This will be obvious to some, but before the advent of the internet, previous generations often did not know how to put a name to the experience of gender dysphoria. It's generally a fairly small portion of the population who are trans and it just has not been widely understood or spoken of in most cultures, historically. Like with gay people but much more so. So once people finally have more widespread knowledge, you are going to have more people being able to identify themselves as trans, most who certainly have no motive other than accuracy, considering the still-extreme stigma. I say this from my family's personal experience. I wish the right-wingers would consider what the actual lived experience would be like of someone who came of age before the internet etc., and then after. To say it's all some sort of social contagion is myopic at best. This might be my most diplomatic post ever, so savor it my bitches.