Yeah distracted driving is illegal in Vermont. My friend once literally got pulled over in VT for having an air freshener hanging from her rearview mirror and that constituting “distracted driving” because it obscured her view 🤦‍♂️

But cops in the US are functionally above the law.

The law in question:

• A person shall not use a portable electronic device while operating a moving motor vehicle in a place open temporarily or permanently to the public or general circulation of vehicles.
• In addition, a person shall not use a portable electronic device while operating a motor vehicle on a public highway in Vermont, including while the vehicle is stationary.

I think it’s at least partly related to patriarchy. Same reason bisexual men and bisexual women are generally treated differently. Women are seen as much less of a “threat” to masculinity and generally more socially accepted (albeit more objectified & marginalized in different ways) in the patriarchal system. I think a lot of men use their attraction to women as “proof” to themselves that they’re not gay (and to them gay = feminine = bad), and the existence of bi men undermines their masculine foundation to an extent.

I think the underlying idea with trans people is “of course women would want to be men” whereas “a man who wants to be a woman” is disrupting the patriarchal logic of maleness being more desirable. The idea that a man could actually be a woman (and even take radical steps to affirm that) is more transgressive in a system that highly values male dominance.