US Politics
‘If you have a womb, you’re a woman’: Elon Musk post on womanhood sparks heated debate
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Elon Musk offered his thoughts on womanhood in a new post on social media, which quickly went viral, sparking a variety of reactions.
On Saturday morning, the billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX wrote on his platform X, “If you have a womb, you are a woman. Otherwise, you are not.”
The 13-word message garnered more than 30 million views and around 20,000 responses, many of which expressed agreement with Musk.
“Can’t believe we are now in an era…where you had to state the obvious,” wrote one user, while another chimed in, “As someone who almost passed chemistry in high school, I can confirm this is always true.”
A third commenter said that Musk’s remark has been true and undisputed throughout human history, but that “now we have to pretend like this is a controversial statement to avoid offending gender studies majors.”
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Some, however, pushed back against the South-African-born businessman’s comments.
“Actually, this is not true, because there are women with MRKH syndrome (Mayer–Rokitansky–Küster–Hauser syndrome), in which the uterus is absent or underdeveloped from birth,” a user wrote.
One pointed out that there are plenty of women who have had hysterectomies, surgeries that remove the uterus.
“That’s your opinion,” another added. “Trans women are women too.”
Musk’s comments come one day after he got into an exchange with California Governor Gavin Newsom on the subject of transgender individuals.
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“I want to see trans kids, I have a trans godson,” Newsom said during a podcast interview with The New York Times. “There’s no governor that’s done more pro trans legislation than I have.”
Newsom’s press office reposted a clip from the interview, writing, “Correct. We’re sorry your daughter hates you, Elon.”
It appeared to be a reference to Musk’s estranged transgender daughter, Vivan Jenna Wilson, who recently described her father to Teen Vogue as a “pathetic man child.”
On Friday, Musk wrote back to Newsom on X.
“I assume you’re referring to my son, Xavier, who has a tragic mental illness caused by the evil woke mind virus you push on vulnerable children,” he wrote. “I love Xavier very much and hope he recovers.”
He added, “My daughters are Azure, Exa (she goes by Y) and Arcadia, and they do indeed love me very much.”
The back-and-forth is reflective of a broader divide among the public about people who identify as transgender. Fifty-one percent of Americans believe changing one’s gender is morally wrong, while 44 percent believe it is morally acceptable, according to a 2024 Gallup survey. More than 60 percent also said they oppose laws that ban gender-affirming care for minors.
Musk is no stranger to controversy as his posts on X frequently generate heated debate and scrutiny.
Last September, after Taylor Swift endorsed former Vice President Kamala Harris for president — during which she described herself as a “childless cat lady” — Musk quickly responded. “Fine Taylor,” he wrote. “You win … I will give you a child and guard your cats with my life.”
In March, he also shared a post that falsely claimed Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong didn’t cause the deaths of millions of people — but that their public sector employees did, according to The New York Times.
One of his most headline-generating posts came in June, following his public falling out with President Donald Trump.
“Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files,” he wrote. “That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!”