Firstly, I love your articles and support a lot of what you say, I did want to throw in my 2 cents here but do not want it to come off as criticism of your POV but hopefully an additional POV as the human experience on the whole is very diverse.

- I’m drawing on my personal experience before and after bottom surgery

- Before surgery it was uncomfortable, anxiety inducing, very inconvenient and physically pained to sit and pee. This seemed to be based on, in part, the pluming there for me.

- Since transition I’ve found myself very scared in public washrooms. The anxiety for me is sometimes too much. I want to get in and out. I sat down out of fear in public stalls, it did not feel affirming. It didn’t feel like the act was embracing womanhood.

- To me, it is a physical act based on a physical body that requires sitting to accomplish a bodily function. The act at this time for me seemed to just highlighted the disconnect from my brain’s gender vs my physical reality - arguably increasing the feelings of dysphoria.

- While the idea of sitting to pee made sense to my brain, it brought physical discomfort as my body was more suited to standing. I was aware no cis-woman would feel the inconvenience I felt sitting to pee.

- The first time I HAD to sit to pee after surgery, I cried with joy and at that point it felt truly affirming for me. The plumbing worked without the inconvenience and pain of forcing things to bend etc. This sitting was needed now, the plumbing worked …. Anxiety in public washrooms is still there, but the act now became neccessary and to me that brought with it the affirmation.