I want to point out in advance that jurassic transphobes in the Comments section of The Stranger - long since a game reserve where bigots from across the nation come to take masturbatory potshots at "the libruls" - does not constitute the aggregate public opinion. The worst voices here are the smallest, pettiest, lonliest voices, anywhere.
Trans women, you are supported. In the Puget Sound, in Washington, as free and self determining Americans, and everywhere on this earth where bigots understand that they are the minority, enacting cruelty for its own petty sake.
We simply got so much wrong about gender we only now have social space and power to explore and understand. The relationship between gender and genitals is an artifact of protoscience, as over and done as bodily humours, phrenology, and an earth-centric universe.

You know one of the easiest ways to spot a position that has little or no basis in fact? When the argument for involves demonizing anyone who is skeptical or has legitimate concerns as a bigot unworthy of response or redemption. See @3 for an example.

@5, Hi D13R

Where did @3 demonize anyone? They were expressing their support for trans people "in advance" as it's inevitable that bigots will show up in these threads, and they were making a point that the bigots have loud voices but are in the minority (which is a fact). Their final paragraph is just expressing an opinion about the nature of gender.

You know one of the easiest ways to spot a bigot? When one assume they're being accused of being a bigot when no one has done so. Something to think about.

@6 do you consider @1s comment bigoted? I’m 99% certain @3 does and that’s my point. The trans debate has too often devolved into accept what we are saying 100% or you are a bigot. If @3 meant something else I’ll stand corrected but the same pattern seems to repeat itself any time an issue like this comes up.

@1 & 2, Xina,

Oh my dear. I'm genuinely saddened to hear you speak that way. I thought you were a more open-minded and intellectually curious person than that. And I'm going to explain what I mean by that, because I respect your opinion (though the rant you left here is testing that).

I don't think not wanting to share unclothed women-only space with unclothed penis is unfair, let alone makes you a bigot. That doesn't necessarily mean you're right, but I think most reasonable people, including trans people, can understand that it's a reasonable discussion to have, and trans women who haven't had bottom surgery may have to compromise in some specific situations, and the cisgen women who have an issue with it will just have to get over it in other situations.

Having the decency and respect not to "dead" name people is not "rewriting" history. No one is rewriting the history books to suggest that "Bruce Jenner" never existed or that Caitlyn Jenner didn't compete in the men's division at the Olympics. It's just being respectful and decent - for many trans people, including those who happen to be "public" figures, seeing and hearing their dead name is emotionally painful. Just because someone is famous, doesn't mean it doesn't hurt. And what exactly is the problem you think you've identified? How is it "bad"... who does this "hurt" if they go back and change Elliot Page's film credits to show his present name? Sounds a lot like concern-trolling.

And then you're pitting women's bodily autonomy being taken away with transgender rights? It's all about bodily autonomy. You're in the same battle with trans people for civil rights. They're your sisters, your allies. And you're shitting on them.

That you're "bashed" as being a TERF by the "trans community" for daring to demand that you be recognized as a woman? What does that word salad even mean? You think some asshats you argue with on the internet are the "trans community"? When you talk to a POC, do you think they represent "their community" because they all share the same skin color?

And then you tack on a decade old quote that is a practically a definition of TERF asshattery. That is literally saying that a trans woman is not and never will be a woman.

Xina, the reason there are people out there you claim are calling you a TERF is because you've provided a bullet point list of how to sound like a TERF. If that's how you start every discussion about your feelings on transgender women in women's spaces, then it shouldn't come as a surprise.

You wouldn't know it by those comments, but you seem to have a good heart and a good soul. The really ironic thing is through the years, I had occasionally thought you might be trans. I think I can put that one to rest.

@7 D13R, no, the point is that @3 didn't call anyone out specifically, their description of "bigot" sounds more like a Trump-voting right-winger. They didn't call out a single thing Xina wrote. Maybe they would call Xina a bigot, but it's kind of weird to suggest they did when there's no evidence that they did. And they didn't call you one yet either.

So why call them out for spreading a message of acceptance and support for trans people?

The thing about comment boards like this is that these kind of articles do occasionally draw in people who really are hateful bigots. It's disgusting to see. Hopefully it doesn't happen with this article.