I did not watch the Bruce Jenner interview last month, I loathe all thinks related to the K machine, but like everyone else on earth I heard the cliffnotes and have been following the story of his transition. I think it's quite brave for someone of his age to make the decision to officially change their gender, and especially someone in such a public position who gained fame as a professional athlete. Men's professional sports are known to be all kindsa homophobic, so it's a big deal for someone who used to be "one of the boys" to take such a huge step. Also, most folks of that age would try to live that kind of life in secret, or throw their hands up and say, "Ah well" about having missed the opportunity to transition in their youth. So major props to Jenner for charging ahead. I started this blog a few weeks ago after having read an article criticizing the transition (more on that later), but never got around to completing it. Today, Bruce Jenner officially unveiled his true self on the cover of Vanity Fair in the form of Caitlyn Jenner, the name he will go by from here on out. A friend of mine made a spot on comment about how Caitlyn is already handling her business in a classier manner than any of the born women in her family. Isn't that sad? But I digress. I have mad respect for anyone who chooses to live their own life, in whatever form they feel they should, regardless of what others may think. It's odd to think that views on things like homosexuality have come so far (and yet, not changed at all in some ways), but transgender individuals still face a lot of bias. Hopefully Caitlyn sharing her story will make it easier for those who feel they were born in the wrong body to accept their true selves and live the way they want to.
I've seen a few specials on transgender people and what strikes me is there is rarely anyone on these shows who second guesses their decision to transition. Obviously it's not all sunshine and rainbows and I imagine the hormone injections and surgeries wreak havoc on your body and your psyche. But I don't think I've ever been as sure of anything as these folks seem to be about the fact that they were born in the wrong bodies. Even kids who feel that way (not the ones playing dress up but actual transgender kids) have this calm about them, as if they're at peace with having come to terms with who they really are. I think that's amazing. But it's come to my attention that not everyone sees this as an achievement, or even as a real thing. The article I mentioned earlier came out a few days after the Jenner interview and was absolutely vile in how it went about trying to get its point across. The ultimate goal, I think, was to say that being transgender isn't a real thing, but the author decided to go in on Jenner with a scathing attack about how he was nothing more than a mildly famous, mentally ill man who shouldn't be allowed an interview to talk about his made up affliction. The author asked how he was supposed to explain all of this to his young son, what do you say to a kid who's asking why a man is becoming a woman? In the end, he decided to go with the mentally ill explanation, thus doing his son a huge disservice. That kid will take that explanation to heart and apply it to all transgender individuals and that will only breed more hate amongst those who think that way. Caitlyn Jenner isn't mentally ill, (though the rest of her family seem to be). She's someone who made the best decision for herself and is likely to inspire others to do the same. As the father of a 7-year-old, I know how difficult it can be to explain things like this to a child who isn't fully capable of understanding it. And maybe that's why the author of that article couldn't find the way to do it, because he clearly doesn't comprehend it himself. It's easier for a lot of people to close themselves off to learning about other cultures and ways of life and lifestyles. People convince themselves that gays and transgender people and liberated women weren't around in "simpler times" way back when, and this is all just society losing its religion and luring folks to the dark side. None of these things are new, they've all been around forever. But they're being liberated from the shadows now that people have more freedom to live the way they want to live. If you're a believer in that whole god created the world thing, then how do you reconcile that with all of these so-called sinners running around? He created them too, you know. And I hear he doesn't make mistakes. Or maybe he does and they're the close-minded folks who sit back in judgement of the rest of us in His name, whereas the open-minded were an improvement upon the original plans. I wish Caitlyn the best of luck in her new life and hope it helps tone down the hate towards others in her position.
