Transvestite pass
Transvestite at this time referred to all individuals whose gender identity or preferred clothing was discordant to that associated with their assigned sex, and so included both cross-dressing and transgender people.
[1] As gender-confirming surgery was only an emerging practice in the early 20th century, obtaining a Transvestitenschein, along with an official name change, represented the maximum extent to which many trans individuals could transition.
[3] However, those who defied societal gender norms through cross-dressing risked facing legal consequences, such as arrest and charges related to public outrage and disturbances.
[3] Magnus Hirschfeld played a pivotal role in assisting individuals navigate these challenging situations by helping them obtain police documents regarding their clothing choices to establish their "objective" sexual identity.
[3] Hirschfeld's efforts contributed to the transformation of this pass into a more specific permit that would be recognized on the basis of state legitimacy, particularly during the Weimar Republic.
[7] These transvestite passes were mainly given to middle-class, heterosexual, male-to-female individuals to avoid associations with gay and lesbian culture in Weimar Germany.
The transvestite pass certificate stated that the "individual in question" was allowed to wear clothing that corresponded to their gender identity,[1] meaning they could cross-dress in public spaces.
The case of Countess Geraldine von Zobeltitz, a trans noblewoman from Berlin, was reported in the 11 August 1912 issue of the Asheville Citizen-Times.
In 1922, guidance issued by the police headquarters in Berlin regarding this policy stated: "Apart from male prostitution, transvestism in general has no criminal significance.
With regard to the male transvestites, recent experience shows that even the formerly taken-for-granted view that men in women's clothing are all homosexuals is no longer tenable.
Along with his research institute, Hirschfeld strove for legal and social reform on the basis of LGBTQ+ rights, as he felt that individuals should not be characterized as abnormal and criminalized for being sexual minorities.
[16] This is echoed in his most famous motto:"per scientiam ad justitiam" ("through science to justice")[17]In 1910, during the Weimar period, Hirschfeld coined the term "transvestism" to describe the act of cross-dressing.
[18] Hirschfeld and Abraham created the transvestite pass as a form of protection for individuals against the arrest associated with the act of cross-dressing from local police authorities, as well as providing them with the ability to travel in an unimpeded manner.
[21] This influenced the lifestyles of many, as transgender patients were told to follow more middle-class values, such as not dressing too extravagantly or femininely, and not interacting with those who were outside the heterosexual norms,[21] in order to conform to the regulations needed to obtain the transvestite pass.
[24] Thus, the transvestite pass illustrates the evolving legal and societal attitudes towards the act of cross-dressing, gender identity, and transgender rights in Weimar Germany.
