I completely understand where you're coming from, ttbn. And feeling discomfort doesn’t make you a bigot.

I think most people born before this century would at least remember what it was like to scrunch their nose up or even laugh when a trans person walked past. Research, awareness, and compassion around this issue are still relatively new - and for a long time, society didn’t give us the tools to think about it clearly.

For a while, it seemed self-evident to me that being transgender was a mental disorder. And I’ll admit, I still sometimes wince when I see a trans woman who doesn’t “pass” in the way my brain was conditioned to expect.

The difference now is that I understand that reaction for what it is: a reflex - shaped by rigid, non-rational cultural conditioning that breaks down under scrutiny and isn’t supported by evidence.

I appreciate how candid and free of pretence your last reply was. But your position appears to be built on a foundation of instinctive discomfort, backfilled with a series of logical fallacies to rationalise it - the Argument from Disgust, the Appeal to Numbers, and Begging the Question, to name just a few.

And when the well-being of others is at stake, we need a lot more than that.

Kudos ttbn, Armchair Critic.