Transgender communities recognize the distinctions among homosexuality, transvestism and transsexuality as essential in understanding one another. Homosexuality involves choosing partners with similar biological sexes; transvestism refers to cross-dressing practices often associated with gender dysphoria; while transsexuality involves changing your biological sex. Magnus Hirschfeld first coined the term “transvestite” in his 1910 book Die Transvestiten (The Transvestites), coining this word originally to describe men wearing women’s clothes; now it refers to anyone crossing gender boundaries – transgender or nonbinary people or even those who identify as cisgender but wear male clothing.

Hirschfeld popularized the three-sex theory, in which human bodies possess three sexual modes that exist within every individual as sexual modes or preferences. These third sexes included transvestites who sought to cross-dress or transition, yet Hirschfeld believed they could become normalized through altering their behavior.

Hirschfeld’s work, however, became lost in the chaos of interwar Germany. Liberal reforms in the Weimar Republic gave rise to a gay scene which conservative groups strongly opposed; these groups believed those violating moral standards were corrupting youth and negatively impacting birth rates. Police kept lists of transvestites and homosexuals; they confiscated magazines promoting third sex; clubs were closed down; Hirschfeld’s magazine collapsed after five issues–like many others that promoted third sex promotion–thus rendering his work lost.