Most Americans say they've never met a transgender person.
Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers in Missouri, Kansas and nationwide have put transgender people in the spotlight in recent years, restricting their rights to play team sports, use public restrooms and access gender-affirming care.
Schuyler Bailar was the first openly trans person to play for a men's D1 team in the NCAA, as a swimmer for Harvard.
Last year, he wrote the book "He/She/They: How We Talk About Gender and Why It Matters." He told KCUR's Up To Date that the book is an invitation to think about gender in a different way.
"When I talk about gender and I talk about trans issues, a lot of people will think about trans people and gender as sort of this 'other conversation' that doesn't relate to them," Bailar told KCUR's Up To Date. "But what they forget is that every single person has an experience with gender, even if they're not trans."
Bailar will speak at the Kansas City Public Library's Central branch on Thursday at 6 p.m.
- Schuyler Bailar, author, "He/She/They: How We Talk About Gender and Why It Matters"
