So how are things going in Germany?

[Toutafait]

So Germany brought in self-ID almost a year ago, together with a hefty fine for deadnaming. I have a German friend, and he tells me that trans rights are now a non-issue in Germany. Nobody ever talks about them, apparently. So I'm wondering whether everything's going well ("transwomen" behaving like women, no children being inappropriately transitioned and operated on, nothing else bad happening), or whether bad things are happening and it's being swept under the carpet.
I've asked ChatGPT whether there are any problems, and I'll give you its response. It has mentioned the case of the Nazi criminal self-IDing to get access to a women's prison, but no other specific incidents. Does anyone have any more information?

"Where problems and discussions continue

Social acceptance & discrimination
Even though many things are now easier legally, trans and non-binary people continue to report everyday discrimination, prejudice and hate crimes.
Deutsche Welle
+1
Many such incidents continue to go unreported for fear of reprisals or because those affected do not believe that taking action will make any difference.
Deutsche Welle

Political and public controversies
There is criticism from conservative or right-wing circles, particularly with regard to minors, possible ‘risks of abuse’ in self-determination, or fears that the rights of women or other groups could be affected. Although many of these allegations are controversial, they accompany the debate.
Deutsche Welle
+1

The issue of minors remains difficult
Although changes are possible for young people aged 14 and over under certain conditions (parental consent, etc.), the treatment of younger children in particular remains controversial. Opinions differ on how extensive and early medical/specialised support should be (e.g. puberty blockers, hormone treatments), and there are practical hurdles such as access, costs, specialists, etc.
bild.de
+1

Enforcement and application in practice
Laws are one thing — how they are actually implemented is often another. For example, there are regional differences in Germany, delays at government offices, ambiguities among government employees, or problems with international documents, passports, etc.
Deutsche Welle
+1

Rights vs. public safety & institutions
A current dispute: a convicted neo-Nazi who has legally changed his gender is to serve his prison sentence in a women's prison. This has sparked a debate about whether and how the new law can be abused there and which institutions need to prepare for such cases and how.
The Washington Post"

The CDU pledged to review the law because of its lack of safeguards when the insane Green Party implemented it. I'm not holding my breath though.

Germany is basically a deeply sexist country but most women don't recognise it as such. There isn't a well-organised feminist movement like in the UK and most people are still at the 'be kind' stage.

Data protection is everything - even violent criminals are often not named publicly. Whatever data there is eg regarding men in women's prisons (I doubt there'll be much collected) is unlikely to see the light of day.

Ah yes. Reduxx are fearless and have fought in despite serious threats and attempts to silence them.

Did they ever find Marla-Svenja?

I wonder what the rules are on deadnaming/pronouns/descriptions in a situation like this.

www.euronews.com/2025/08/31/from-moscow-with-love-german-neo-nazi-liebich-is-reportedly-seeking-asylum-in-the-usa

Hardly ever in the news these days, Marla-Svenja was the last thing I read/saw.

The self ID law was passed to pander to a loud minority from the correct side of the political spectrum. People were not fully aware of the law or its contents until after it was passed, I'd even guess many still don't know. It's all about "Oh, live and let live". And people tend to look after themselves first, so if it doesn't affect them, they don't pay attention until it's too late.

German press is pretty much silent on the whole issue, Emma are the ones who usually report about it. Mainstream media, not so much.
Sometimes you can see "small signs of resistance" like graffitis in bath room stalls. I may or may not carry a permanent marker with me at all times to concur with said statements.

What's going to happen when a German female sports team eg hockey team has a Tim in it and the team intend to go to the Olympics? Someone is going to have to tell the TiM that he can't. Will that be the German coach? Won't that be outing him?
Seems to me that international sport will cause problems for these captured countries.

Indeed, this is an unfortunate side effect. While I don't doubt that there are many that are just horrible people, there are also many voting for the AfD simply because no mainstream party wants to acknowledge certain issues, including gender ideology and immigration challenges.

Because apart from the elites, which include unfortunately politicians and media, the general public very much does not universally support either of these things.

