I am my own woman
Subtitle: the outlaw life of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, Berlin's most distinguished transvestite
By: translated by Jean Hollander.
Edition: 1st ed.
Publisher: Cleis Press
Published: 1995
Place of publication: Pittsburgh, PA
Language: eng
Number of pages: 179
Subjects: Mahlsdorf, Charlotte von, 1928-; Gründerzeit Museum (Mahlsdorf, Berlin, Germany); Transvestites -- Germany -- Mahlsdorf (Berlin) -- Biography.; Gay men -- Germany -- Mahlsdorf (Berlin) -- Biography.; National socialism -- Germany -- Mahlsdorf (Berlin); Furniture -- Germany -- Mahlsdorf (Berlin) -- Collectors and collecting.; Art objects -- Germany -- Mahlsdorf (Berlin) -- Collectors and collecting.; Architecture -- Conservation and restoration -- Germany -- Mahlsdorf (Berlin)
Description: Hailed by Der Spiegel as speaking to "the fate of a whole generation of German homosexuals," I Am My Own Woman is the exquisitely written autobiography of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, whose lifelong pursuits of sexual liberty and antique furniture offer a unique perspective on European history. During World War II, von Mahlsdorf murdered his father, dubbed himself Charlotte (after his cross-dressing lesbian aunt's lover) and has lived openly as a transvestite since.

Dressed in high-heeled sandals and a good suit, Charlotte has collected furnishings from the Grunderzeit for half a century: in the Third Reich, she "rescued" pieces from Jewish deportees; in the German Democratic Republic, she protected "bourgeois cultural assets" from the Stasi. Now well past sixty, a quietly passionate, steadfast and serene figure, Charlotte shuns makeup, wearing the simplest frocks.

The Grunderzeit Museum - which Charlotte and her friends have defended against assault from skinheads - has become a symbol for the German lesbian and gay community.