Was censored, cut and initially banned upon it's release for tackling, what was considered to be a controversial subject of (then criminalized) homosexuality.
Veit Harlan sought to cleanse his reputation after making a well known anti-semitic propaganda film - El judio Suss (1940) and by creating this film, he became a crucial figure in the revival of the production of LGBT+ themed films in Germany after the war.
This film was an initial act of protest against the German Criminal Code §175, which criminalized homosexuality from 15 May 1871 to 10 March 1994.
After the film was rejected by the British Board of Film Censors in 1958, UK distributors Gala secured a local "X" certificate from London County Council. The original title translated as Different from You and Me, but Gala decided The Third Sex was likely to be more popular. Indeed, when it opened at the Continentale in London's West End on 12 March 1959, it ran a profitable six weeks. Returning to the West End on 19 October 1962 the film ran a further four weeks at the Jacey in the Strand, still carrying an "X" (London) certificate.