You’ve got my vote.

It also supports the idea that this is less about bravery and more about a desire to avoid pointless, bad-faith debate. Social influence or lack thereof is not a metric I use to determine the legitimacy of an identity, but it is for some people who would love using my "yes" as a cudgel.

This. If someone asked me if "Transgender identity is sometimes the product of social influence," I couldn't give a meaningful yes or no answer. All identities are to some extent a product of social influence and the possibilities open to people at a given time, in a given place?? What's the point?

What could a speaker even cost, Michael? $10??

I did the same! The more I pondered it, the more absurd it became. Just staggering levels of wrongness.

Indeed. The fact that some people see this as a reflection of strength to be celebrated rather than the absolute fragility and man-baby shit that it is remains beyond my ability to comprehend. How do we have authoritarians who are such obvious losers?

Lots of them are appointment only, but a) this is a large and important branch for researchers, not your average small regional, and b) the other regionals do not restrict access only to those with “legitimate business purposes.” People have to make appointments, but the general public has access.