I think you really misread that and defaulted to an overly defensive and negative stance.
“Pretending to be trans for (reason)” is a really really common way to mock trans people and I think you know that.
Even today there are companies, especially in the tech startup scene, which actively discriminate against "cisgender white males". It is extremely likely that even today, people put on the mask of the currently favoured sexual identity to land a job. Not to mock trans people, just to get ahead in life.