The missing aspect of the transwomen in sport topic: pain

In the current coverage of attacks on transwomen, there is an aspect that is missing: pain. 

I have no doubt, despite mainstream media’s predominant silence on this aspect of the issue, that this attack is putting the lives of all trans and gender diverse (TGD) people (not solely TGD children) at risk: it’s more than the very real “risks to mental health” - it is also a risk of suicide. 

In my opinion, this cannot be considered as simply some political ploy as a means to keeping power: it must be viewed as a direct attack on a minority group - and the constraints being proposed would create a severe curtailment on the quality of life of (and possibly the existence of some) TGD people (especially the denial of care to TGD children - which, incidentally, does NOT involve surgery nor any other permanent changes). I am aware that, apart from those telling blatant lies, there are some conspiracy fantasists who think conversion abuses work and thus these attacks are somehow acceptable if they drive TGD people into those abuse systems, but the reality is that conversion abuses (they are NOT “therapy”) DON’T work - they never have, never will, show a mindset that needs to be corrected rather than any flaw in reality, and are being banned for good and valid reasons in decent jurisdictions.

In my opinion, those who are doing this knowingly for political reasons should NEVER be forgiven. (On the other hand, I feel that those who are doing this because they haven’t made themselves familiar with reality could possibly be forgiven, but that would depend on what they do next.)

Having made that point, there are other pains involved in this - in my opinion (as someone who has lost people to suicide caused by discrimination) lesser pains, but pains nevertheless. Those pains include: 

• The pain of confusion for those who do not understand the difference between sex and gender.
  This is a major point, one that can take some effort to come to terms with but is well accepted in academia, but one which has not yet fully made the transition into everyday life as yet - although there have been some good attempts at incorporating this into the education system.
  Those attempts were opposed by a small number of people, which leads us to ...
  
  
• The pain of fear: 
• ... fear that one’s own personal sense of gender could be undermined or called into question by others affirming states of being that one hasn’t considered to date.
  This fear leads to questions along the lines of “Am I really what I think I am?”
  This (which I often term “the social dinosaur fear”) is closely related to ...
  
  
• ... the fear of: what will others think of me?
  This is the fear of being a social outcast - it has nothing to do with right or wrong, only belonging or not belonging. It is a fear exemplified by McCarthyism and Soviet social control alike.
  It was also infamously exemplified by the alleged (I've not been able to track down a source to confirm this) Bob  Menzies’ comment (claimed to have been made after the attempt to ban the communist party in Australia failed) to the effect that the control exerted in suburban living rooms was more significant than any law.
  
  
• ... the fear that one may be worse at growing up than others if they considered things one didn’t at their age - or that one may generally be less astute as a person.
  This is an unduly harsh self criticism, and simply emphasises the need for sound education, as opposed to education aimed at enforcing conformity - and it is a much healthier reaction than those who simply angrily deny that others could possibly have thought of stuff they didn’t at similar age, which unhealthy and angry reaction leads into ...
  
  
• ... the fear that my child might not be a “mini me”. 
  This is a gravely concerning fear, as (in my opinion) it possibly raises some questions about the motivations of parents who have this attitude - that is, are they focused on what is best for their child, or are they focused on their ideological / genetic legacy?
  
  
• ... the fear that the CISgender STEREOTYPE one has lovingly tended to and built up so one could partake of it might be taken away from one, and that one might have to depart this state of blissful ignorance to partake of messy and imperfect reality . . .
  
  
• There is also the pain of loss: there may be a loss for people whose partners / children / parents have transitioned, which is what organisations such as PFLAG and others exist for - to provide constructive support, not to attempt to suppress / reverse / deny reality. 
• There is the pain of what could be - and even if the effects of this were actually limited to sport (which they're not, at the moment, as everything has, in my opinion, skipped several steps past sport to attacking the existence of TGD people), it would necessitate at least three additional competitions: transwomen, transmen, and nonbinary people, so we would go from two to FIVE sports competitions ... and it would open cisgender women to all sorts of challenges - the notion of separate sports competitions is the most unbelievably foolish (I’ve edited that word down quite considerably) thing I’ve come across in a very long time.
  

None of this is new. TGD people have been talking about this for DECADES, and it feels that others have been wilfully refusing to hear. 

It brings to mind the comment by Benjamin Franklin (about the dangers of lead):

“... you will observe with concern how long a useful truth may be known and exist before it is generally received and practiced on.”

How much longer will diehards continue to cause harm - and put themselves on the wrong side of history - by resisting the truth and reality of TGD people?

I wish to acknowledge the contributions of Sharlot Clark-George to this post - particularly its conception.