There seems to be a continual refusal to acknowledge the threat of violence women face from men, and I do not understand it. On the a recent episode of the Blocked and Reported podcast, the female host stated that she and many other women feel a real, visceral discomfort at the idea of sharing bathrooms with men (kudos to her for acknowledging that this is a real and valid feeling), but she also seemed to suggest that it is something we women would work through in time, as though we just aren't enlightened enough to overcome our silly, passe customs about modesty. There was no acknowledgement that women are uncomfortable because the risk of violence by men in a semi-private, enclosed space is very real. That is bizarre to me because the threat of sexual violence is constantly on my mind; where I go, when I go, how I go, who I go with-- everyday I make these choices on the basis of how I could avoid possible harassment or violence. It is pretty automatic at this point, but it is always there.

I sense that there is an overlap between women who are TRAs and women who have been lucky enough to avoid a lot of the sexual harassment and violence that other women face. I remember writing about my many experiences with sexual harassment on social media one time, and a very woke, TRA woman responded sympathetically but noted that she never experienced such things. I wonder if a lot of the female support for gender advocacy simply boils down to the fact that some women have no conception of the scope and magnitude of sexual violence that other women face. Could it be that they sell out women in dorms, DV shelters, prisons, and other sex segregated spaces simply because they are incapable of appreciating the terror and risks that other women do face on a daily basis?