Nora Eckert: The Long Road to Self-Determination. A trans* story from West Germany and East Germany

Throughout history, social processes have unfolded in which narratives play an essential role; in the case of trans* people, these narratives are finally to be given their due. The author describes how private networks gradually gave rise to self-help structures, which in turn evolved into the trans* community as we know it today. This growth in organisational structures was accompanied by a process of politicisation. This consisted, and continues to consist, of the demand for full legal and social recognition of trans* people.

Nora Eckert regards the integration of trans* rights into the human rights discourse as a decisive step, one which has also been reflected in constitutional case law since 1978 with regard to trans* issues and their implications for legislation. In 2024, a Self-Determination Act came into force, which is based on the principle of an individual’s autonomy regarding their gender.

In the context of right-wing populism, however, gender self-determination remains both a cause to be defended and a prerequisite for an inclusive society.

Nora Eckert was born in 1954 and lives and works as a journalist in Berlin. She is a contributor to queer.de and, as a trans* activist, champions the interests of the trans* community. From 2022 to 2025, she served on the executive board of the Bundesverband Trans* e. V. and, in this capacity, works for the TransInterQueer association and the Gay Museum Berlin. Her most recent publications are “Outside or within the binary? Are we our genitals?” (2023) and her autobiography “Just like everyone else, only different. A transsexual life in Berlin” (2021).

Rainer Herrn, born in 1957, is a medical historian specialising in the history of psychiatry and gender and sexual minorities. He works at the Research Centre for the History of Sexology at the Magnus Hirschfeld Society and, since 2008, at the Institute for the History of Medicine and Medical Ethics at the Charité.