Category: Sexology
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Erwin Gohrbandt, one of the first surgeons to perform sex reassignment surgery and vice president of the Berlin regional association of the German Red Cross
Erwin Gohrbandt (1890 – 1965) was a German surgeon and university teacher. He was one of the first surgeons to perform sex reassignment surgery. Gohrbandt served as vice president of the Berlin regional association of the German Red Cross. He was also a member of the German Olympic Society. In 1950-51 he was chairman of the Berlin Surgical Society.…
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Sexual intermediacy
At the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft, Magnus Hirschfeld championed the doctrine of sexual intermediacy. This proposed form of classification said that every human trait existed on a scale from masculine to feminine. Masculine traits were characterized as dominant and active while feminine traits were passive and perceptive. The classification was further divided into the subgroups of sex…
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Eugenics Department for Mother and Child and Experimental Treatments for Impotence
One focus of the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft‘s research and services was sexual and reproductive health. A subdivision of the institute called the Eugenics Department for Mother and Child offered marital counseling services, and the Center of Sexual Counseling for Married Couples provided access to contraception. It was especially a goal of the institute to make contraceptive services accessible to…
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Institut für Sexualwissenschaft aimed to educate both the general public and specialists on its topics of focus
It became a point of scientific and research interest for many scientists of sexuality, as well as intellectuals and reformers from all over the world. Visitors included: René Crevel, French writer involved with the surrealist movement. Christopher Isherwood, Anglo-American novelist, playwright, screenwriter, autobiographer, and diarist. His best-known works include Goodbye to Berlin (1939), a semi-autobiographical novel which inspired…
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Institut für Sexualwissenschaft
The Institut für Sexualwissenschaft was an early private sexology research institute in Germany from 1919 to 1933. The name is variously translated as Institute of Sex Research, Institute of Sexology, Institute for Sexology or Institute for the Science of Sexuality. The Institute was a non-profit foundation situated in Tiergarten, Berlin. It was the first sexology research center in the world. The Institute was headed by Magnus Hirschfeld, who since 1897 had run…
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Adrenarche and Adrenopause
Adrenarche is an early stage in sexual maturation that happens in some higher primates and in humans, typically peaks at around 20 years of age, and is involved in the development of pubic hair, body odor, skin oiliness, axillary hair, sexual attraction/sexual desire/increased libido and mild acne. During adrenarche the adrenal glands secrete increased levels of weak adrenal androgens, including dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S), and androstenedione (A4), but without increased cortisol levels. Adrenarche is the result of the development of a…
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CBP and p300 are critical for normal embryonic development
Mouse models CBP and p300 are critical for normal embryonic development, as mice completely lacking either CBP or p300 protein, die at an early embryonic stage. In addition, mice which lack one functional copy (allele) of both the CBP and p300 genes (i.e. are heterozygous for both CBP and p300) and thus have half of the normal amount…
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Decreased concentrations of CBP and lower amounts of H3 and H4 acetylation associated with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) is a classification of diseases that all result from alcohol exposure during pregnancy. Symptoms of these disorders include poor cerebellar-dependent learning, motor coordination and impaired balance. In rats with FASD, it was shown that they had decreased concentrations of CBP and lower amounts of H3 and H4 acetylation.
