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Trans people have existed for as long as people have existed.
Intersex yes. I thought trans was a relatively new (20th century, maybe 1930s) thing. What is the earliest recorded transition?
Chevalier d'Éon spent the last years of her life recognised by the king as a woman from 1777.
The term transgender is 20th century, but transgender people have always existed
In South Asia (where I come from), Hijras have been around for a thousand years now apparently.
Also two-spirit people in Indigenous cultures
I specifically mean trans people, not intersex people, though they have existed too. There are plenty of ancient cultures with evidence of what we would call trans people today, with some even being revered. Sorry to not give sources, but I'm just not invested enough to go research specifics at the moment.
I'm genuinely curious. Would you consider someone like Mulan trans? I'm from India and we have mythological stories of intersex and gods magically transforming to the opposite gender. None technically trans
No, Mulan's "male" side was only ever a disguise, not her actually being a man. She was manly/masculine perhaps, as she did end up being described well by the song "Be a Man", but ultimately her gender was never truly in question by herself or the audience.
As for history, this Wikipedia page is an excellent summary.
Thank you