idk about the US, but as most late transitioners i've put a ton of thought into why i didn't come out earlier and ... let me put it like this, for legally changing my name and gender marker, it would've been mandatory to get forced sterilization until 2012 and that name and gender marker change would've been voided if i had stashed some sperm somewhere to sire a kid and my nazi-ass country would have found out about that.

I'm not saying transphobia isn't a thing anymore, far from it. Particularly for the elite in politics, media and academia, my basic human rights are still up for debate in a way that the basic human rights of gay people where up for debate 15 years ago, but i rarely get into trouble irl, and that absolutely would've been different 15 years ago. And that's just mainstream society, i'd also say that there's been a particularly huge change for the better in how feminist and lesbian communities treat transfems. And all of that relates exclusively to my experience as a trans woman, and as a group we've always faced a lot more open attacks, both verbally, physically and especially sexually, than cis gay men.

So yeah, i probably couldn't have endured being visibly queer in my state 15 years ago and it's fairly doable nowadays. I'm not saying it's the same all over the world, but people here really need to understand that not every place in the world is AmeriKKKa.