Elon Musk Announces Plans to Lobby Against Gender-Affirming Care
Image: Steve Jurveston/Wikimedia Commons
Twitter owner and prominent billionaire Elon Musk has announced his intention to push for the criminalisation of gender-affirming healthcare for transgender minors.
Trigger Warning: This story discusses ongoing online discrimination against trans people, which might be distressing to some readers. For 24-hour crisis support and suicide prevention call Lifeline on 13 11 14. For Australia-wide LGBTQI peer support call QLife on 1800 184 527 or webchat.
Commenting under a post discussing the provision and effects of puberty blockers for trans children – Musk declared them “utterly contemptible.”
“This is a major problem. I will be actively lobbying to criminalize making severe, irreversible changes to children below the age of consent,” he said.
This is in spite of the fact that puberty blockers are both famously difficult to acquire (requiring trans youth to undergo rigorous mental assessment beforehand), and wholly reversible.
Among Many Attacks
Musk subsequently agreed that healthcare providers and therapists should be given “long-term”, merciless prison sentences for their role in aiding transgender youth.
The billionaire’s attacks on child-focused gender-affirming healthcare and providers was only a few of many against the wider transgender community that occurred across Twitter on June 1 and 2.
Shedding all pretence, the billionaire spent the start of Pride Month sharing openly transphobic rhetoric and platforming anti-trans content.
“Every parent should watch this,” Musk tweeted, quoting the far-right produced, trans-exclusionary documentary ‘What Is A Woman’ by conservative pundit Matt Walsh.
While Twitter had initially censored the film’s reach under the label of ‘hateful conduct,’ Musk had quickly, and personally, restored it to full availability on the platform.
“[The removal was] a mistake by many people at Twitter. It is definitely allowed,” he said in a post.
Full Separation
Beyond the film, Musk also supported posts advocating for the separation of queer and trans people from the wider LGBTQ+ community.
“Totally agree,” he said, replying to a call by anti-trans group ‘LGB Alliance’ to envision an “LGB without the TQ.”
In the wake of the billionaire’s actions, Twitter has seen major shakeups over the two-day period.
Both the company’s ‘Head of Trust and Safety’, Ella Irwin, as well as its ‘Head of Brand Safety,’ A.J Brown, have resigned.
Both have not given reasons for their resignation.
Twitter responded with its customary poop emoji when reached for comment, an automated response that has been in place since March 2023.
A man who demonstrates such intellect shows how ignorant he actually is.
What anti “puberty blocker” haters fail to recognise or acknowledge is that these drugs have been around for a very long time and presecribed and administered to children going through precocious puberty with no ill effects, but as soon as you want to give something to a trans person, the sky falls in.