Winner of Randy Shilts Award In the half century before the Nazis rose to power Berlin became
the undisputed gay capital of the world. Activists and medical professionals made it a city of
firsts-the first gay journal the first homosexual rights organization the first Institute for
Sexual Science the first sex reassignment surgeries-exploring and educating themselves and the
rest of the world about new ways of understanding the human condition. In this fascinating
examination of how the uninhibited urban culture of Berlin helped create our categories of
sexual orientation and gender identity Robert Beachy guides readers through the past events
and developments that continue to shape and influence our thinking about sex and gender to this
day.
