Photo by Andreas Filla, taken at the Berlin Pride Parade 1994. CC-BY-SA
Hi my trans siblings!
I'm late writing this mega this week, I had hoped to do more research but maybe I can add stuff and re-write this as the week goes on.
This time I'd like to share some information I stumbled across about 20th century trans icon Charlotte von Mahlsdorf. She was born in the Weimar Republic in 1928 and survived Nazi Germany to make it as the most prominent trans woman that I'm aware of in the DDR (GDR or East Germany). There she ran the Gründerzeit museum, dedicated to the founding period of the German Empire and the period of its industrialization. The museum ended up becoming a popular hotspot for the gay and I presume trans and queer scene in the DDR.
She was politically active, having been an unofficial informant of the Stasi which ideally I'd love more information on. Was she helping them identify Nazis? Surely being a trans woman would've lured a lot of reactionaries out from behind their masks in her presence. In fact, after the DDR was taken over by the BRD (West Germany) in 1990, it only took about one year before one of the parties she threw at the museum was the target of a neo-Nazi attack, at which point she announced she was considering leaving Germany. She eventually moved to Sweden in 1997, where I believe she lived the rest of her life.
She died of natural causes at the age of 74 during a visit to Berlin in 2002.
This has been more or less a summary of the Wikipedia article on her where I did check some sources, but I really want to learn more about her. I only learned of her in the past couple days, and there is a film about her from 1992 called I Am My Own Woman, by Rosa von Praunheim.
Join our public Matrix server!
https://rentry.co/tracha#tracha-rooms
As a reminder, please do not discuss current struggle sessions in the mega. We want this to be a little oasis for all of us and the best way to do that is not to feed into existing conflict on the site.
Also, be sure to properly give content warnings and put sensitive subjects behind proper spoiler tags. It's for the mental health of not just your comrades, but yourself as well.
Here is a screenshot of where to find the spoiler button.
spoiler
botton surgery stuff
The number of transbians Ive been with casually before bottom surgery who have now told me they dont actually like vagina is kind bumming me out 😭, wtf I cant believe the only thing they wanted from me was my dickspoiler
That's tragic. But when people reveal themselves it's better than being misled.
Still kinda crazy to me that a transbian would be so insensitive. You'd expect them to understand bottom dysphoria.
spoiler
Kinda gross tbhspoiler
I'm sorry, that's proper shit. I can't imagine being a lesbian and not loving pussy.Jesus! That's awful.
spoiler
Part of me wants to say "wtf??" but tbh I'm not surprised. I'm sorry they only wanted you for that, its a shitty feeling and a shitty way of engaging with a person. Even amongst ourselves we can't stop valuing people strictly for their bodies
spoiler stupid vent like, there's this weird thing where some trans women (at least in my world) value dick so much, think a strap isnt as good, devalue vagina-havers ability to be toppy, etc., and its just
. I know it takes a lot to deconstruct masculinity, especially when its enforced on you against your will, but fucking goddamn people need to deconstruct harder. But we're never taught how to deconstruct our own internal stuff in this culture and its difficult and painful so people dont want to try and dont want to learn (at least, I know I didn't).
spoiler
I know!! I couldn't believe it, like of all the people in the world this was the last group Id expect it from. The cis lesbians have been cool at least...