicles with ovaries so she "could become a complete woman". She mentions she "feels more woman than man" and included a photo of herself with her letter to Hirschfeld. Beachy describes this photograph as "a man in drag", and calls her a "cross dresser".
- Beachy misgendering a trans woman who was one of the first recipients of bottom surgery, and then being dismissive and ultimately lacking compassion for her after she chose to reverse the surgery.
I did appreciate how critical Beachy was of instances of antisemitism, xenophobia, and misogyny, and his comments on the predatory nature of some of the masculinist's (ie Brand's) ideas of ideal male-male relationships (an older man being involved with a much younger male) were gratifying.
My main issues with the content of the book are Beachy's descriptions of trans people. There are so many instances (particularly in Chapter 6) where Beachy misrepresents the experiences of trans people and media, twisting it to fit his "Gay Berlin" narrative. Not only this, but he consistently misgenders trans people and uses outright transphobic language.
Here are some of the problematic bits that stuck out to me:
- Beachy discusses a movie called "I Don't Want to Be A Man" (1918), which centers around a trans woman and her love interest. Beachy reduces intimate moments between the two as "homosexual encounters".
- Beachy misgendering a trans woman who has written to Hirschfeld, seeking surgery to replace her testicles with ovaries so she "could become a complete woman". She mentions she "feels more woman than man" and included a photo of herself with her letter to Hirschfeld. Beachy describes this photograph as "a man in drag", and calls her a "cross dresser".
- Beachy misgendering a trans woman who was one of the first recipients of bottom surgery, and then being dismissive and ultimately lacking compassion for her after she chose to reverse the surgery.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Antisemitism and Transphobia