The thing is though, no one actually changes their opinion because Musk spouts contradictory bullshit. His fellow transphobes just see him pushing transphobia, and don’t care what he’s actually saying. For them as well, the point is the hate. The words are just as meaningless, whether it’s their words or someone elses. The only thing that matters, is that it pushes hate.

For people that are already trans allies, his words don’t change anything.

And for people who are on the fence, who don’t know how to feel about trans folk and their rights, musks words won’t change anything either. The thing that turns fences sitters in to supporters is seeing the human face of trans people. It’s the experience of trans people shifting from a hypothetical talking point in to real people, who are impacted by the hate. And again, that has very little to do with the words people use.

Yep. People can and obviously are swayed by Musks transphobia. But they’re not swayed because he comes up with a singular definition they agree with. They’re swayed because his pattern of exclusion is designed to stoke fear. The successive anti trans comments, the support from other bigots, and the fear narratives all tell people they should be nervous about trans folk. And then the messages keep coming, and the uncertainty changes to fear.

Which is to say, celebrating a “gotcha” in a transphobes wording, might feel good in the moment, but pointing out the contradiction doesn’t make any meaningful difference to people who are already feeling that fear and anxiety.