Academic

The topics of gender and sexuality are complex ones. Research into the subjects beginning in the early 20th century included figures like Hirschfeld, Kinsey and Benjamin. It was esoteric, layered and academic and, because much was still in the dark due to society's rigid structure, what were considered anomalies were at most curiosities that didn't threaten as much as fascinate. They lived largely behind closed doors. 

All that research showed that we are dealing with varied human behaviour which appears to work on a type of spectrum. We also confirmed that many people are naturally eclectic and prone to odd behaviour including fetishes which were eventually documented in the DSM.

By the 1980's disease models of gender variance were being introduced with the changing of society. The sexual revolution had already taken place and gender was next so there needed to be a way to keep challenges at bay. The tiny sliver of people who had been transitioning in public intially with some empathy and notoriety began to be seen increasingly as freaks for the entertainment value of daytime talk shows.

Right around this time Ray Blanchard introduced his clumsy two-type male to female transsexual taxonomy which ignored natal women with gender dysphoria entirely; a model which, despite glaring flaws, is still being peddled today in darker circles as pathology.

Those of us born post-war with dysphoria didn't have much possibilities for assistance other than the recognized hospital gender identity programs which helped some to transition or at least get therapy. But still, things were relatively underground until well past 2010 when transgender people began to more seriously challenge the strict social order with what at first appeared to be some success. 

The current backlash is tied in with resentment over too many variables changing. The nature of relationships and marriage, work, global economics, immigration patterns, etc are creating ripples in the previous world order that make obvious targets the easiest pickings. The white man isn't amused and wants to reel things back in. 

My outlook has always been sober because that is the way I was raised. I would observe how society functioned around me and tried to fit into it without falling prey to its excesses and lose my way. That outlook included my views on gender variance as a whole. 

Particularly over the last 10 years, the elasticity of human behaviour has been pushed beyond a comfort limit for many and the next few decades will see where we land once the dust settles on all this turbulence. We will see what potentially a new Renaissance brings.