I have some trans friends, but not prolonged direct contact with trans issues. Because of that, my opinions haven't been tested in real life. So that's a big caveat.
Trans issues haven't been much on my radar, so I was surprised to find out how much change was occurring before 2020. Turns out it was a lot, and I missed almost all of it. I had to go back and see when Caitlyn Jenner made her announcement, but I wasn't very impressed. After all, it came from one of the Kardashian clan, whom I don't esteem at all. (By the way, it was 2015.)
There was the North Carolina bathroom bill fracas in 2016, but that was pretty much shut down with boycotts. Which was good because bathrooms weren't rendered unsafe by trans women. None of the women I know were worried about it. It was mostly fathers beating their chests instead of letting the women and girls speak for themselves.
Heating up
So maybe trans issues exploded in 2021-2 when US kids went back to schools after covid. I have to wonder if the timing shows that US conservatives needed new issues. Two big new issues, trans rights (and treatment for trans kids) and critical race theory were centered on schools. But I don't have the proof, so it's just a speculation.
When it comes to trans issue, I'm not that well informed. However, my scientific and healthcare backgrounds help me to some tentative ideas about it. I think trans, like same-sex attraction, are real human characteristics, and not just pathology or perversion. I know trans people for whom life is much more stable, productive, and rewarding, so that rules out it always being a pathology. So, using the experience of gay rights, let's jump to assuming that it's not a pathology without evidence in the individual cases.
Trans identification has soared in recent years, so what does that indicate? I think the growth is partly due to increased awareness, partly due to having terms for what people were experiencing, and partly fads or social contagion. Considering the vast changes in numbers, I disagree that best practices for transition are known now. It was too rare before, and the major changes mean that there hasn't been enough time yet to digest those changes and develop tested, confirmed best practices. At this point, they are at best best guesses.
When it comes to puberty blockers, again best practices aren't known at this time. I don't believe claims that they don't have downsides--it hasn't been studied well enough to know.
With Solutions, More Problems Come
When it comes to detransitioners, that is a real phenomenon, and points to inadequate counseling. However detransitioning is a cause celebre on the right, so some of it might be publicity whoring. Also, high barriers to transition treatment has problems too. Trans folks bitterly complain about gatekeeping, where they have to repeatedly prove to the 'experts' that they deserve the treatment, thereby treating them more like children than mature adults.
A big part of the current backlash is centered on trans women and the lesbian and/or feminist community. Some in the community reject trans women as actually being males who are pretending to be women for unclear reasons. Here are men again trying to take over! There have been very awkward arguments about whether lesbians can reject sexual relations with trans women as not being lesbian relations. I strongly support respecting individual preferences, which is why straight people can be straight, bi people can be bi, gay people can be gay, lesbians can be lesbians. Don't tell people who they have to sleep with.
There's also the issue of athletic competition. Based on my knowledge of anatomy and physiology, I think it's fair to exclude trans women from women's competitive sports. For leisure leagues, why not let whoever play?
Another important aspect to realize is that no person can undo their genetics or completely remake their body. Surgical penises and vaginas don't function nearly as well as homegrown. That's the biological reality at this time, and it should be spelled out clearly to anyone considering the surgery. Many trans people don't get those surgeries, and it's not a requirement for living as a trans person. Society at large doesn't need to know what's happening with a person's genitals. Clothing has made it a non-issue long before current times.
Extras. I didn't put a lot of links here because this is more based on my impressions than solid research, which is hard to do in this period of major flux. The very complex story of a US trans woman who also detransitioned but not completely. Another detransitioner who is now identifying as a lesbian. The stories I hear from my friends are joy that they can be their real selves. Those stories deserve representation so here are some traditional ones and also more modern ones.
Link to downloads of the UK reviews of transgender care.
A timeline of accusations of grooming leveled at LGBT folks. The grooming accusations may already have peaked because it was that rampant (accusations, not real grooming).
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