You're right that it's primarily a social issue, but people will always try to use the state to enforce their social beliefs, so they become political. See New York City's ordinance that can cause those who won't use a made-up "pronoun" to be fined [0], undoubtedly a use of force by the state to enforce a certain set of beliefs.

[0]: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/201...