As in centuries ago, has there been any documented evidence of someone wishing they could change their sex or wanting to identify as the opposite sex?
I know it would have been deeply frowned upon the further back you go in history, being thought of as homosexual, let alone anything else. I'm just curious as to whether this is strictly a modern way of thinking among people.
The problem is, the subject had been taboo for a long time, and rarely did people write down their thoughts or address the issue in the past. I'm sure there were people who suffered from Gender Disphoria in centuries past, but they weren't really sure what it was, and couldn't talk about it publicly, since it was a subject that disturbed a lot of people in the old days, particularly in Western culture.
The movie "The Danish Girl" touches on this a bit in the Edwardian Era/Jazz Age, where they talk about a real-life man who wished to change his sex. From what little we have to go on, often they would deliberately live in small neighborhoods or enclaves (usually areas where other closeted LGBT members hung out) where they might find more acceptance. Some would live a double life, pretending to be normal part of the time, and living as the gender they wanted in secret over in these enclaves.
An example of these unique neighborhoods would be Greenwich Village in New York City; another would be Castro Street in San Francisco, a third would be West Hollywood in Los Angeles. Other cities around the world had them too, which is one reason you find more LGBT people in cities to this day; because it's easier for them to find more people like them in cities, as opposed to suburbs and rural areas. There are a few who got favor in royal courts in times past and would be allowed to cross-dress because it was seen as entertaining or a novelty to the courtiers, despite many courtiers or visitors finding it strange.
There might be more historical information, but I didn't bother to look.
You CAN NOT change your sex.
Sure, surgery can make you LOOK like someone from the opposite sex but you'll never BE one.
A man with his junk cut off and some boobs grown doesn't suddenly want to talk about his emotions or discuss the colour of new curtains.
A chick with a penis sown on can't suddenly drive a car.
Those that say they were 'born in the wrong body' have a MENTAL problem, NOT a physical one.
They require PSYCHIATRIC help. NOT (often taxpayer funded) operations.