Transgender people, who identify with a gender different from the one assigned to them at birth, have become increasingly visible and accepted in American society, from TV shows like Orange is the New Black and Transparent to Caitlyn Jenner’s headline-grabbing coming out.
The growing visibility and acceptance, however, has also been met with resistance — part of the same tide that has resisted LGBTQ rights in America for decades. This resistance has maintained a key advantage in public discussions about trans people: There are still many misconceptions about what it means to be trans, from questions about which bathrooms trans people can use to whether children can identify as trans.
For LGBTQ advocates, debunking the myths has become vital not just to getting Americans better acquainted with trans people and the issues that they face, but also building support for trans and LGBTQ rights.
Here’s what you need to know.
