Yeah, that's a good question. You're right that Gallup and Williams Institute survey data show less than 1% of adults in the U.S. identify as transgender but that leaves a lot of people out: those who don't use the word "transgender" to describe themselves but fit under the larger umbrella term; those who aren't honest with pollsters; those who can't be reached by pollsters (like homeless trans people); anyone under the age of 18, etc.

It's notoriusly difficult to achieve a statistically representative sample of super-small minority populations in survey research. For example, Gallup's most recent survey only surveyed 692 LGBT adults in the U.S. That's teensy!

I suspect the real number of transgender people living in the U.S. is between 1%-2%. Regardless, my larger point is that a tiny minority isn't likely to engender empathy or understanding from a much larger majority by claiming to be "unrelatable."