I remember a while back going to an ordinary local spa in Germany which was mixed sex and you had to be naked to use it. This seemed unremarkable for the locals (and alarming for us brits).

I wonder if differences in social norms mean arguments for single sex spaces/privacy/dignity that we have used in the UK may not work in the same way in Germany?
I'd be fascinated to hear more from those opposing this in Germany.

I wouldn't ever vote for the AfD, but I can see why a "non-mainstream" party appeals to some voters who feel left behind or who simply want some acknowledgement that not everything is sunshine and daisies.
The refusal to take concerns seriously or simply dismiss those concerns is just pushing people towards more extreme parties.
And it's a cheap and easy trick to write those people off as xenophobes, terfs, extremists, etc. when all it might need would be to actually listen to them and take them seriously.

@GCburneraccount
Spas (Saunalandschaften, with multiple saunas, pools and other stuff) are generally mixed-sex in Germany. I've just checked the spa at our local pool. It is mixed sex all week except for Wednesday (afternoon) when it is ladies' day. Whereas the changing rooms for the pools are single sex, the one changing room for the saunas (with cubicles and openplan area) is mixed sex or single sex according to which group has the saunas.

It's the small sauna places/gyms who provide single-sex accomodations. In my gym, for example, there are two saunas and two changing rooms, one for each sex. During times when there are few people (mornings, late evening, weekend) only one sauna is being heated (the sauna for men) and is designated mixed sex for a defined span of time (a plan is on display). Women can access the mixed sex sauna without needing to walk through the men's changing room. So I can decide whether to use the sauna during single-sex sauna times, or share with the men during mixed-sex times.
The changing rooms are single sex at all times in all gyms, though.

It is an opt-in decision in Germany. Everyone knows (or can get the info) that there are times when the sauna is mixed, or for the other sex only. Culturally there have always been more times for mixed-sex use than for single-sex use in spas. Couples and families go together. My guess is that it stems from the Lebensreform and Nudism movements in the late 19th, early 20th century.

I doubt though that people would agree in making all changing rooms mixed sex and getting rid of single sex times. That wouldn't allow an opt-in decision, but be a top-down order. Women in particular would opt out...

Thanks @Delphin, thats interesting. This was a fairly large spa in a city. I don't remember single sex options, but we were a mixed group so wanted to go together - just didn't expect we would have to be fully naked to use the facilities!

I assume at yours the mixed sex times require all users to be fully naked?

What I find extraordinary about the SBGG (self-determination law) is that anyone changing gender is also required to change their name to one that is typical of the opposite sex. This is true in Berlin at least. Three things:

1 - The state therefore appears completely and totally fine with someone having a dick and calling himself a woman, but not having a male name and calling himself a woman! It just strikes me as bizarre that the state is so strict about names but not about actual biology. I know most tims choose female names, but they couldn't keep a male name even if they wanted to. As if that's the problem here??

2 - There is currently no official list of what constitutes acceptable names for each gender. The stipulation is only that the chosen name must be 'typically' female or male to match the chosen gender. Gender-neutral names are allowed, but combinations of male+female names are not. But who rules that a name is ultimately 'female' or 'male'? What basis is that decided on?

3 - If a person later reverts to their original 'gender', they are required to go back to their original name that matches their gender. They cannot choose another.

As said, I find it so odd that the state has issued a list of stipulations relating to names, yet says nothing about actual biology or medical certifications.

There was a case in the last couple of years where a TIM sued a female-only gym claiming discrimination.
I just looked it up, but I cannot find if this has been tried yet and what the outcome is/was. We will find out because the TRAs will either be celebrating or claiming "literal murder" by the courts.

While looking up the case I came across Frauenheldinnen https://www.frauenheldinnen.de/, will have a proper read through of their website and then might do some gardening.

One of the most mind-blowing things about the German self-identification law is that parents can register a change to the child's gender from birth onwards. They have to change the child's name at the same time. I imagine this will be used where the dominant parent really wants a boy or a girl, and didn't get one. From the age of 5 (!) the child has to agree to the change. Presumably, in the past someone who told their son he was a girl, did everything to make him look like a girl, gave him a girl's name and told everyone else that he was a girl would have come to the interest of the child protection authorities. But no longer.

