I taught in prisons for years, male and female (see what you have to look forward to if you ever finish that PhD?) and what I saw was the the law was much less likely to toss women in, as a result, the women you get are far more violent then the average guy in prison is.
And that was a nice, white midwestern state. You go to a state with a major city, with much bigger drug dealing going down, and with more gang activity - look out. I've done work in California prisons, and that's an entire different deal than the Iowa prison system.
Wherever I would be, I would request to be sequestered from the regular prison population because of my trans status.
Solitary confinement - which is pretty much what it is, or you'll be in with cops gone bad - really messes with people's minds. Even people on death row get to talk to other people.
And you can request it, but depending on what you did, and who is deciding, and how much work you have had done, and how much they have to do - its a toss up. You are a prisoner, you have NO rights.