Rowling isn't denying holocaust. She just pointed out that burning of transgender health books is a lie as that form of cosmetic surgery didn't exist. But of course you knew that already, didn't you?
I was thinking I'd probably see one of you! You're wrong :) Let's review the history a bit, shall we?
In this case, what we're talking about is the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft, or in English, The Institute of Sexology. This Institute was founded and headed by a gay Jewish sexologist named Magnus Hirschfeld. It was founded in July of 1919 as the first sexology research clinic in the world, and was run as a private, non-profit clinic. Hirschfeld and the researchers who worked there would give out consultations, medical advice, and even treatments for free to their poorer clientele, as well as give thousands of lectures and build a unique library full of books on gender, sexuality, and eroticism. Of course, being a gay man, Hirschfeld focused a lot on the gay community and proving that homosexuality was natural and could not be "cured".
Hirschfeld was unique in his time because he believed that nobody's gender was either one or the other. Rather, he contended that everyone is a mixture of both male and female, with every individual having their own unique mix of traits.
This leads into the Institute's work with transgender patients. Hirschfeld was actually the one to coin the term "transsexual" in 1923, though this word didn't become popular phrasing until 30 years later when Harry Benjamin began expanding his research (I'll just be shortening it to trans for this brief overview.) For the Institute, their revolutionary work with gay men eventually began to attract other members of the LGBTA+, including of course trans people.
Contrary to what Anon says, sex reassignment surgery was first tested in 1912. It'd already being used on humans throughout Europe during the 1920's by the time a doctor at the Institute named Ludwig Levy-Lenz began performing it on patients in 1931. Hirschfeld was at first opposed, but he came around quickly because it lowered the rate of suicide among their trans patients. Not only was reassignment performed at the Institute, but both facial feminization and facial masculization surgery were also done.
The Institute employed some of these patients, gave them therapy to help with other issues, even gave some of the mentioned surgeries for free to this who could not afford it! They spoke out on their behalf to the public, even getting Berlin police to help them create "transvestite passes" to allow people to dress however they wanted without the threat of being arrested. They worked together to fight the law, including trying to strike down Paragraph 175, which made it illegal to be homosexual. The picture below is from their holiday party, Magnus Hirschfeld being the gentleman on the right with the fabulous mustache. Many of the other people in this photo are transgender.
[Image ID: A black and white photo of a group of people. Some are smiling at the camera, others have serious expressions. Either way, they all seem to be happy. On the right side, an older gentleman in glasses- Magnus Hirschfeld- is sitting. He has short hair and a bushy mustache. He is resting one hand on the shoulder of the person in front of him. His other hand is being held by a person to his left. Another person to his right is holding his shoulder.]
There was always push back against the Institute, especially from conservatives who saw all of this as a bad thing. But conservatism can't stop progress without destroying it. They weren't willing to go that far for a good while. It all ended in March of 1933, when a new Chancellor was elected. The Nazis did not like homosexuals for several reasons. Chief among them, we break the boundaries of "normal" society. Shortly after the election, on May 6th, the book burnings began. The Jewish, gay, and obviously liberal Magnus Hirschfeld and his library of boundary-breaking literature was one of the very first targets. Thankfully, Hirschfeld was spared by virtue of being in Paris at the time (he would die in 1935, before the Nazis were able to invade France). His library wasn't so lucky.
This famous picture of the book burnings was taken after the Institute of Sexology had been raided. That's their books. Literature on so much about sexuality, eroticism, and gender, yes including their new work on trans people. This is the trans community's Alexandria. We're incredibly lucky that enough of it survived for Harry Benjamin and everyone who came after him was able to build on the Institute's work.
[Image ID: A black and white photo of the May Nazi book burning of the Institute of Sexology's library. A soldier, back facing the camera, is throwing a stack of books into the fire. In the background of the right side, a crowd is watching.]
As the Holocaust went on, the homosexuals of Germany became a targeted group. This did include transgender people, no matter what you say. To deny this reality is Holocaust denial. JK Rowling and everyone else who tries to pretend like this isn't reality is participating in that evil. You're agreeing with the Nazis.
But of course, you knew that already, didn't you?
Edit: Added image IDs. I apologize to those using screen readers for forgetting them. Please reblog this version instead.
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In Stars And Time Classpects
Siffrin - Thief of Time
Mirabelle - Page of Space
Isabeau - Heir of Blood
Odile - Seer of Heart
Bonnie - Sylph of Hope
Explanations under the cut!
Siffrin - Thief of Time
Of course Siffrin literally manipulates time, but Time as an aspect is also associated with death, destruction, and inevitability, which are huge themes in their story. Nothing says "time player" more than marching onwards through a thousand deaths, fighting against a fate that seems impossible to avert. And as a Thief, Siffrin specifically steals time from others in order to have more for himself. Whoops! Time players are relentless, and thieves are active, self-centered. They won't sit still and accept the inevitable; they'll struggle towards their goal at any cost. It's incredibly fitting for a Thief of Time to hold their objective so tightly that the reason they wanted it disintegrates in their grasp, lost to entropy.
