And you shouldn't have to feel thankful for what you have. That you are required to is an injustice. Transsexuals are about as "other" as humans come, though and you tip easily into the uncanny valley. Humans are basically tribal; we align based on what we aren't and nearly all of us aren't transgender. It's a problem minorities will always face from majorities - majorities will be unwittingly prejudicial against minorities, minorities will complain about it, majorities will go "WTF we're just trying to live our lives" and now both sides are hostile rather than just one. There's no way to win, and nothing changes without the majority being made uncomfortable. This is just one of those things where I think the progressive corners of the country underestimate just how uncomfortable the rednecks already are.
This is actually one of the tools which I've used to explain to others why some people hate trans people, or find us somehow evil. I mean, the whole concept of the "Trap", or a trans woman who passes "too" well and is preying on unsuspecting men flows back to the idea of trans women being an "other", and people being unsure whether we are a threat or not. This is my favourite video on the uncanny valley (I love Vsauce) I think the worst part is that Trans people who do not "Pass" are the ones who have the hardest time, because they fall right into the trough of the uncanny valley. So much of this has to do with exposure, in my opinion. How many of these people have ever had to deal with a gay person for a few weeks? or met a trans woman? Or a trans MAN (who are so often completely invisible in this whole conversation)? How often do you hear of stories like this where the one black family in town were "the good kind of black people"? People fear what they don't understand, and that's often why people who are in the QUILTBAG fall into the Uncanny Valley. (side note, i'm going to use QUILTBAG instead of LGBT forever now because it's hilarious. well, probably not actually, but it is funny. Who doesn't love Acronyms over Initialisms, anyways?)you tip easily into the uncanny valley.
This is just one of those things where I think the progressive corners of the country underestimate just how uncomfortable the rednecks already are.