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.
Original title: "Die Geschichte von Lili Elbe: Ein Mensch wechselt sein Geschlecht" (The story of Lili Elbe: A person changes their gender) by Harald Neckelmann.
In the 1920s, the Danish painter Einar Wegener and his wife Gerda, another successful artist, led an eventful life between Denmark, France, and Italy. When one day Gerda asks him to pose for her in women's clothes, she sets in motion a development whose end neither of them can imagine. For fun, Einar appears more and more often at social events as a mysterious woman named "Lili".
But the game soon turns into a serious inner conflict. Einar struggles painfully for his identity until he finally undergoes several operations in Berlin and Dresden in order to continue living as Lili Elbe. A new edition of the bestseller from 1932, "Ein Mensch Weschselt Sein Geschlecht" by Lili Elbe - With an afterword by Rainer Herrn.
Harald Neckelmann, born in 1965, was an author and correspondent for ARD radio for more than ten years. Since 2007 he has been working as a non-fiction author, lecturer and city guide. He has already published numerous books on the history and present of Berlin.
Lili Elbe, originally known as Einar Wegener, was one of the first known recipients of gender confirmation surgery. Born in Denmark in 1882, Elbe was a transgender woman and a pioneer in advocating for transgender rights and visibility.
She underwent a series of gender affirmation surgeries in the early 1930s under the care of German sexologist Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld. These procedures included orchidectomy (removal of testicles), vaginoplasty (creation of a vaginal opening), and later attempted uterus transplantation, although the latter was unsuccessful.
Elbe's life and experiences have been documented in her autobiography, "Man into Woman," which was published posthumously. Her story gained wider attention following the release of the novel "The Danish Girl" by David Ebershoff, later adapted into a film of the same name starring Eddie Redmayne as Elbe.
Lili Elbe's bravery in pursuing gender affirmation surgery during a time when the medical understanding of transgender issues was limited has made her an enduring symbol of transgender rights and visibility.
2019,
German,
Harald Neckelmann,
Lili Elbe,
