People were using this stale, "phobia only means fear" argument back in the 80s and 90s to claim their anti-gay stands were not homophobic.

It's all they had, really, and it's the same for transphobic people today. If you can't have a discussion about facts and good public policy, then just divert with a silly discussion about the definition of words.

It's weak, but that doesn't stop people, unfortunately.