Things have changed greatly and will continue to change.
I worked in aerospace 35 years ago and if one of my colleagues would have come out as gay his security clearance would have been revoked and he would have been fired. Being TG was so far beyond the pale that it wasn't even considered in discussions but there is no doubt that it would have resulted in similar treatment.
I currently have a friend who is TS and works in a similar job to the one I had. Her employer (a major player in the industry) is paying for her surgery.
That's how far we have come. While we may not have the JoeBubbaBobs in the deep south accepting us, we are becoming very mainstream in most of the country.
I was out last night with four CD friends and our spouses at a live performance. With four CDers, Persephone's Law just about guarantees that we will be made. Still, everything was fine with the other patrons and one of the GGs even complimented me on my dress and asked where I bought it. After the show, the producer came out to meet us and told us how glad she was that we were there.
I will disagree with Busker about older people becoming more conservative. While they may do so in some ways, their broad range of experiences often make them more tolerant of others. The people we should be concerned about are the young and middle-age redneck types who often act before engaging their brains. Those are the ones that commit violence against TG people.
