Nora Eckert reads from “Der lange Weg zur Selbstbestimmung: Eine trans*Geschichte BRD/DDR”

Event in spoken German

Location: Schwules Museum, Room 2

Admission: 7 euros, reduced rate 4 euros

In her brand-new book, Nora Eckert describes how the initiatives of individuals who advocated for the legal and social recognition of their trans* identities grew into a collective movement. She traces how early networks and self-help groups gave rise to a community with a claim to political self-representation and nationwide counseling structures as we know them today, and explores the processes, discourses, and key figures involved in this development. The book is thus a history of both the movement and emancipation, embedded in German social history, for the struggles for recognition have always centered on two things: gender self-determination and, consequently, gender autonomy; and the depathologization of trans* people and, ultimately, the assumption of interpretive power.

Nora Eckert (*1954) lives and works in Berlin. She is a writer for queer.de and, as a trans* activist, advocates for the interests of the trans* community. From 2022 to 2025, she served on the board of the Bundesverband Trans* e. V. She is a member of the board of TransInterQueer e.V. and a dedicated ally of the Schwules Museum. Her most recent publications include »Außerhalb oder innerhalb der Binarität? Sind wir unsere Genitalien?« (2023), »Wie alle, nur anders. Ein transsexuelles Leben in Berlin« (2021).

Nora Eckert:

“Der lange Weg zur Selbstbestimmung: Eine trans*Geschichte BRD/DDR”

250 pp., 15 illustrations (some in color), flap-bound paperback, 12.5 x 21 cm

Wallstein Verlag, expected publication date: September 16, 2026

Photo: Meike Kenn