novel about sexual transmutation and a teenage girl

[mpony]

I read it about 5 years ago, but I'm pretty sure it was written in the 80s/90s. was a faded paperback with a very 80s style cover.

The protagonist is a teen girl and her father had somehow altered her to be able to undergo sexual transmutation. My memory is that he has gone and she is looking for him, and lots of the travel happens in a deserts cape. She is unaware of her 'powers' until they start manifesting due to her 'sexual awakening' / finding a boy.

 

[mpony]

Here is a list of books it definitely isn’t:
Woman of the future
The Windup girl
The power
The void captain’s tale
The gods themselves
By Octavia Butler
The PowerBook

 

[tachyon]

I'm not going to go googling for this because I'm afraid of what I might see in the results, but I'll say that teen girl sexuality is a theme in a lot of Jack Chalker and they're from the right era, might want to have a look at his books.

 

[PaulMmn]

The Left Hand of Darkness is a science fiction novel by U.S. writer Ursula K. Le Guin.

This is a Classic by UKLG-- the people of this planet were sexually variable-- their sex could change depending on who they were ?romantically? involved with. It was a genetic capability, and not one created by being altered, either sexually or otherwise.

 

[Danny McG]

I'm unsure what is meant by 'transmutation' - I thought that was like a Buddhist term

 

[mpony]

her sexual awakening/orgasm was able to produce a form of energy that she could (eventually) harness.