Mirabelle - Page of Space
As the chosen one spearheading the mission to collect the orbs and save the country, she seems like the obvious choice for the other essential aspect and its quest, collecting frogs and ensuring the continuation of life. Luckily, the metaphorical side fits perfectly as well: Space is about creation, just like the Change religion! But as a Page, Mirabelle doesn't use her aspect herself; instead, she leads using it, and leads others to use it. She inspires others to change, learn, and improve. Pages reach their potential slowly – they may struggle for a while with feelings of inadequacy and stagnation. After a long hard journey with lots of reflection and personal growth, though, they can end up the strongest of all! And for Mirabelle, as a Page of Space, that means learning to let go of the urge to force personal change, inspiring external change on a greater scale instead.
Isabeau - Heir of Blood
Blood means relationships, trust, and obligation. Heirs embody their aspect, and perhaps attract it, receive it, are controlled by it; the perfect class for someone who specifically crafted himself into the kind of person others would reach out to. Heir is one of the most active of all the passive classes, but it's still passive – Isabeau makes space for bonds, commits to bonds, but doesn't take the first step to create the bonds himself. His choice to follow Mirabelle was a natural continuation of his obligations as defender. He couldn't bring himself to confess to Siffrin, but that passive crush was a powerful narrative force. Isabeau didn't assemble the team, but he reinforces the bonds that allow it to function!
Odile - Seer of Heart
Heart is the aspect of self and identity, which is the heart (heh) of Odile's quest. She wants to learn about herself, and her chosen method is learning about other people. Seers seek a comprehensive knowledge of their aspect and then use it to coordinate and advise others; Odile analyzing enemies and deciding team tactics is a perfect example of this! The Seer prevents their party from making mistakes related to their aspect, so a successful Seer of Heart would understand each teammate's personality well enough to guide them through their character arcs and prevent self-destructive behavior. Odile noticed Siffrin's increasingly out-of-character behavior, and had the ability to figure out why they had changed... except he kept thwarting her efforts by stealing her time. But in the end she managed to thwart them instead, forcing them to stay put and go through their character development already!
Bonnie - Sylph of Hope
Hope is one of the most literal aspects; Hope players raise morale, stick to their convictions, and believe that a better world is possible. The Sylph of Hope would be someone who uses Hope to heal other people, or fixes and maintains Hope itself. Obviously, Bonnie literally brings hope and healing by passing out the potions, but they're also the snack leader! Nothing boosts morale like a nice meal. Hope is also the antithesis to Rage, which represents possibilities being cut off. Bonnie reacts poorly to situations that invoke the Rage aspect, like the adults discussing death (the ultimate end of possibilities), and Siffrin getting injured in their defense (which no amount of belief can heal); in fact, they react with anger and an urge to tear down any positive that's left! Since Hope is associated with black and white thinking, it's not surprising that when Bonnie loses hope, they lose it, leaning into their aspect's opposite. But that's not where they stay – when they protect Siffrin in their friendquest, they're able to not just heal their own hope, but give hope to Siffrin as well. Bonnie believes that they and their friends can all protect each other, and in the end, they do!
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happy wednesday! hope you're staying warm! <3
WIP Wednesday (1/17) || Arsonist Neil / Firefighter Andrew AU (Part 87.5)
Aaron presses the eject button and the TV screen goes back to blue when the tray pops out. Andrew watches as he takes the disc out and turns around with a look on his face. Aaron clears his throat and waves the disc around.
“I thought it would be like that movie Nicky made us go to that one time. Ya know, the one with the grizzly bear and the little goat, or whatever it was.”
“The bear and the little goat…” Andrew repeats, confused.
It takes a moment, but memories of high school come flooding into his head and Andrew recalls the night Nicky dragged them both out on an adventure to the movies. But on the way there, the two of them started arguing. Nicky decided since they were acting like babies, they could watch a baby movie. Instead of one of the horror movies that they were arguing about. It was called Open Season and it was about a pet grizzly getting turned out into the wild for the first time.
It was a fitting, but also unjust punishment. For Aaron, anyway. You see, Andrew had still been medicated back then and… Well, he found it hilarious. He remembers cackling at every joke and flipping off an actual seven year old when she looked at him funny. Andrew cringes internally.
"It was a deer. Not a goat." Andrew says finally. "And it wasn't that good."
“I know it wasn't. But you really liked it." Aaron says, confused.
“I was high off my ass on anti-psychotics.” Andrew says, matter-of-factly. “I thought watching the bathroom faucet drip was fun back then.”
“Oh.” Aaron’s expression crumbles like wet sand. “I thought… Uh. Anyway, happy birthday.”
“Mm. Thanks. You too.” Andrew says, crossing his arms. “What are we doing for Christmas? Waterboarding practice? You can go first."
“It wasn’t that bad!” Aaron insists.
“It was.”
“Okay, it was.”
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