I have been doing some reading lately on Weimar Berlin, largely in reference to women's shifting roles and the rise of LGBT cultures/acceptability. While it's hard to generalize (especially given my limited reading), it sounds to me like women and LGBT folk absolutely faced discrimination, but were able to socialize in ways that were fairly unprecedented in many western European countries. For example, the New Woman was challenging norms by entering previously male-dominated spaces (e.g. universities), and homosexuals were able to be out in bars and clubs designated for them (although this was largely just for men and transwomen) due to the relatively lax policies of Meerscheidt-Hullesem. There was a present queer culture and a push for improved women's rights at the social and political level.

But how did the experiences of white, middle-class women and LGBT folk differ from that of lower-class folk and PoC?

In terms of class, obviously the lower-classes included white people. Were they ostracized from the middle-class dominance in Weimar culture?

In terms of race, while Germany is not necessarily the most racially diverse, there must have been Turkish, black, and other racial groups present, right? Were these people accepted by the white, middle-class groups generally speaking? Were they ostracized by their own communities? Were they more likely to face discrimination by those not in the community than their white, middle-class counterparts?

Note that I know my research is not incredibly rigorous. I am getting more books to be better read, but few of them seem to tackle class and race. So I completely understand if anything I said here is erroneous and said to be such by any commenters.

Sources I am basing a lot of this off of:

• Beachy, Robert. Gay Berlin: Birthplace of a Modern Identity. New York, NY: Vintage, 2014.

• Lybeck, Marti M. Desiring Emancipation: New Women and Homosexuality in Germany, 1890-1933. Albany, NY: SUNY, 2014.