Are they afraid of being molested from a direction that they would never expect?
Yup. It's ridiculous, or it would be if it weren't such a canard. There have been no incidents of this, and plenty of documented incidents of trans people, especially trans women, getting assaulted in public restrooms.
So - what's actually the point?
I'm not the first to observe that the people who are trying to make life difficult for trans people now are the same ones who were trying to make life hard for LGB folks earlier. They've lost that fight, legally and culturally, so now they've picked what they think is an easier target to garner support. And there are reasons to think we are an easier target: we're much less numerous - about 5% of the LGBT community - and we have the smallest per capita income of any LGBT group.
I don't get it why this doesn't occur to people and why they make a drama out of it?
As a way to get votes, fear-mongering works. What worries me is that most people don't personally know anybody who's trans; most people do know someone who's LGB, which made their struggle easier. The morally mediocre majority can't have compassion for someone unlike anyone they know personally. Transgender people are going to have to make an extra effort to come out to everyone, even though it's even more dangerous for us than it is for LGB people.
no subject
Yup. It's ridiculous, or it would be if it weren't such a canard. There have been no incidents of this, and plenty of documented incidents of trans people, especially trans women, getting assaulted in public restrooms.
So - what's actually the point?
I'm not the first to observe that the people who are trying to make life difficult for trans people now are the same ones who were trying to make life hard for LGB folks earlier. They've lost that fight, legally and culturally, so now they've picked what they think is an easier target to garner support. And there are reasons to think we are an easier target: we're much less numerous - about 5% of the LGBT community - and we have the smallest per capita income of any LGBT group.
I don't get it why this doesn't occur to people and why they make a drama out of it?
As a way to get votes, fear-mongering works. What worries me is that most people don't personally know anybody who's trans; most people do know someone who's LGB, which made their struggle easier. The morally mediocre majority can't have compassion for someone unlike anyone they know personally. Transgender people are going to have to make an extra effort to come out to everyone, even though it's even more dangerous for us than it is for LGB people.