History

How Sex Changed: A History of Transsexuality in the United States

By Joanne Meyerowitz. This book brings together all the plots, subplots, themes, and characters that shaped the current position on sex changing. You may know some of this history already, but there is much here that is fresh and Meyerowitz does an excellent job of putting it all in context.

Third Sex, Third Gender: Beyond Sexual Dimorphism in Culture and History

Edited by Gilbert Herdt. Once you’ve dismissed the notion that there is one simple, fixed definition of man and woman, which this book does very thoroughly, you become aware of the astonishing ways in which gender diversity has been expressed, tolerated, and institutionalized in various cultures.

Trans America: a counter-history

Can we even think of trans before trans? What is the prehistory of transsexuality and transgender? These are some of the questions this history aims to address.

Trans medicine: the emergence and practice of treating gender

This history of trans medicine makes clear the problem from its inception has been that many medical providers don’t really know what they’re doing.