Hi Spotsandstars
Thank you for the question. In simple terms, it's about biology (sex), not gender, and the two are very different things. Radical feminists see gender as the expression of stereotypes in society that are attached to sex (e.g. to be simplistic with the stereotypes, biological girls are raised to like pink, be into dresses, and learn ballet, whereas biological boys are raised to like blue, like getting muddy, and play football). The current transgender "trend" (not to be confused with the previously named transexuals) basically says that if you are a boy and you like the "girl things" (e.g. as before: pink, dresses, ballet) then you MUST really be a girl, and vice-versa.
I'm sure you're already seeing why this is a problem.
To try and not get bogged down in the detail or the nuances, in short, women who are concerned about this recognise that liking pink, dresses, ballet (or not!) does not make one a female (girl/woman).
So what does make one a female?
We would answer it is our biology.
Because of that answer, we want to be able to address issues relating to our biology: periods, pregnancy, hormones, violence (because it's mostly committed by men against women), rape (ditto) etc.
Trans Rights Activists do not want us to talk about those things because they feel by doing so we are not including men who identify as women. They do not believe in biology, they believe in feelings. We say that we do not need to include them in those things because they do not impact them (being biological men).
In the current legislation, a person who considers themselves trans can go through a process of two years to obtain a Gender Recognition Certificate which then takes away their SEX marker on their birth certificate and replaces it with their chosen GENDER. Their safety, well-being and health is covered in legislation. They have the same rights as non-trans people.
In the Equality Act there are exemptions that can be applied in certain situations to allow sex-segregated spaces (like women's only shelters for domestic violence etc). This means that even though a trans-person may have a certificate, the exemption would apply to them because they are not biologically female.
We want to be able to talk about those exemptions being upheld because there are proposed changed to legislation that will do away with the process of obtaining a Gender Recognition Certificate and instead allow people to self-identify. This means that any male who wants access to female spaces is able to just declare himself as a female and have access to them.
The problem we have is not with transgendered people, the problem we have is that many businesses, organisations and political parties are ALREADY saying that people who self-id should be allowed in sex-segregated spaces; they are not recognising or upholding the exemptions.It is therefore allowing men who want access to women's spaces an easy "in."
All we want is to be able to DISCUSS what self-id means and have reassurance that sex-segregated spaces will be upheld.
What you mentioned in your post applies to sex: you want your daughter to feel as special as a girl as a boy does (correct me if I am wrong). Unfortunately, if the left keeps having their way, your daughter will not have her sex recognised. Women's Short Lists will allow for self-identified males to join/compete.
I'll stop there, because it IS nuanced, and there are many aspects to this. If you have any questions, I am happy to try and answer. It's great you are asking questions.