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First transgender member of the Bundestag? But Tessa Ganserer is thwarted by an old law

2021-08-13T06:05:47.263Z


She is a woman. But Tessa Ganserer has to run as a man. The first transgender MP of the republic has to run for the Bundestag election with her old name.


She is a woman.

But Tessa Ganserer has to run as a man.

The first transgender MP of the republic has to run for the Bundestag election with her old name.

Munich - Tessa Ganserer is outraged. Two and a half years ago, the green member of the state parliament came out as trans. There is no longer any doubt that the 44-year-old is a woman. But before the law she still cannot be who she is. In her candidacy for the Bundestag *, the woman from Nuremberg must therefore use her so-called “dead name”: her old, discarded first name Markus. Your new name Tessa is only in brackets after it. "That is the peak of the daily humiliations that I have to suffer due to my non-matching official documents," says Ganserer. The wrong name on the ballot: "This is humiliating and disrespectful."

(By the way: Our Bavaria newsletter informs you about all developments and results from the Free State about the upcoming federal election - and of course about all other important stories from Bavaria.)

The transgender politician Ganserer thought she wouldn’t survive coming out

The member of the state parliament struggled for a long time with the step in public. Tessa Ganserer is the first politician to come out as a trans during her mandate. "Before I came out, I didn't know whether I would be able to do it," she says today. “That was a soul striptease that I had to do.” Even today she is confronted with hatred and trans-hostility on a daily basis. The more difficult it is for her to confront the old name. “Every time my Deadname is used, old wounds open. I can't do a corona quick test *, rent a car, apply for a visa without having to explain my trans-story to total strangers. ”Her old name is still on her identity card.

Ganserer is in 13th place on the Greens * list in Bavaria for the federal election in September *.

This is considered a safe place.

She would like to use the leap into parliament to stand up for the rights of trans people and LGBTQ + people.

Right at the top of their agenda: reforming the transsexual law.

Ganserer on the change in civil status: "A massive transgression into the private sphere"

If you want to change your official civil status in the population register, you have to go through a lengthy psychological report and judicial interviews on intimate issues.

"A massive border crossing into the private sphere", as Ganserer finds, who refuses the procedure.

Psychologists did not have to judge whether she was a woman.


The law dates from the 80s.

In 2011 the Constitutional Court rejected part of it.

Up to now, an operation or sterilization was necessary to change the civil status.

“The Transsexual Act violates human dignity and the right to self-determination.

Politicians have to do their homework and reform unconstitutional laws, ”Ganserer appeals.

As early as 2006, the Council of Europe called on the member states to change the law.

After Malta, Denmark and other countries, there has now also been a reform in the more conservative Spain.


In addition to legal equality, she would also like to fight for more tolerance and diversity.

"Acceptance cannot be decided in the Bundestag," says Ganserer: "There is also a lot of education involved." (

Merle Hubert) * Merkur.de / bayern is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2021-08-13

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