From the outside in, and from an unhealthy dosage of my own baggage, there are some people, like I used to be, who think that being transgender is a choice, like getting a tattoo, and why on earth would you want to change your body instead of accepting your body for what it is?
Of course then there are others who will say you're just transgender so you can encroach in women's areas - and we all know how protected those are. My other half is an ardent feminist who thinks that every other man is a sex offender, which, to me, is just hurtful if you're a man, makes me want to be a man even more. I don't know who all these people are, I don't associate with them.
But because women want their protected zones, free from sleaze, free from people coming onto them, free from the threat of rape and violence etc, the mantra trickles over I think and becomes anti-trans, because they see us as men and still capable of heinous acts.
Think of the adage, "if it saves just one life'.
I've always said, there good and bad in every community, and what we need to do, is the good people need to bring themselves together, to communicate, to discuss etc, open dialog and support one another. I went to a pride parade, and I was surprised at the interaction between faith fundamentalists and the pride celebrants, neither of which wanted to talk to each other, they just wanted to reject one another. But I think reach out, be the bigger person, don't judge.
How exactly we achieve that unity I don't know, though I think the previous poster said it best - just concentrate on being a good person, being a good friend, a good neighbour etc.
