Why has it been so widely accepted by LGB people in particular when it harms us?

I can remember when we were still trying to argue that things like Gay & Lesbian Studies was a legitimate field of academic inquiry, and especially in the 1990s, one path to legitimacy was through constructing what at least appeared to be an impressive body of knowledge that required great application of effort to understand. And a way to individual career development was to align yourself with people who seemed to be on the cutting edge. Judith Butler made a big splash, and many people wanted to share in the aura of brilliance that surrounded her. She quickly developed many followers and people who cited her, hoping it would make them look smart, too. She became one of the main voices of Queer Theory, and, in that sense, if you opposed her, you risked making yourself look like a reactionary. I'm guilty of quoting a passage from her in a paper I wrote back then.

Also, remember that, in early 1990s, all of this seemed like a lot of obscure theory. No one, myself included, could have imagined how it would play out once gender identity caught on and became a popular concept. I never imagined something like that would be taken so seriously and, within an amazingly short time, become a protected identity category in law.