LGBT

That said, the rigid societal constraints on most women of the time--especially those who were not of significant $$ means-- was such that women who could pass as men might just be tempted, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identification norms. Certainly, this was documented among Chinese coming to this country (if you were a viewer of "Hell on Wheels," that storyline in its last season was based on some historically documented incidents).

But, I don't know why anyone would assume that transgender would be a "new" phenomenon. That simply makes no sense to me--except for those seeking to exploit the issue politically. We see some evidence of gender behavior spectrum among higher primates and other species. Why would the same not have been true of humans throughout history?