There and Back Again: Trans people in the West are losing ground in their struggle for rights

Hirschfeld's colleague Erwin Gohrbandt later joined the Nazis and experimented on prisoners at the Dachau concentration camp. World War II and its aftermath set back the development of a unified European movement for homosexual and transgender rights by several years. In the second half of the 20th century, the center of the struggle for the rights of LGBTQ+ people shifted to the United States.

1950s: America's first trans activists

In the 1950s, the U.S. press took a profound interest in the story of Christine Jorgensen, the first transgender American to undergo gender-affirming surgery. In her autobiography, Christine (born George) wrote that she'd felt she was a woman in a man's body ever since she had been a child. In 1949, at the age of 23, Jorgensen began taking hormones to transition. She later noted that the medication eased the symptoms of her gender dysphoria, helping with her depression and increasing her productivity.

However, since hormones only slightly altered her appearance, in 1950 Jorgensen decided to have surgery. She traveled to Denmark, where she obtained medical clearance and completed the transition: in two operations in 1951 and 1952, she had her penis and testicles removed. Upon recovery, Jorgensen felt more alive and confident, she writes in her autobiography.

On Dec. 1, 1952, the New York Daily News devoted its front page to Jorgensen. Her story elicited responses ranging from favorable to sharply negative, and the press continued to follow her. Christine used the publicity to actively advocate for the rights of transgender people and to raise awareness about the option of surgical transitioning.