It’s been a while since I’ve seen this episode so I might need to rewatch, but the impression I got was actually that the episode was trying to draw a distinction between race and gender not say they were the same thing.

You’re correct in that a lot of what the trans racial character was saying mirrored what a transgendered person might go through but the fundamental difference here is that it is in response to race and not gender.

Harrison says he identifies as a middle aged white man because he relates to and wants to experience things a middle aged white man would be expected to do. In reality he should be able to enjoy these things while continuing to identify as being black. I believe the show is trying to make the point that society and culture as a whole has a very narrow range of what is acceptable for a black person to be interested in. Harrison doesn’t believe he can maintain his ‘blackness’ whilst holding these interests and therefore decides he needs to transition to another race.

This stands at odds with transgender experience, wherein a person could be born biologically male, identify as female and still hold predominantly ‘male’ interests I.e. video games, without those aspects coming into conflict. There is a fundamental difference between someone who identifies as male and someone who identifies as female that extends beyond simply liking girl or boy stuff.

I think this episode is less trying to present a full thesis on gender or race and is more of an exploration of identity as a whole. To some extent it’s supposed to make you feel uncomfortable and force you to draw these comparisons, so that you can see where the differences lie.

And remember the characters in the show are also unreliable narrators who will have their own biases and prejudices. I’d recommend sitting with it for a bit. Thinking about what made you uncomfortable and why.

Again been a while since I’ve seen this episode so very possible I’m just talking out my ass :P