First of all, let me say, if Caitlyn would like to live her life as a woman and be treated like a woman...just fucking call her Caitlyn and use proper pronouns. It doesn't hurt you. It doesn't make your life more difficult. Petulantly choosing to call her 'Bruce' and use masculine pronouns on purpose just makes you look like an asshole. Let's say your name is Robert. You hate the name. You want to be called Bob. And let's say there was someone in your life who knew you hated the name Robert but insisted on calling you that to be a dick. Not so fun, is it. It's a much smaller scale, but you get the idea. It is your individual right to define yourself in whatever terms you wish. Of course, it is also an individual's right to refuse that definition. Doing so, however, just makes you childish.
I think it is important to address the fact that being Transgender is a real thing. It's not made up. It's not 'confusion'. They don't just need to 'snap out of it'. Telling a 65 year old Transwoman that it's a 'phase' is laughable and insulting in the extreme. More and more studies are uncovering the hows and whys of the discrepancy between gender identity and gender presentation at birth. But more than the science of it all, which is real and developing, let's talk about the humanity of it. Did you know that 41% Transpersons have admitted to attempting suicide. 41% Let that sink in. Put away your preconceived notions about confusion or 'rightness' or 'god' or whatever. Transpeople are so marginalized that nearly half of them try to kill themselves. If that's not a call to action, I haven't any idea what is.
So, now that we've gotten that out of the way, I feel the need to address a couple of issues about reaction to Caitlyn's coming out. Of course, there is the typical 'OMG he was born a dude! He's a dude!' stuff. I can't even with that, so I'm not going to try. People who oppose people's right to define themselves are hopeless. Instead I'd like to focus on three things that have troubled me. 1) The 'revoke Bruce's medals' campaign and the some LGBT responses to it. 2) The 'feminist' (not really feminist) reaction to Caitlyn's appearance on Vanity Fair. 3) The Mainstream Media's insistence on objectifying Caitlyn at first change, and inability to separate sexuality from gender identity.
First, let me say that the IOC response to the petition to strip Jenner of her medals was perfect. The people who started that petition wanted to exploit a logical flaw within the LGBT 'rules' of how to address Trans people in the past and the IOC refused to fall of it. According the the petitioners, if Caitlyn was a woman in 1976, she could not have legally competed in the men's decathlon. Okay. Got us there. But, as the IOC points out, Jenner was identifying and living as a man in 1976, so the case is closed for them. This, of course, outraged some Trans-activists. The deal is, we are supposed to wipe the past clean and pretend that that life as a man never happened, according to some, it seems. That's pretty unreasonable. This is where pronouns and discussion can get tricky. Your best bet is to always use the pronouns that reflect current expressed gender identity. I don't see why that has to mean that accomplishments made while you identified as a man have to be ignored. The fact of the matter is, because of Jenner's male physique, she was able to win the gold medal in the men's decathlon. Ignoring reality isn't really helpful to anyone. Wouldn't it be better to say that while Jenner was living as a man, she was internally struggling with her self identity as a woman? Seems more like reality. It is a fuller picture of what actually happened.
Secondly, there is this article which is hard to even get through. The writer, claiming to be on some feminist crusade against unrealistic female images, is just masking her own transphobia. While she chastises Caitlyn for not taking her 'coming out' as an opportunity to promote 'real bodies' and 'realistic women', she doesn't talk about the countless other Vanity Fair cover models who have been buffed and airbrushed. Her issue should be with Vanity Fair's promotion of unrealistic images. Not Caitlyn who was taking her first public moment to express the femininity that has been trapped inside her for 65 years. That's not feminism, girlfriend. That's bullying someone you don't even know based on your own personal issues.
Lastly, and most importantly (in my opinion), is the MSM's reaction. I'm actually pleasantly surprised with how 'accepting' the media has been. Sure, you have plenty of talking heads being dick weeds. No way to stop that. It's part of the deal. But every major news program seemed to have at least one network regular praising Caitlyn for her bravery and reminding us what good could come from her public journey. However...along with that, even from many of the same people, came the typical sexist bullshit. Jon Stewart summed it up pretty perfectly: 'It's really heartening to see everyone, not only accepting Caitlyn Jenner as a woman, but wasting no time treating her like a woman.' On goes the montage of 'Doesn't she look like Jessica Lang?' and 'She looks pretty good for her age' and 'Is she going to get the sex change operation?' and 'Isn't she photoshopped?' I mean, you get it. The typical bullshit women have to deal with regularly. Unless you are bangable or we can compare you to other women, what exactly is your purpose on this earth?
But there is one other big problem with media coverage. The obsession they have with sex and who and how people are having it. Let me make this very clear. Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity have nothing to do with one another. They are separate things entirely. Stop asking Caitlyn Jenner if she likes men or if she is a lesbian. Stop. Just stop. Please, for the love of baby Jesus. STOP! And, while we are at it, stop asking her if she still has her penis, or if she's getting rid of her penis. 1) It's rude as fuck. 2) It is 100% none of your business. 3) It doesn't change the reality of her gender identity.
I think this is an important moment for the world. You don't have to personally like Caitlyn Jenner, and no...none of this has anything to do with the obnoxious Kardashians. Yes, Jenner has more money than God. No, that doesn't mean you disregard her struggle. This is about individuals being able to define themselves, based on the biology of their gender identity, and having a society of people who are compassionate rather than infantile in their reaction to it. It is about accepting that someone's own definition of self is more important that someone else's definition. I implore anyone who has a gut instinct to point out that Caitlyn, or any other Trans person, was born with certain genitals and therefore cannot be the gender they identify as, stop and think about why you feel your input is needed in regard to someone else's personal journey. Do you really think there is risk of people 'choosing' to live in a 'lifestyle' that increases their risk of suicide by about a billion percent? Do you think your own gender identity is so tenuous that you might lose your hold on it, should we allow trans people to be accepted in society?
