In a series of tweets posted overnight, Elon Musk, the influential CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, broached a series of topics on gender and medical intervention for transgender minors as relevant laws are pilling up in the US over the past months, underscoring likely 2024 election battle lines.
Musk started the conversation with a meme featuring a pregnant woman asking her doctor about her baby's gender, to which the doctor replies, "we'll let the kindergarten teacher decide."
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 9, 2023
Furthering this conversation, Musk added, "Kids who are so young they think Santa is literally true obviously cannot understand the concept of 'gender'."
Kids who are so young they think Santa is literally true obviously cannot understand the concept of “gender”
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 9, 2023
Musk, who is also the owner of Twitter, recently disclosed his intentions to lobby for the criminalization of gender-affirming medical intervention for transgender minors.
"This is a major problem. I will be actively lobbying to criminalize making severe, irreversible changes to children below the age of consent. Shame on those who advocate this! It is utterly contemptible," he tweeted.
On June 2, Musk recommended the documentary 'What Is A Woman' by Matt Walsh, encouraging parents to watch it.
The documentary had initially been labeled as 'hateful conduct' and censored by Twitter, however, Musk intervened, attributing the takedown to a misunderstanding and ensured its availability on the platform.
"This was a mistake by many people at Twitter. It is definitely allowed...," he tweeted after restoring access to the post.
Musk clarified his stance on using preferred pronouns and names as a matter of good manners, stating that not using them is at worst, rude, but certainly not illegal.
Musk's tweets, which ignited widespread discussion and varied responses on social media, underscore ongoing debates in the U.S. around gender identity, sports participation, medical intervention for minors, and freedom of speech.
Of note is the fact that Musk's own child, Vivian Jenna Wilson, underwent a legal name and gender change last year. Formerly known as Xavier Alexander Musk, Vivian had expressed a desire to sever all ties with her biological father. Musk was married to Wilson's mother, Canadian author Justine Wilson, from 2000 to 2008.
The current discourse on these issues is set to heavily impact the 2024 elections. Republicans aim to portray Democrats as out of sync with the values of much of the country while countering challenges from the far-right within their own party.
Over the past 2 year period, more than 20 Republican-led states have enacted bills regulating the lives of transgender children and adolescents.
The most recent of these include Florida Governor Ron DeSantis's bills that ban gender-affirming care for minors, restrict chosen pronoun use in schools, and require individuals to use the bathroom corresponding with their assigned sex at birth.
Furthermore, a law signed by Oklahoma’s governor made it a felony to provide gender-affirming medical care to minors.
To date, 17 states have passed similar restrictions on such care, which includes puberty blockers and hormone therapy for transgender youths. In comparision, only three states had enacted such restrictions before 2023, indicating a clear shift in the wider trend of legislations this year.
