Reddit mentions of Sex Changes: The Politics of Transgenderism

The definitions we have used refer to two genders because those are the two common ones and it would be confusing to list every non-binary gender. Nonetheless, that doesn't change the fact that non-binary genders exist and have existed for millennia.

We have Egyptian pottery dating to 2000BCE that lists 3 genders. Native American tribes often recognized 3rd gender roles in pre-colonial times. Jesuit missionaries recorded the existence of 3rd genders in aboriginal tribes as early as 1711. There was a class of people in ancient Assyria who were recognized as transgender (see page 465). The Hijra people of India, who are currently both politically and legally recognized as a 3rd gender, date back at least as far as the Kama Sutra. In ancient Rome and Greece, worshipers of Cybele castrated themselves and then presented themselves as transwomen. In Mexico, the Zapotec's had a 3rd gender referred to as the muxe who were born male but identified as female. In the Balkans, the sworn virgin tradition of females taking on male gender roles dates back to the 15th century. I could go on and on for pages. Other examples of non-binary gender recognition in pre-Industrial times can be found in Thailand, Japan, China, Iran, Israel, Germany, Great Britain, Denmark, etc. It's a indisputable historical worldwide phenomenon.