German MP Comes Out As Trans, Appears in Parliament For First Time As Female-Presenting
January 17, 2019Tessa Ganserer has become the first German MP to come out as transgender, appearing in Parliament on January 14thfor the first time presenting as a woman, reports AFP.
Ganserer is a Green Party lawmaker and sits in the regional Bavarian parliament, she was first elected in 2013 and won a re-election last October under her male name, Markus Ganserer.
Ganserer spoke to parliament about her transitioning experience and how it illustrated the need to 1980 Transsexual Act to be updated.
“Gender identity is a human right,” she said, “in future it should be possible for a person to apply to change their gender recorded at birth.”
She explained she had known her true gender identity for over a decade: “I am not doing this for fun… I didn’t choose to be a woman.”
CSU politician Ilse Aigner, President of the Bavarian Parliament, has added her supported for Ganserer: “[Her gender identity] should not be a problem in this house.
“A person’s personality is always more important than their gender. Mrs Ganserer has taken a very brave and highly personal decision.”
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