Genuine transgenders have always been around – Gender dysphoria is a real condition, but it’s very rare (I remember reading somewhere it affects less than 1% of the world population, so I highly doubt those population statistics, too). There are apparently a number factors which can cause it, ranging from apparently some kind of mutation during fetal development which causes a male to be born with a female brain (or vice-versa) or social conditioning at a very young age (often just child abuse)… But I think this all speculation, so we don’t really know what can cause a person to view themselves as the other gender. Only that it was classified as a form of mental illness until very recently and that such individuals should be treated with compassion and get the help they need.
Unfortunately there’s a social contagion that’s removing all nuance: There are significant number of people who have become obsessed with sexual androgyny and are using transgenderism to rebel against gender norms: These grifters see the social expectations of men and women as oppressive and believe the grass is greener on the other side. Hence you see a bunch of blokes putting on drags and then demanding to called women and granted access to female spaces. It’s taking an otherwise very sensitive topic and using it as a cudgel by some very selfish people who are advancing their own interests.
And this is only the tip of the iceberg. I can’t even begin to get into all the politics surrounding transitioning, the medical industry’s seeming ideological possession and how it’s all being pushed onto school children, particularly young girls. These are legitimate, grave concerns, and even the “free speech progressives” will just block their ears and refuse to listen because “something something trans rights something trans women are women transphobe.” It’s become a cult.
