This trans author toured red-state libraries. What she found might surprise you

The small brick plaza in front of the Pella, Iowa, public library was teeming with people. A gray-haired woman in a T-shirt stood stoically beside a large banner bearing a Bible quote with chapter and verse notation. There were a handful of other signs in the crowd. I can’t quote any of them because I kept my head down as I entered the plaza. Inside the library, there were event posters with my face on them. I didn’t know if I’d be recognized in the crowd — or clocked as...