ARTE Filmpremiere: Die sexuelle Provokation. Magnus Hirschfeld und die Geschlechter

• The sexual provocation. Magnus Hirschfeld and the sexes
  Documentary by Miguel Kaluza, ARTE/ZDF 2025, 52 min.

Film and discussion with the director and other guests

Anyone following the current debate about transgender could be forgiven for thinking that trans people are a recent invention. However, there was an early trans movement over 100 years ago. This included the first trans people to have gender reassignment surgery. One important supporter was involved in this: the sexual pioneer and activist Magnus Hirschfeld. He campaigned for the recognition of queer people and founded the world's first institute for sexology in Berlin in 1919.
His motto: Through science to justice! However, Hirschfeld's recognition of gender diversity and his fight for the decriminalization of homosexuality also made him an enemy.

In the film"The sexual provocation - Magnus Hirschfeld and the sexes", director Miguel Kaluza explores the history of the sexual pioneer and wants to understand why sexual and gender diversity is always so provocative. Are we also facing a backlash today like in Hirschfeld's time?