I can remember a time (partly because of social attitudes then, and partly because of my own peers at a younger age) when being gay was 'odd' - when there was no scientific evidence that being gay was anything other than a choice and 'normal' people felt uncomfortable about the act and the people. That's well before the 'gay disease' headlines appeared!
So we had this situation in society where homosexuals were generally marginalised or rejected, and concern over sharing personal spaces with 'gays' was not unusual.
The same was true of disabled people. They were deemed 'unusual' and segregated in countless ways. Thankfully, we've come a long way since then.
I can absolutely see the parallels with trans people some 50 years later and why sometimes the racial, sexual and disability prejudices are used as an illustration of trans people's current predicament.
A penis is a penis, and nobody should fear it. It's those that own a penis who are (sometimes) to be feared, and that's where (I feel) the issue really lies. Removing the penis doesn't nececcesarily make you any less a penis owner. You've just discarded it, but you arguably still own one.
As stated, I'm not trans, but speak as a man - I cannot see that whatever I did to my body physically, that I would ever truly have the female experience (not that it's one experience, but you get my gist). I think I could enjoy many aspects of feminity and have many of the external and internal experiences they have, but I could never really be them.
All my life I have been a musician, I'm am quite competent, but not world class. I would love to be world class, and would love to play with other world class musicians. If I could enforce the opportunity to play with world class musicians I might be tempted to do so, and I am sure I would improve as a musician in the process, but I would still never be world class, no matter how much inclusion I asked for, no matter how exposed I was to their inner sanctum, I just wasn't born with 'quite' the ability they had despite being very good myself.
Why can't being 'very feminine' be enough?
Can't living life as a woman within the contraints and limitations of reality be enough?
I can live my life as a musician, people would accept my abilities as they are, and I can enjoy all the feelings that music gives me. I just have to accept that I'm not going to be able to experience playing Wembley Stadium, because that's life.
I'm not trying to trivialise this, just trying to understand why there needs to be more and more barriers broken down in order to make a trans feel more real.
All the world cannot be a stage for transpeople.