More than 40 authors contributed to “A History of Transgender Medicine in the United States,” which took its expert editors more than a decade to compile.

While the book [A History of Transgender Medicine in the United States] focuses on transgender medical advances in the United States, it starts by tracing transgender communities globally across early civilizations, illustrating that transgender and gender-diverse people have flourished in every part of the world. The book argues that in many cultures, transgender people were celebrated and revered, until those cultures came into contact with Western influence.

While medical transition has often been painted as a new phenomenon, the authors cite examples of early gender-affirming surgeries, cross-dressing in ancient times and ceremonial participation of gender-nonconforming people.

“There are a number of references to early time and that people have been trying to take care of themselves and their gender with nonmedical ways, or medical ways,” Wolf-Gould said.