…ok dude listen.
For starters as allies we should NOT be in charge of telling trans people what they should or should not say in defense of themselves.
Second of all, if the “public” and society as a whole is generally intrinsically transphobic — and it is, sadly, because of years and years of depicting trans and non cis individuals as “monsters” or the butt of jokes or trans women as “tricksters” that fool cis men or whatever — then there’s no point in trying to seek justice in being centrist or trying to appeal to the general public.
If a large swath of the public hates your ass, unlike those movies that make your heart feel all fuzzy, they aren’t going to give a damn if you’re nice to them.
I know that miseducation is a LARGE component of the reason why trans people are mistreated throughout the nation, and the world to an extent. But the thing is, trans people have gone YEARS of their LIVES trying to explain their humanity. They are TIRED. And they have every right to be.
If you’re going to tell someone to soften their tone or be more palatable to the “general public” or whatever, don’t let it be trans people. Us CIS people should be lifting the heavyweights, or at least the cis people who understand the value of trans people and don’t unduly categorize them as attention seeking or fake or have some sort of obscene obsession with their genitalia. Because at the end of the day, when trans people are disrespected and their human rights are revoked, us cis people still have our livelihoods intact, at least in the sector of our gender identities being understood.
Besides, as an incredibly marginalized person in this society, Angela has every right to vocalize what she sees as dehumanizing to her and her people.