Here's a case being brought by a transwoman against a gym for not allowing him to join. Transfrau darf nicht in Frauenfitnessstudio trainieren und klagt nun | STERN.de

Re: the Erlangen women's gym:
There's a recent article (Oct. 2025) at "Frauenheldinnen" (Google Translate):
https://www-frauenheldinnen-de.translate.goog/kampagnen/justwomen/update-doris-lange/?_x_tr_sl=de&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=de&_x_tr_pto=wapp
Apparently the plaintiff's lawyers proposed a settlement which Doris Lange doesn't want to agree with. She wants the court to uphold the "Hausrecht", that allows the owner of an establishment to exclude people from entering/using the premises. She has said she is willing to take this further.

Thanks @Delphin
All power to Doris Lange ✊

@Greyskybluesky
Re: Namechanges. It's actually just taking the usual regulations about first names and applying it to a new field. You can't call your baby boy Carla, because this is a female name. So if Carl applies for a change of his gender marker in official documentaition, he cannot keep Carl as his name, because then all families that were denied Carla as a boy's name would sue.

Re: No. 3 Changing your first name in Germany is expensive (as in 250 € minimum and rising according to your income, up to 1000s). Also this way people can't hide their tracks, if they had run ins with the law under their old name. Closing loopholes.

About the "sex" of a first name. I know only very few German names that are gender neutral/both sexes (Kim, Kay). These must be accompanied by a second name that is clearly sexed, Kay-Sölve Richter (TV journalist) comes to mind. Names that are not clearly sexed need additional verification. E.g. "Andrea" would have needed the proof that it was really used in Italy as a standard men's name, when it was first registered in Germany. Or using Nikita as a woman's name (it's a Russian male name, see Nikita Khrushchov), you would need to find instances where girls were actually named Nikita (from the media). Books or films can be used as sources.

That's really interesting @Delphin thank you. There are more strands to this law than meet the eye

There's a feminist conference at the end of October in Siegburg:
https://www-heroica-info.translate.goog/?_x_tr_sl=de&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=de&_x_tr_pto=wapp
It's the sixth one (I hadn't heard of them before).
Lots of different speakers, from all generations.
No idea whether videos or minutes will be available later.

To add to what Delphin said, I think one reason is because your name is pretty much the sex marker on a german ID. There is no entry for sex. Also as far as I know they changed the rules around unisex names last year. It seems like you're now allowed to name your child Kim instead of Kim Leon for a boy or Kim Nina for a girl.

Re: GC conferences being targeted: This was mid-September in Berlin:

Germany | The president of the German Medical Association, Klaus Reinhardt, has condemned the “public defamation of participants in a scientific conference”. He was referring to online “Know your enemy posters” showing photos of presenters at the recent meeting of the Society for Evidence-based Gender Medicine (SEGM) held in a secret, secure location in Berlin as trans activists sought to locate and disrupt the event. “Such methods cross every line of objective debate and promote intimidation and, in some cases, even actual real threats,” he told the newspaper Die Welt (...)
The Medical Association of the German State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has sent a letter of support for SEGM—and its contribution to the debate—to the three child and adolescent psychiatric societies in Germany.
(https://www.genderclinicnews.com/p/unfettering-talk-therapy)

EMMA and FAZ also reported:
https://www-emma-de.translate.goog/artikel/transaktivisten-bedrohen-wissenschaftler-341999?_x_tr_sl=de&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=de&_x_tr_pto=wapp
https://archive.ph/kmI6a (cannot be fed into Google Translate, due to Captcha)

FAZ writes on the reaction to the letter of support:
The associations contacted by the Medical Association seem to partly agree. When contacted by this newspaper, they described the hate speech as unacceptable. However, they evade public solidarity with the attacked scientists. They stated that they had been assured of their solidarity in personal discussions. The scientists will be surprised to learn this. The associations declined to comment on the accusation that SEGM is a transphobic hate group. This immediately retracts the allegedly secret solidarity, and the scientists are exposed to further hate speech. At least now they know who they cannot count on to defend their academic freedom.

