Hedwig W. (left) and friend, circa 1922

Hedwig W. (on left) was a friend of German sexologist and researcher Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld. He lived as a (what we would now refer to as) transgender man in Berlin for two years using his chosen name.

During this time period, the terms "transgender" and "transsexual" had not yet been coined. Dr. Hirschfeld had created the phrase "transvestite" in his 1910 book "Die Transvestiten" (Transvestites) "to describe persons who habitually and voluntarily wore clothes of the opposite sex." Hedwig W. and other crossdressing Germans would have very likely referred to themselves using this term.

He is pictured here with an unnamed butch friend.

Bibliography:

Hirschfeld, Magnus. Die Transvestiten: eine Untersuchung über den erotischen Verkleidungstrieb : mit umfangreichem casuistischen und historischen Material. Pulvermacher, 1910.

"Sexual Intermediates" (1922) by Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld -- unknown text, referenced in the image's original file upload to Wikimedia Commons.

Last updated: December 30th, 2025