Caitlyn Jenner

Normally I don't follow much to do with the Kardashian clan or anyone associated with them, but I believe this is a story everyone should know about, as it reflects our changing time and our evolving world well.


Caitlyn Jenner, formerly Bruce, has transitioned in her presentation, and in doing so, has created a conversation I have been really impressed with so far. It's not easy for anyone to talk about transgendered and transsexual issues, as most of us feel relatively comfortable with our gender or sexual identity, find it hard to relate, or avoid it for fear of offending someone, using the wrong term, etc., or they're prejudiced against trans people (for reasons I can't fathom; how someone else's gender presentation impacts them, I'll never understand).

This article from the New York Times does a good job of explaining Ms. Jenner's transition and appearance in Vanity Fair:

One of the things I find interesting about all of this is the way it is being presented in the media, which Jon Stewart touched on last night on The Daily Show.

Brave New Girl - The Daily Show - Video Clip | Comedy Central

I like that people address this using the terms they are: brave and courageous. And it is, even for a celebrity. Why? Because people who are transgendered face a number of difficulties, even post-transition: the rate of violence perpetrated against this group is incredibly high. According to the National Center of Transgender Equality, "More than one in four trans people has faced a bias-driven assault, and rates are higher for trans women and trans people of color." Many of these incidents are actually hate crimes, but because people who are transgendered or transsexual are so marginalized in parts of our country, it is difficult to get a fix on precise numbers.

Clearly, Caitlyn Jenner is unlikely to ever face an assault or a hate crime, which is a good thing. I'm glad there is someone post-transition that young people can look towards. As an educator, I want my kids who may be struggling with their own gender identity to know they're not alone, and I think because of Caitlyn's career and how much time she has spent in the public eye, it's easier for anyone dealing with this issue to see that they're not alone.

What was your reaction?

 

Why?

 

How so? This is her true self.

 

This is huge mainly because trans issues are the current major front in LGBT issues. There have been a number of problems reaching the mainstream in terms of trans rights and acceptance. Bruce Jenner having the courage to come out as Caitlyn Jenner might have been the biggest thing since Ellen DeGeneres came out as a lesbian. This is mainly because of the high profile. Having someone like Ellen and Caitlyn use their platform of fame to reveal their true colours is inspiring to others like them who aren't so famous (i.e., who aren't nearly as privileged and yet may have a lot to lose). So call them "attention-seekers" or whatever, but the net effect is this: lesbians (and LGBT folks in general) have looked up to Ellen for years for what she did and what she has been doing for the LGBT community. In much the same way, Caitlyn could very well do the same specifically for trans folks.

If you're not aware of the issues regarding trans folks and are curious, perhaps start with rules and legislation barring them from using gender-specific washrooms that match their presenting gender. There are other issues of course, not least of which include children who wish to no longer abide by a gender that was assigned to them at birth based purely on sex.

Also, if you're interested in knowing more about how to discuss these issues, I highly recommend reading this: How to talk about Caitlyn Jenner: a guide to speaking and writing about transgender people - Boing Boing

That way, you will understand all the facets of trans issues and can even avoid using certain defamatory language (such as "he/she" and "dishonest," which appear in this very thread).

 

Thanks for this, @Baraka_Guru. I hope it helps people come to a better understanding of the issues at hand.

Remember: person-first language always applies. While it's something that came about to help people talk about disability, I think it stretches beyond that. People ought to think carefully about their language choices and remember that at the center of this, Caitlyn Jenner is a person worthy of respect.

 

I think a smarter person than me might be able to come up with some insightful things to say if they were to contrast Caitlyn Jenner's transition with Lana Wachowski's. Both famous, probably roughly equivalently so, both happening within a few years of each other, yet one goes largely unremarked while the other is headline news all over the damned place.

I didn't really care much about Bruce Jenner as a person or a celebrity and I don't really care much about Caitlyn Jenner either. It's nice that she gets to be herself now. I wish her all the best.

To be honest I don't really care about trans people. I mean, trans issues, sure, in the same sense that I care about any human rights issues. But, like, I don't feel like I need to be able to talk about what set of genitalia exist between Caitlyn Jenner's legs properly because I don't think it's any of my goddamn business, so that's not a subject I'm particularly interested in. How to discuss that is something for her to work out with her physicians and intimate partners. Nobody else really needs to have a clue. Tell me which pronouns to use, and as long as you're not a shitty person I will treat you in a way befitting a person who isn't shitty.

These sorts of things ought to be unremarkable, so I typically choose not to remark upon them. Perhaps that's the wrong approach, but I am a bit of an idealist in my own fashion.

 

It's not really necessary to talk about genitalia as part of the wider conversation.

As for Lana Wachowski's, I wouldn't say it went "largely unremarked." It absolutely drew attention in the LGBT community and beyond. Hence why she was awarded the Visibility Award by the HRC.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crHHycz7T_c

 

Well, the genitalia thing was a bit intentionally evocative maybe. But the broader idea that a person's gender identity is really something that doesn't belong to anyone apart from themselves is something I stand by.

I mean, look, I know that terrible things happen to trans people all the goddamned time. I think there's a lot to be said on that and the fact that those things shouldn't be happening. Insofar as the people to blame need to be told to knock that shit off, I'm 150% behind that (and it should be so simple, too). I will fully participate in conversations about how to make life and the world safer for trans people. I just don't think we need to spend a lot of time putting their gender under a microscope to do that, and I don't think we need to necessarily celebrate trans people for the simple fact that they're trangender. So, y'know, tell me what to call you and I'll honour that request. Past that it's none of my business who you are or what you are or what you're packing under the hood or who you want to fuck. I'm perfectly happy to keep my nose out of all of that.

I'm sure Caitlyn Jenner is a perfectly nice person, but she's not really more remarkable to me than any other person for being a woman who was born with man parts. I didn't particularly give a shit what Bruce Jenner got up to, I don't really give a shit about what Kim Kardashian gets up to. I'm glad Caitlyn can finally be comfortable with who she is but I don't see any particular reason for me to give more of a shit about her now than I did when she was Bruce.

Is that insensitive?

Lana Wachowski wasn't on the cover of Vanity Fair. She didn't, so far as I can recall, make the front page of Reddit. John Stewart didn't do a bit on her. Compared to the media circus surrounding Caitlyn Jenner's transition it was a fart in the wind, award and all. It wouldn't surprise me to learn there's a pretty sizeable portion of the population who still doesn't know that Larry became Lana three years after the fact. I stand by my sentiment that it was largely ignored.

 

My students in film class only know her as Lana Wachowski. They don't even know who that Larry guy is. Seriously.

Perhaps it's more telling about how far we've come in how we talk about these things, hm? Laverne Cox is well-liked. Janet Mock is a well-known and respected advocate and activist for transgendered issues. Both of them pop up in various places in our culture a lot these days, which makes me happy.

And if you haven't seen Janet Mock's interesting appearances on Piers Morgan, in which he is a dolt and a douche:


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btmMVM23Ekk


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_cjIZ4nluI


Her subsequent appearance on the Colbert Report:

Transgender Awareness - Janet Mock - The Colbert Report - Video Clip | Comedy Central