In the Americas prior to European colonization, as well as in some contemporary North American Indigenous cultures, there are social and ceremonial roles for third gender people, or those whose gender expression transforms, such as the Navajo nádleehi or the Zuni lhamana. In Africa, many societies have traditional roles for trans women and trans men, some of which survive in the modern era. In Arabia, khanith today (like earlier mukhannathun) fulfill a third gender role attested since the AD 600s. Today, at least half a million hijras live in India and another half million in Bangladesh, legally recognized as a third gender, and many trans people are accepted in Thailand. Hijras on the Indian subcontinent and kathoeys in Thailand have formed trans-feminine third gender social and spiritual communities since ancient times, with their presence documented for thousands of years in texts which also mention trans male figures. 222 AD) preferred to be called a lady (rather than a lord) and sought sex reassignment surgery, and in the modern day has been seen as a trans figure.

In Ancient Greece, Phrygia, and Rome, there were galli priests that some scholars believe to have been trans women. Sumerian and Akkadian texts from 4,500 years ago document priests known as gala who may have been transgender. As a result, opinions vary on how to categorize historical accounts of gender-variant people and identities. The modern terms and meanings of 'transgender', ' gender', ' gender identity', and ' gender role' only emerged in the 1950s and 1960s. Transgender people (including non-binary and third gender people) have existed in cultures worldwide since ancient times.

Transgender history susan