So, as many of you know I’ve been on a rampage against anybody who has anything negative to say about Caitlyn Jenner on Facebook these last few days. For those who don’t know, Caitlyn Jenner is the Olympic athlete formally known as Bruce Jenner, and the husband of Kris Jenner, the Kardashian sister’s mother.
My issue with the whole Caitlyn Jenner topic is people’s level of disrespect and immaturity when talking about her. She is a transgender woman, and deserves the same level of respect when referring to her, as anyone else in this world does. Everyone is so quick to call Rihanna by her preferred name instead of Robyn, Same goes for Eminem (Marshal), Nicki Minaj (Onika Maraj), 2chainz (Tauheed Epps) etc… But people are struggling with calling her Caitlyn. Why? That’s what her name is, I’m not sure about legally yet, but that’s what she prefers to be called. I’ve seen so many negative and transphobic comments/posts on Facebook saying “I’m still gonna call him Bruce until his dick’s removed.” / “Your mama named you Bruce.. I'mma call you Bruce” and comments like that. (Some comments were also posted by other celebs)
Another thing that really gets me is that some are saying they have respect, when clearly they don’t… “#BruceJenner Really?! I don’t understand it, but I respect #HisChoice” Well no, you don’t respect his choice because 1: being Transgender is not a choice. The only choice is coming out and transitioning. 2: She shouldn’t be referred to as “he, his, him” and 3: HER name is Caitlyn.
One comment in particular I would like to address was on one of my best friends Posts. The original post said “If Aaron Hernandez suddenly changed genders and called himself, let’s say, Kate, do you think that people would forget that he killed someone as well?” (Referring to Bruce’s car crash while allegedly texting)
1: this isn’t a sudden thing. (I’ll address that later.)
2: Caitlyn coming out and being on the cover of Vanity Fair, shot by Annie Leibovitz, is a big deal. And that’s what’s being talked about. So what? And to be honest not a lot of people knew about the car accident to begin with. Anyways, one comment on this status said “still has a cock, tits don’t make you a woman” to which the only thing I could think to reply was “And having a cock doesn’t make you a man.” And I firmly believe that.
There are so many terms and categories and mumbo jumbo that the common person doesn’t know. And I think people really need to educate themselves before commenting ignorant remarks on a post. Like for example “Gender Identity” is not the same as “Sex.” I’m not going to explain it all here in this post but here’s a great link I found: http://boingboing.net/2015/06/01/how-to-talk-about-caitlyn-jenn.html
To address the fact that someone said “suddenly” as if this is an overnight choice. Bruce started taking hormones to transition back in the 70’s. His children used to find him dressing up in women’s clothes at 4 am or find makeup and think he was having an affair. Little did they know that Bruce wasn’t just playing “Dress-up” that was who he felt he was.
So imagine being so afraid of being true to yourself that you have to hide things and sneak around being the real you when no one is watching. As a gay man, I feel for Caitlyn on that level so much. Having to hide for so long and then finally being able to be true to yourself is probably the best feeling ever. Like, if I had as much power and that big of a platform to come out (Vanity Fair), when I decided to come out I would’ve done the same thing. Interview, magazine cover, tell all book. You name it, I would’ve done it had I had the chance. Just for the simple fact that I know the feeling of being proud of yourself and what you’ve accomplished by coming out, and I would’ve wanted to share that with everyone and their mother.
I’ve blocked 5/6 people since the Vanity Fair cover was released and people are telling me I’ve gone a little too far. All I’m doing is truly sticking up for what I believe in. And for me personally, I don’t want to see other peoples negative statuses about Caitlyn. The bigotry, prejudice, and ignorance are so real on Facebook these days and it’s just too much. So why not just block the people that are spouting that shit? Especially when they’re posting ignorant videos and photos of fake things like the photo they’re saying is Bruce Jenner from behind during the Vanity Fair cover shoot… That photo is from the movie Ace Ventura. (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tFL1UXuHJ-A&feature=youtu.be)
The bottom line for me is that people should educate themselves before posting about topics they know nothin about. And that Caitlyn should be referred to as Caitlyn, and female pronouns should be used when referring to her. Never “Bruce” unless it’s referring to the past when she wasn’t Caitlyn. People shouldn’t be making distasteful jokes about being transgender. And if you do either of these things I’m not gonna have that negativity be on my newsfeed.
Spread love, respect, and humanity.
Shane Shishov
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