Under the guise of “free speech,” Twitter CEO and entrepreneurial juggernaut Elon Musk has allowed anyone to say basically whatever they want as a way of exercising the first amendment. What does it mean for the average Twitter user? 

It means being subjected to egregious rhetoric and prejudice on a daily basis. Lately, this has especially been the case with the massive rise of transphobia. Transphobia is far from an enigmatic phenomenon, but lately, it has been painfully prevalent in cyberspaces like Twitter.

 Let’s just say it is not a fun experience to load Twitter and immediately be bombarded with tweet after tweet about battling the “war on wokeness” just because a trans woman is being sponsored by a beer brand. 

Yes, you heard me; conservatives are currently up in arms about Dylan Mulvaney, TikTok personality and trans rights activist, partnering with Bud Light to promote a March Madness campaign. In the video, Mulvaney speaks on Bud Light’s initiative to celebrate March Madness and the company congratulating her on one year of womanhood by sending her a custom can. Controversy arose soon after, all to protect the sanctity of…a beer brand. 

For some reason, having a trans woman – or someone in “woman-face,” as right-wingers started disgustingly calling it – fuels the gender “indoctrination” and sends misguided messages to the masses. American journalist Megyn Kelly claims that Mulvaney “has made a mockery of womanhood and girlhood,” Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene likened Mulvaney to a pedophile, and American musical “sensation” Kid Rock posted a video of him using Bud Light cans as target practice as a way of boycotting. 

All of this is from a single Instagram sponsorship! Needless to say, the hate campaign has been an unhinged collage of insanity and anti-trans vitriol, especially at a time when anti-trans laws and bans on gender-affirming care have been culminating these last few weeks. Trans people are endlessly harassed for simply wanting to affirm their existence, but that’s nothing new. As long as trans people advocate for being included in societal spaces, there will always be someone trying to counter that with baseless arguments and illogical rhetoric.

Even cisgender individuals supporting trans people have been met with controversy. 

Take Youtube sensation Mr. Beast and the support for his friend, Chris Tyson, which caused quite a Twitter storm. Somehow, Mr. Beast showing support to a gender non-conforming friend is “forcing the trans agenda onto children” and “damaging his brand,” along with other nonsensical conspiracy theories with no line of reason. Mr. Beast even took to Twitter to respond to the controversy with “All this transphobia is starting to piss me off,” and elucidates that Tyson isn’t a “nightmare,” nor are they a burden to him.  

On top of the relentless cyber anti-trans sentiments, the aforementioned anti-trans laws have sprouted all across the country. 

In Florida, Republicans have been expanding on the “Don’t Say Gay” bill and enforcing extreme gender-affirming care restrictions. In Texas, the legislature may instill persecution against trans youth. Kentucky has passed several anti-trans bills, such as the ban on puberty blockers and hormone therapy for trans youth. Rep. Pamela D. Stevenson (D-KY) recently expressed her disdain for the passing of an anti-trans bill in Kentucky in an emotionally charged speech. “This bill is horrible because it has nothing to do with the people,” she decried, elucidating on other minorities such as Black people and Jewish People who have historically been targetted through harmful legislations.  

Transgenderism is not a new “trend,” nor is it an indoctrination. It is not an ideology or agenda. Trans people have always existed as far back as the 1700s with the gender non-conforming Public Universal Friend. 

Statistically, of course, there are more trans people now because more people are able to come out. Transitional procedures are much more accessible now, and people feel more comfortable being their most authentic selves. It’s not the trans people coming out and simply affirming their existence that is the problem; it’s the fear-mongering masses and the cesspool of conservative delusion around gender “brainwashing” that has America regressing to archaic ways of thinking.