Overview

Set in interwar Germany, The Intermediaries tells the forgotten story of the Institute for Sexual Science, the world's first center for homosexual and transgender rights. Headed by a gay Jewish man, Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld, the institute aided in the first gender-affirming surgeries and hormone treatments, acting as a rebellious base of operations in the face of rising prejudice, nationalism, and Nazi propaganda. An expert in medical history, Brandy Schillace tells the story of the Institute through the eyes of Dora Richter, an Institute patient whom we follow in her quest to transition and live as a woman. While the colorful but ultimately tragic arc of Weimar Berlin is well documented, The Intermediaries is the first book to assert the inseparable, interdependent relationship of sex science to both the queer rights movement and the permissive Weimar culture, tracking how political factions perverted that same science to suit their own ends. This riveting book brings together forgotten scientific and surgical discoveries (including previously untranslated archival material from Berlin) with the politics and social history that galvanized the first stirrings of the trans rights movement. Through its unforgettable characters and immersive, urgent storytelling, The Intermediaries charts the relationships between nascent sexual science, queer civil rights, and the fight against fascism. It tells riveting stories of LGBTQ pioneers-a surprising, long-suppressed history-and offers a cautionary tale in the face of today's oppressive anti-trans legislation.

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9781324036319

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Reviews

Riveting, incendiary--I couldn't pull myself away.--CN Lester, author of Trans Like Me The Intermediaries is irrefutable proof that trans people have always existed, a story of liberation in the face of oppression--and a case study in how institutionalized hatred can grow alongside queer and trans joy.--Mya Byrne, Americana singer-songwriter and trans rights advocate [The Intermediaries] is an indispensable read for historians and enthusiasts seeking to uncover the nuanced and seldom-told stories of transgender people in history.--Erin Reed, journalist and trans rights activist [The Intermediaries] is the crunchy, smart history of sexual science and liberation that we've all been waiting for.--Annalee Newitz, best-selling author of Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age Brandy Schillace is a first-rate medical historian with a novelist's soul. . . . The Intermediaries is a slam dunk.--Lindsey Fitzharris, author of The Butchering Art: Joseph Lister's Quest to Transform the Grisly World of Victorian Medicine Brandy Schillace is a wise, witty, humane, and insightful guide in this fascinating and revelatory history. The Intermediaries is essential reading.--Laura Helmuth, former editor in chief of Scientific American

Author Information

Brandy Schillace is a historian, former professor and museum professional, and editor of Medical Humanities, a social-justice journal. She writes about gender, medical history, and neurodiversity for outlets including Scientific American, Wired, CrimeReads, and Undark. She lives in Ohio.

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