Fun Fast Facts:
- No laws against same-sex sexual activity in Germany
- Homosexuals were persecuted under Paragraph 175 under Nazi rule.
- With the help of the church, East Germany changes laws before West Germany.
- Registered life partnerships have been legal since 2001.
- Germany has a gay credit card called “Pay Gay”.
LGBT organisation: The Lesbian and Gay Federation in Germany
- Founded in 1990.
- By 2000, campaigned successfully for registered partnership law in Germany
- Rainbow families project includes hotline, counseling and publications.
W3JOY interviewed: Manuel Garcia, author of Transmen of the World
We have rights and this makes it more acceptable for people…easier for people to understand.
The situation in Germany is OK. Nevertheless, it’s important to inform people about transsexuality.
If the people are informed, especially in the LGBT scene, they are more tolerant than people in the country that have no clue.
On LGBT trans-phobia:
All of them had coming out … I can’t understand why they [LGBT] do discriminate [against] transsexual people.
I was surprised that South Africa was really supportive.
On the Malaysians interviewed for his book:
Some of them are scared about losing their jobs or losing their lives.
It was really sad to see how transgendered people lived there. It’s hard to live there because they have no rights. They get beaten up or even killed.
Their appearance is masculine but their papers are still feminine, so it’s hard for them to find a job where they don’t need any papers.
Published: Tuesday, 22 Sept 2012 3:11 PM
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 32:15 — 29.5MB)