This is absolutely a real trend suppted by data

lawsuit.org/…/republicans-have-an-obsession-with-…

yahoo.com/…/pornhub-reports-explosion-searches-tr…

Conservative areas are more religious, and Christianity uses sexual shame and repression as a control mechanism. A trans attracted Christian is trained to hate them but still think trans people are attractive, that may be why you are so hell bent on proving your friend wrong.