Let’s Talk About Caitlyn Jenner
We should all know who Caitlyn Jenner is, and if you don’t you should know at least one of the Jenners. I wrote about her supermodel daughter, Kendall Jenner, in my last post. There is a lot of controversy that surrounds the Jenner family. Caitlyn Jenner, formerly known as Bruce Jenner is transgender who made her transition at the age of 65 after spending most of her life in the spotlight as a gold medal winning Olympian in the 1972 and 1976 games as well as a TV reality star on E!’s Keeping Up With The Kardashians. The television show followed Jenner’s transition from male to female after years of speculation about the idea of a transition in the tabloids.
So, what happened after Caitlyn Jenner announced her transition on the cover of Vanity Fair? There was an outpour of support for Jenner. She received a lot of praise, respect, and even awards. She was awarded the Arthur Ashe Courage Award as the ESPYs shortly after her transition. This award is typically given to athletes, who show an insurmountable amount of courage, and ESPN felt that Jenner’s transition in the spotlight and the scrutiny she received was one of the most courageous things they have seen an athlete do. She also recently won “Woman of the Year” from Glamour magazine.
So, why am I bringing this up in a blog about cultural appropriation? Well, sit tight because I’m about to go in. Like I said before, people supported Caitlyn Jenner for her transition for the most part because it was incredibly courageous. But let’s address one thing here: I’m not sitting here angry that Caitlyn Jenner is taking my gender, I’m welcoming her. If she has always felt that she wanted to be a woman, then I think she should be. I’m not angry that she won the “Woman of the Year” award when she hasn’t dealt with the difficulties of being a woman for the majority of her life. She is a woman now, and I will accept her as that.
So what about, Rachel Dolezal? You know, the woman who was born white but always felt that she wanted to be black so she decided to transition races. People didn’t take too kindly to this one. She is an American Civil Rights activist and was the president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Her transition was not met with any sort of support and she was accused of cultural appropriation and fraud. She became the victim of various hate crimes and has constantly had to defend herself in the media and to her family.
What is the difference between Jenner and Dolezal? Caitlyn Jenner wants to go through an extensive surgery to be my gender, and I’m cool with it. Rachel Dolezal would like to be a different race, but that’s not okay? How is she offending anyone? She has been extremely supportive of the race that she has chosen to be for many years, and she has always felt that she wanted to be African American. Sure, she wasn’t born that way but neither was Caitlyn Jenner.
In my opinion, there is no difference between these two people. If you feel that you want to be something and society accepts one form of that transition but not the other, then we are contradicting ourselves. How can we be expected to be so accepting of one thing yet so sensitive about another? Race and gender are closely related, and these two women have every right to be who they want to be. Jenner is happy as a woman and Dolezal is happy being black. Can’t we just be happy for them?
