Karl M. Baer

Karl M. Baer (20 May 1885 – 26 June 1956) was a German-Israeli author, social worker, reformer, suffragist and Zionist.

Born intersex and assigned female at birth, he came out as a trans man in 1904 at the age of 19.[1] In December 1906, he became the first transgender person to undergo sex reassignment surgery,[1] and he became one of the first transgender people to gain full legal recognition of his gender identity by having a male birth certificate issued in January 1907.[2] However, some researchers have disputed his label as a trans man, theorizing that he was intersex, and not transgender.[3]

Baer wrote notes for sexologist Magnus Hirschfeld on his experiences growing up female while feeling inside that he was male. Together they developed these notes into the semi-fictional, semi-autobiographical Aus eines Mannes Mädchenjahren (Memoirs of a Man's Maiden Years) (1907) which was published under the pseudonym N.O. Body.[4] The book "was immensely popular," being "adapted twice to film, in 1912 and 1919."[3] Baer also gained the right to marry and did so in October 1907.

Despite him having undergone gender reaffirming surgery in 1906, exact records of the medical procedures he went through are unknown, as his medical records were burned in the 1930s Nazi book burning, that targeted Hirschfield studies specifically.[5]

  1. ^ a b "Recalling the first sex change operation in history: a German-Israeli insurance salesman". Haaretz. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  2. ^ Date of medical certification[citation needed]
  3. ^ a b Funke, Jana (2011), Davies, Ben; Funke, Jana (eds.), "The Case of Karl M.[artha] Baer: Narrating 'Uncertain' Sex", Sex, Gender and Time in Fiction and Culture, London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, pp. 132–153, doi:10.1057/9780230307087_8, ISBN 978-0-230-30708-7, retrieved 11 January 2023
  4. ^ "On Transgender Day of Remembrance: 5 Iconic Trans Men From History". Popdust. 31 March 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  5. ^ Polat, Guy (10 June 2022). "Karl M Baer: First Transgender Person To Undergo Female-To-Male (FTM) Surgery". Trailblazing Women & LGBTQ Folks. Retrieved 11 January 2023.