Summary

The article discusses the misconceptions and disproportionate fears surrounding transgender women, emphasizing that they are not inherently threatening and are statistically more likely to be victims of violence than perpetrators.

Abstract

The text argues that transgender women face unwarranted fear and are frequently perceived as a threat, particularly in gendered spaces like bathrooms and locker rooms. Contrary to these fears, the article highlights that transgender individuals are statistically less likely to commit violent crimes and are instead more often targets of violence. It cites the Transgender Homicide Tracker, which reported a 93% increase in homicides of transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals over four years. The piece also addresses the prevalence of sexual violence, noting that one in two transgender individuals experiences sexual abuse, compared to one in six cisgender women. The author points out that the real danger to women comes from cisgender men, including those in positions of trust and authority, rather than transgender women. Moreover, the article touches on the mental health struggles faced by transgender people, with high rates of suicide attempts, and criticizes the use of transgender individuals as scapegoats by religious zealots, politicians, and gender bigots.

Opinions

The author believes that the fear of transgender women, especially in bathrooms or locker rooms, is unfounded and based on false data.
The article suggests that transgender individuals are more likely to be victims of violence rather than perpetrators.
It is emphasized that men disguising themselves as women to commit crimes is extremely rare, akin to the likelihood of being attacked by a lion.
The author criticizes the focus on transgender individuals in legislative bills instead of addressing broader issues affecting women's safety, such as gun control and sexual predators.
The piece points out that transgender people suffer from mental illness and depression at rates similar to the general population but often internalize their struggles.
The author highlights the importance of understanding and accepting transgender individuals as normal people who simply want to live their lives in peace.
The article calls for a fact-based approach to transgender rights and criticizes those who use transgender people as sacrificial lambs for their own agendas.

Why is a Transgender Woman So Threatening?

I would be much more afraid of the lions and predatory men

A transgender person is statistically not a threat, in a bathroom or a locker room or on the street. They don’t want anything from you other than to just live their lives in peace.

Are transgender people capable murder and violence?

Of course, like any other human being, but the numbers show that they are more likely the victim.

Everytown’s Transgender Homicide Tracker found a 93% increase in tracked homicides of trans and gender-nonconforming people in the United States and Puerto Rico over the last four years.

So what about rape?

One in six American women has been a victim of an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime.

One in two transgender individuals is sexually abused or assaulted at some point in their lives. It is crucial to emphasize that this study looks only at those who have undergone hormonal and surgical transition, which is a much tighter group than individuals who self- identify as transgender.

People lie, some are just evil, and there are some people who disguise themselves for criminal reasons.

Those disguises vary.

Sadly, for example, some male predators disguise themselves to attack women. And yes, they can disguise themselves as a woman or even as transgender woman, to accomplish their goal.

Statistically, men who disguise as women in order to attack women in bathrooms or locker rooms is as common as being attacked by a lion.

Bottom-line, a transgender woman is not a man. A transgender woman is a woman. Cisgender women and girls face a much greater threat from a priest, minister, coach, politician, doctor, teacher or male family member. Women face a greater threat from assault rifles, yet there is no pending state legislative bill banning assault weapons or offering better protection for women from sexual predators.

We now tragically know that transgender individuals are capable of a mass shooting. Just like everyone else, transgender individuals can suffer from mental illness and depression.

According to the CDC: “1 in 25 Americans lives with a serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depression.”

And, “An estimated 21.0 million adults in the United States had at least one major depressive episode. This number represented 8.4% of all U.S. adults.”

The difference is that most transgender people turn their hate inside, not out.

Data show that “82% of transgender individuals have considered killing themselves and 40% have attempted suicide, with suicidality highest among transgender youth.”

Life is filled with risk. That fact is inescapable but what is the true risk of a cisgender woman being assaulted by a transgender woman?

Instead of enacting state legislation based distorted and false data, look at the documented facts before you destroy the rights of transgender citizens.

Religious zealots, vote-grabbing politicians and gender bigots need a scapegoat and they have chosen transgender individuals as the sacrificial lamb.

I would be much more afraid of the lions and predatory men in the ladies bathrooms.

Emma Holiday

Thank you for reading my work.

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Writers note: If you have read any of my writings on Medium you will have noticed a definite theme: the incredible pain of gender dysphoria and all the difficult aspects of just being transgender.

My writing has three specific goals:

1. Writing is my therapy. I have a very limited outlet for my thoughts so I write to find a way to process the most profound experience in my life. I need to understand and I need to accept myself to move forward.

2. Being transgender, for me, is a very lonely existence and if I can share some of the things that I feel and think as I go through the process of transitioning with others who are transgender and, in some way, lessen their pain and sense of loneliness, then all of this public exposure of my personal thoughts is not a waste.

3. I write to help cisgender people understand that all trans people want is to be simply understood, accepted and treated as a normal person. We are.