Nobody likes "don't ask, don't tell" as a solution, but in this case, it was probably most effective, and probably did the least amount of harm overall to the trans community. People discreetly used the bathroom/locker room they felt most comfortable with, and for the most part, none of us were the wiser.

Fact: we separate public facilities where people need physical privacy by gender, because people tend to have issues in mixing genders where they take their clothes off, do their business, etc. So like the woman who wrote the question, discomfort with members of the opposite sex in those settings has nothing to do with homophobia.

My strong opinion: politicians are selfishly trying to make points with their constituencies of interest on this subject, and in so doing, are shining a spot light in a way that is making this whole thing far worse than it needs to be. Because transgender is something rather unique - by definition, these people are not completely one gender or the other, especially if they have not, let's say, transitioned the private parts. Some do, some don't. So unless we're deciding that separate facilities by gender is no longer relevant (good luck with that), politicians just should have kept their mouths shut.

And IMO, it is mostly those claiming to be for transgender rights who are creating and perpetuating the mess.