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Scythians had a concept of being trans and could theoretically have transitioned by making estrogen cheese (CW: terminology about trans women is a bit off)
(www.researchgate.net)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enaree
So, I always wondered what I would do if the Apocalypse broke out and all estradiol medication was gone.
I thought that maybe drinking the urine of pregnant mares would do the trick, but youβd die of overhydration long before you could get proper levels. However, it turns out that, similar to the production of Premarin, you could use the urine to make estrogen cheese. 
Unfortunately, I donβt really like cheese. So Iβd be screwed either way 
Kim Stanley Robinson's Years of Rice and Salt leaned into this really hard. it follows a group of characters that reincarnate in different historical periods. you follow them by their first name's letter. one is trans, finding out after becoming a eunuch (but in a non consensual way). the character finally feels normal afterwards.
then after that she always reincarnates as a cis woman which is pretty cool. she has to do some trippy afterlife journey to claim her true gender
That book is such a trip in general. The overall premise is "what if the Black Death wiped out 99% of Europe instead of just 40-50%, and then China became the dominant global and colonial power?" It's an interesting thought experiment.
i have a soft spot for it. only thing is i wish the little self contained short stories were longer. especially the time period with the Iroquois taking in Japanese refugees and in turn being educated by them to rapidly industrialize. that by itself could be it's own novel
and it's the Iroquois Federation that becomes the superpower in the end. and communist. but only because of the big war
Yeah, I enjoyed it also. It's great to see alternate history that isn't just
, and I enjoy KSR's writing in general. Definitely not something I'd recommend to everyone, but fun if it's something you're into.
everyone seems to either love him or hate him (as far as his writing and characters go).