Each time you go to the bathroom, do you have to consider which bathroom to use, walk out of the bathroom because somebody is in a stall, wonder if you will be victimized while in the bathroom, or simply decide you should hold it in until you are in a safe environment to go do your "business?"

That is what goes through my daughter's mind any time she has to use a bathroom outside our home. Until our society is ready to accept All Gender Bathrooms, trans people need access to bathrooms that align with their gender identity. The statistics do not support a notion that it is safer for everyone for individuals to use the bathroom that aligns with their assigned gender at birth.

Now that you have considered using the bathroom, which is a minuscule part of your day, do you expend any energy avoiding aggression, perceived and real, as you perform your job or join an activity outside your home? My daughter has been chased in her vehicle; her former co-workers liked to remind her that she would be an ugly woman; strangers feel the need to ask personal questions about her anatomy and her healthcare. Imagine every day is groundhog day and you worry about the bathroom, about embarrassing comments and intrusive questions, about whether or not today will be the day when an acquaintance or random stranger will finally commit an act of violence against her. 

My daughter does not want special treatment. She wants the same protections that cisgender folks enjoy. She quit her part-time job because the small business where she worked advised her to "ignore the haters." Instead of contributing to society, our daughter is now completing her studies online, cannot find a job, and constantly wonders if it will ever be OK to be her true self outside the safety of our home. 

There are so many incorrect assumptions about transgenderism: Our daughter comes from an intact home, where neither drugs nor alcohol is abused. Our daughter was not physically or mentally abused. Our daughter tried to "fix" herself for years, until the burden was too great and she surrendered to what she knows is true - her body does not match her personhood. Live and let live, please, my daughter's life depends on it.