00:01I am transgender and I decided at the age of 40 to actually leave my male life behind.
00:09It doesn't mean at 40 I realized that I was a woman, it's just that there was a point in
00:14my life where I decided to actually move into that direction without consequences.
00:31Coming out as being transgender for me wasn't very easy. Transgender was something in the early 90s when I was
00:39going to school, a topic that wasn't discussed anywhere.
00:41You couldn't Google anything yet. It was something that was always connected my own feelings with shame, don't do that,
00:49it's wrong.
00:49I don't think there was very much acceptance in society in the 90s for transgender people at all.
00:59I probably looked for a flight into a typical male role.
01:03The military probably helped that marriage to my first wife, helped in that sense as well to perform to male
01:09standards.
01:10But my inner self was always crying yes. After almost 20 years of struggling I was at a point in
01:19my life where my emotional stability,
01:21my emotional well-being, well-being was at a point where I said I don't want to live this way
01:26anymore.
01:40It came over like a wave at the beach and knocked him almost over but didn't worry him that much.
01:47And from what I remember very vividly is actually that he said I have no idea what this actually now
01:53means,
01:54but go to the hospital, get all things taken care of, get your diagnosis and then we will work this
02:02whole issue together.
02:04That was the most important thing that he said.
02:24I accept that, that people are so, as they are, as they are.
02:27That's in other areas too.
02:28It doesn't have to be transgender, it can also be very banal things.
02:31Yeah, like who wants to be a party or who wants to be a car, to be a bit more
02:35banal to say.
02:36You have to accept people as they are.
02:47Some people did have their views on what that means when a transgender officer suddenly goes into a leadership position,
02:53up to things like there were four more times in Germany where that would have been shot.
02:57Why don't you just give the acceptance to the topic that is required and needed because I don't take anything
03:04away from anybody
03:05or hurt anybody with my decision.
03:21I met Anna as a woman already.
03:26One can say she was just a woman with a penis.
03:29So actually the same person stayed.
03:33I knew that she wanted to get rid of the penis.
03:36And I think when you love a person, you support the person.
03:41And I'm so happy that I could actually accompany her in this journey.
03:48I felt very unique that somebody like really embraced me open, very openly and lovingly
03:52and said, you are who you are and take it from there.
03:56And that was great.
04:25I feel there's lots of freedom, lots of liberty, and I do feel that it can be a part of
04:31his life.
04:31be very much true to yourself when you live here.
04:35On the other hand, you know, being transgender, walking around Berlin also has its difficulties.
04:44I mean, I've never been spat at so much or yelled at or being called names so much as
04:51in Berlin.
05:00What I know from my experience is what is definitely certain.
05:04If you are true to yourself and live the way you are, outwardly open, you will have a better
05:11life.
05:12I think my mom once said it, she seems to be finally happy.
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