A random collection of over 1910 books and audiobooks authored by or about my transgender, intersex sisters, and gender-nonconforming persons all over the world. I read some of them, and I was inspired by some of them. I met some of the authors and heroines, some of them are my best friends, and I had the pleasure and honor of interviewing some of them. If you know of any transgender biography that I have not covered yet, please let me know.
1907,
1919,
1996,
2010,
German,
Walter Homann,
Original title: "Das Geschlecht der Lüge: Ein Tagebuch" (Diary of a male bride) by Walter Homann. The first edition of the book was published in 1907. In 1919 the book was republished as "Das Geschlecht der Lüge" (The Gender of Lies). It was also reprinted in 1996 and 2010.
In his diary, the "blond Dori" describes the stages of his unusual life. For a long time, it was a mystery to him why some men tried so hard for his friendship, while others contemptuously called him a whore. In all his innocence and naivety, he does not understand that his self-evident effeminate behavior makes him suspicious in the eyes of others. After he decides to put on the clothes of the opposite sex, he experiences a rapid social rise, which, however, ends in fiasco.
The diary reflects the author Walter Homann's (1887-1918) own experiences, but also deals with the fate of the "Comtesse Dina Alma de Paradeda" (photo), which Magnus Hirschfeld cites as a prime example of the "special sexual type" of the transvestite.
In December 1906 there was a lot of talk in the newspapers about a 'male bride': a teacher in Breslau (Wrocław) had become engaged to a 'noble lady' who was in fact a man in disguise and committed suicide for fear of being discovered. A little later, in the spring of 1907, the "Diary of a Male Bride" appeared, edited by Walter Homann, who claims to have received the notes from the police, which he handed over to the public with the book to enlighten about the "third sex" ("The diary pages were handed over to me at the police headquarters").
Although the book does not claim at any point that it is the story of the Breslau (Wrocław) "male bride", it was obviously read (also) as a documentation of the current case: the book was a great success." (From the afterword by Jens Dobler)
Homann's book is a picaresque novel, which at first is reminiscent of "Felix Krull" in some respects: in a naïve tone, the "blond Dori" tells how he initially finds himself quite unsuspectingly in a world beyond the classic male role. In this way, the criminal energy of the later impostures as a lady of status is interpreted away: he only makes the best of a situation into which he has been pushed by the environment. The mood changes when Dori decides to try her luck in women's clothes - the slight melancholy of youth is replaced by a brisk thirst for adventure. In this respect, this supposed diary reveals the skilful dramaturgy of a seasoned writer.
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