Shameless plug for my most recent video.
Visibility is obviously good for the trans community. A recent HRC survey found that 22% of people know a trans person in real life, and that of those individuals - 66% view trans people favorably. So visibility obviously matters, but we (the trans community) still have a long way to go. Those survey results were released a little more than six weeks before Caitlyn Jenner's now infamous Vanity Fair cover and the 20/20 interview with Diane Sawyer watched by 19 million people.
While it's probably safe to say more people know what "transgender" means than ever before, visibility isn't everything. Much of the commentary from the trans community since her coming out has been how Jenner's transition story doesn't really match that of the average trans person. "She's a billionaire with access to anything she wants and no worries about anything the typical trans person faces" they say, before rattling off any of a variety of issues such as:
- being kicked out of your home for being trans by your parents,
- experiencing bullying and discrimination at school,
- trouble accessing health care (because the doctor won't take trans patients or lacks the education to properly treat them)
- expensive surgeries (that are almost universally excluded from insurance coverage)
- non-medical transition expenses (hair removal, new wardrobe, legal paperwork, etc.)
- being fired or discriminated against at work,
- navigating an indifferent legal system,
- encountering transphobic/hostile law enforcement,
- being assaulted for being trans
- all of which is in addition to rent, student loan debt, and any intersectional considerations (race/ethnicity, disability, etc.) experienced by the average person.
Caitlyn would be the hero we deserve if she took on even just a few of these issues, throwing her support behind trans organizations to make progress on these causes (none of which are especially easy). Instead we get I Am Cait on E! Who knows, maybe that will be groundbreaking. Or maybe it will just be more superficial reality TV, this time with a trans lead. Yay? Yikes? We'll see.
To be clear, it is asking a lot of anyone to take on those issues, so her lack of activism (especially this early) as a point of criticism seems a bit unfair. However, it does seem equally difficult to praise her for transitioning in public simply because she's the most famous person to do it so far.
The general feeling in the trans community is that we've had enough transition stories play out in the media over the past few decades. They're so formulaic there's a drinking game based on them (that you should probably never play if you're attached to your liver), created by trans writers and directors who are guilty of using the tropes themselves. Maybe this helps explain why #beyondcaitlin blew up - we are ready for more serious conversations about more important issues and don't want this story to displace them.
What we forget is how determined society is to steer the conversation in their own direction. People continue to falsely claim trans people pose a threat in bathrooms (doesn't seem so credible coming from a Duggar), that trans identities aren't valid, that we don't deserve any "special treatment", etc. Caitlyn Jenner's transition is a lightning rod for conservative hate, and she has now been drawing their fire for weeks.
Obviously, there's the whole knee-jerk conservative/right-wing "this is wrong" response. There's also the concern trolling from the pseudo scientific fringe of psychology that claims we should be careful about letting kids transition and banning conversion therapy just because trans people are in the news. Naturally there's a radfem (radical feminists who exclude trans women from feminism) response that claims trans women exist to spite feminism or something like that - and the responses ranged from a "fair and balanced" selection of letters to the editor to the piece they should've printed that completely dismantled Burkett's argument.
We don't have to convert every bigot, but we've yet to quiet the bullies enough to let the rest of the class pay attention - and here's our teachable moment. Then we can move on discussing solutions for all those issues like healthcare access, barriers to updated identification, etc.
So while Caitlyn Jenner isn't the hero we deserve [yet?], maybe she's the hero we need right now.
In addition to all the criticism she gets for just being a woman
Obviously, there's the whole knee-jerk conservative/right-wing "this is wrong" response. There's also the concern trolling from the pseudo scientific fringe of psychology that claims we should be careful about letting kids transition and banning conversion therapy just because trans people are in the news. Naturally there's a radfem (radical feminists who exclude trans women from feminism) response that claims trans women exist to spite feminism or something like that - and the responses ranged from a "fair and balanced" selection of letters to the editor to the piece they should've printed that completely dismantled Burkett's argument.
Though the negative reactions were totally expected, some of the responses are surprisingly tolerant. Religion has never been a strong supporter of the community (the Pope compared us to WMDs!) - but some are starting to think that this isn't a fight conservative Christians will win, so they're suggesting they stop now before they lose all credibility. Conservative sympathy (and even indifference) is driving the other conservatives nuts, leading their arguments to become increasingly desperate.
Which might be why they quickly latched onto the invalid Rachel Dolezal comparisons, because now they could question her "transracial" identity and attempt to use it to invalidate transgenderism, even though transracial isn't a thing (at least not like that). Those comparisons have been beat down, perhaps no better than by Kat Blaque. Even People is rolling their eyes.
It's not new that people won't acknowledge our identities as valid - that they consider us 'deceptive' and 'liars' or pray that we die - but no one has drawn them out into the mainstream like Caitlyn Jenner. And as these arguments surface, trans activists, our allies, and Caitlyn's army can beat them in public forums - dismissing them once and for all.
Which might be why they quickly latched onto the invalid Rachel Dolezal comparisons, because now they could question her "transracial" identity and attempt to use it to invalidate transgenderism, even though transracial isn't a thing (at least not like that). Those comparisons have been beat down, perhaps no better than by Kat Blaque. Even People is rolling their eyes.
It's not new that people won't acknowledge our identities as valid - that they consider us 'deceptive' and 'liars' or pray that we die - but no one has drawn them out into the mainstream like Caitlyn Jenner. And as these arguments surface, trans activists, our allies, and Caitlyn's army can beat them in public forums - dismissing them once and for all.
We don't have to convert every bigot, but we've yet to quiet the bullies enough to let the rest of the class pay attention - and here's our teachable moment. Then we can move on discussing solutions for all those issues like healthcare access, barriers to updated identification, etc.
So while Caitlyn Jenner isn't the hero we deserve [yet?], maybe she's the hero we need right now.
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