August is Transgender History Month and I've selected a few history titles from the Trans Literature Database for your consideration.
Transgender Warriors by Leslie Feinberg (1996)
This book "interweaves history, memoir, and gender studies to show that transgender people, far from being a modern phenomenon, have always existed and have exerted their influence throughout history. Leslie Feinberg—hirself a lifelong transgender revolutionary—reveals the origin of the check-one-box-only gender system and shows how zie found empowerment in the lives of transgender warriors around the world"
Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries: Survival, Revolt and Queer Antagonist Struggle (2013)
In the 1970's street queens self organized as STAR. This book collects primary documents from the movement, including pamphlets, speeches and interviews. There is also a critical essay by Ehn Nothing on STAR's legacy, the enemies of queer insurrection, and the war against gender. You can access this book on the Internet Archive.
Black on Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity by C. Riley Snorton (2017)
This book examines the intersections of blackness and transness from the mid-nineteenth century to present day, using a variety of archival materials including early sexological texts, fugitive slave narratives, Afro-modernist literature, sensationalist journalism, and Hollywood films.
Female Husbands: A Trans History by Jen Manion (2020)
A history of "female husbands" who were assigned female at birth but who lived as men and married women. Covering the time period from the colonial era to the beginning of the twentieth century, Manion explores the lives of ordinary people who lived as men in relation to the social, economic and political worlds in which they lived.
Trans history: from ancient times to the present day by Alex L. Combs and Andrew Eakett (2025)
This graphic novel introduces historical figures from Roman times to the twentieth century and explores some of society's roles that trans people have played throughout history. It includes illustrated conversations with activists, scholars, and creatives.
Transgender History: a resource for today's struggle-- and tomorrow's by Susan Stryker (2026)
This list would not be complete without Stryker's Transgender History. Originally published in 2008, this classic title explores transgender life in the United States from the nineteenth century to present time. Revised and updated in 2026 to include a longer, global history and a timely chronicle of the latest wave of anti-trans backlash.
This is just a sampling of trans history books. You can find more titles tagged history in the trans literature database.
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