Link correction:
https://www.genderclinicnews.com/unfettering-talk-therapy
(MN added the parenthesis to the link)

FROM AUSTRIA:
This is from an article about the Austrian man who fancied serving his sentence for fraud in a women's prison. It's all going swimmingly for him. When he gets out of prison he'll be able to retire years early. Who'd have thought that someone would take advantage like this? Inconceivable! The far right populist (as described by the BBC) Freedom Party is speaking out about it. The article in German is posted below.

"Viennese man wants to go to women's prison
‘I'm especially looking forward to showering with the ladies.’
Walter became Waltraud – with ID, expert opinion and the desire to serve time in a women's prison. As an added bonus, he can also retire earlier.

This case defies many notions of gender, law and the system: a 60-year-old Viennese man, once the operator of an hourly hotel, changed his gender without further ado – and is now making headlines as ‘Waltraud’. The reason for the sudden change of heart? An impending prison sentence.

‘I thought to myself: Then I'll just go to a women's prison,’ says Waltraud with a grin. He wanted to serve his three-month sentence for fraud – he sold counterfeit silver coins – as a woman. Preferably in a shared cell with other women.

‘I'm especially looking forward to showering and going for walks with the women. I'll have a good time there with the ladies,’ smiles the Viennese man. At first, Waltraud was met with scepticism at the magistrate's office – not ‘feminine’ enough in appearance.

But with a psychiatric report, everything suddenly happened very quickly: within a week, the change was entered in the Central Register of Civil Status.

What began as a prank against the system not only attracted media attention but also resulted in a letter from the Pension Insurance Institution (PVA) – Waltraud is now allowed to retire as a woman at 61 instead of 65. ‘A nice side effect,’ as she says. ‘But not my goal.’

While the Ministry of Justice emphasises to the ‘Krone’ that transgender people must not be discriminated against and that prison places are decided on a case-by-case basis, the PVA wants to review the case. This is because whether someone ‘looks like a woman’ is not clearly defined in law – and is also currently the subject of discussion in court in a similar case.

Conscription could also be circumvented by loopholes in gender law – lawyers are calling for clear legal rules. Waltraud takes it with humour: ‘I'm just a lesbian transsexual.’ And what does her wife say? She's used to a lot from her – and remains by her side.

‘Absurdity of left-wing woke gender ideology’
The case of Walter or Waltraud is currently causing heated debate in Austria – and making headlines. Reactions from politicians were not long in coming. FPÖ federal party spokeswoman Lisa Schuch-Gubik described the report about the former red-light boss, who, after changing his gender, will now serve his prison sentence in a women's prison and could even retire earlier as a woman, as a ‘particularly absurd outgrowth of the left-wing woke gender and rainbow ideology of the establishment parties’.

‘This is exactly the madness that we Freedom Party members have always warned about, and which also opens the door to abuse. Gender is not something that can be chosen at will or ideologically attributed by anyone, but a biological fact with only two options: either male or female!’

This scandalous case therefore demonstrates once again the need for a ‘return to normality’, as expected by the population outside the ‘shrill woke and rainbow minority’: "Men have no place in women's prisons, just as drag queens have no place in schools and nurseries, or six genders to choose from on the registration form. Even if the left-wing woke bubble is foaming at the mouth about it: there are only two biological sexes, between which one cannot simply switch back and forth as one pleases or as it suits one's interests!" claims the FPÖ.

Wiener will in Frauengefängnis – "Ich freue mich besonders aufs Duschen mit den Damen" | Heute.at

A year ago the SBG came into effect. They just had a short report on the ZDF "Heute" news.
They spoke to two people "affected" by the law. One, clearly female, changed her first name to Anthony and her sex-marker to "divers". The other was a TiM going by the name of Rebekka saying how much easier the new process was and how intrusive and hard the old process was. Gave me a strong whiff of Malaga Airport and clearly looked and sounded male. Long hair does not make a woman.
In a half sentence they mentioned that there were also critics of the law.

Balanced reporting looks different.

Ah, no one could have predicted such a thing!