In the Aarne–Thompson–Uther  folktale classification system, the story and its variants count as tale type 514, "The Shift in Sex". Scholars often interpret them as tales of transgender identity and transition.

TIL that there is something like a "tale type xyz".

I’m not so certain about that type being a trans thing. My professors and research generally showed it being a trickster thing, part of violating social norms rather than actually changing one’s identity.