Transness as a security risk in public spaces.1
<<< back to The Signature Trans Experience
It doesn’t start with a punch, a scream, or an obvious attack. It starts with a stare, a hesitation, a whisper behind a cupped hand. With a moment in which the air grows heavier because a body outside the expected norms enters a gendered space.
Suddenly, spaces meant to be a refuge or a safe harbor become sites of rejection, harassment, or even violence. Not once in a blue moon, but every day. And the reasons are always the same: a trans woman entering a women’s space is framed as a safety risk to others, especially children and cisgender women.
With that, the violence begins right where empathy ends: at the door. Let that sink in. A society that promises safety for all builds fences where tolerance would be required. Trans identities are not just overlooked but actively excluded, criminalized by their mere existence, pathologized by the fear of the ignorant, and controlled by rules never meant for them.
Pro Tip: Be mindful of the places you go. Whether it’s a restaurant bathroom or the women’s class at a gym, the existence of a trans woman is often seen as a threat. Not because of anything a trans person did or because criminal statistics support it, but because of the attributes conservative populists slapped onto the community as a whole.
Trans people are framed as left‑wing violent radicals, antithetical to freedom and the American way of life. They are accused of being sexual predators and child groomers. They are labeled mentally ill, unfit for service, incapable of living an honorable, truthful, disciplined life.2 All in all, trans people are painted as dangerous enough for the president of the United States to promise: “We will find you and we will kill you.”3
Notably, nobody ever wonders whether trans people might also have a right to safety. What if that trans woman is afraid of being assaulted in a men’s locker room? What if she feels unsafe training martial arts with a group of men? What if criminal statistics clearly show that trans people are disproportionately victims of violent crime? Society simply doesn’t care. Tough luck. Better luck next time.
As a result, we are left with a system that promises inclusion but raises walls higher than any physical barrier. Walls built from prejudice, ignorance, and fear. And outside those walls, trans people stand in the pouring rain, with nothing but the hope of finding a place that will not just tolerate them, but accept, respect, and protect their identity.
As long as society refuses to question its fears and recognize that safety is achieved through compassion, not exclusion, trans people will remain the presumed suspects. Not because they are dangerous, but because they are different.
Keep in mind: in a world that promises safety and protection, being trans is synonymous with being denied at every door and excluded from every space. Not because of anything we did, but because of a society unwilling to see difference as something deeply human.
- This is another chapter I’ve largely rewritten. In the German original, Jessica writes about her experiences with a women’s shelter in Pirmasens that refused to admit her, after she became a victim of domestic violence. ↩︎
- See Executive Order “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness”, signed January 27, 2025. ↩︎
- See United States Counterterrorism Strategy 2026, signed by President Donald Trump in May 2026. ↩︎
Excerpt from “The Signature Trans Experience.” © 2026 by Jessica Krämer and Liz Anders. All rights reserved.