Vanity Fair’s public unveiling of Caitlyn Jenner post-operation Monday ignited a cultural debate that has since remained on the tips of most Americans’ tongues. The attention, coverage and dialogue dedicated to Jenner’s decision to pursue her transition has been extraordinary, especially when one considers how fragmented American society has become in the Internet age.
Jenner’s journey is the perfect storm of a story, capturing the fascination of multiple domains of American interest: those who remember her as an Olympian, those who only know her for her regrettable associations with reality television, and those who simply long for a world where someone can be themselves without fear of persecution. Speaking for myself, I don’t care about sports, and I have never — and will never — tune in to an episode of “Keeping Up with the Kardashians.” However, I do see myself as someone who respects the dignity of others and am thrilled to see a public figure so joyously celebrating the actualization of her ideal physical identity, especially when so many are afraid to.
In a surprising turn for the Internet, the discourse surrounding Caitlyn Jenner’s physical transition has been largely considerate, supportive and uplifting. But c’mon, we live in an age where people crowdfund money to publicly acknowledge killers of unarmed teens (e.g., George Zimmerman) and hatred and intolerance was eventually going to rear its ugly head. Detractors, such as Nicole Russell, a senior contributor to online conservative publication “The Federalist,” opted to focus in particular on what many have referred to as Jenner’s bravery. In her piece, the cleverly titled “Bruce Jenner Is Not Brave,” Russell writes the following:
“If a man doesn’t want to be a man, why shouldn’t he pretend to be a woman? Or if a parent doesn’t think her boy wants to be a boy, why shouldn’t that parent allow—even demand—the boy ‘become’ a girl or, heck, a donkey? The variables and possibilities are endless.”
The journalist and forward-thinking college student in me would like to treat Russell’s writing with a modicum of respect. Likewise, my empathy and desire to bridge differences with others would have me not become unreasonably upset when individuals on Facebook and other social media platforms mock Jenner, putting words like “brave” and “courageous” in quotation marks. To hell with that.
Most, if not all, of the think pieces that shared posts and nasty tweets deriding Jenner have been rooted in a deep, unmistakable tradition of transphobia. Despite this, none of the above criticisms of Jenner come out and say it, (with “it” being that their dislike of Jenner stems purely from her status as a transwoman) choosing instead to obfuscate their prejudiced ideology with platitudes and bullshit, using buzzwords like “bravery” and “courage” as shields with which to hide from public backlash.
To that end, I would like to make a proposal. If anyone seeks to make a public criticism of Jenner for her transition, rather than for something of merit like her past as a negligent father or her contribution to vapid television, their criticism ought to be prefaced with the following statement: “I am a transphobic asshole, and the idea of a person transitioning from one gender to another awakens a primal fear in me that I have difficulty reconciling with.” I do not think this is a ridiculous request; surely, the same people who have admonished Jenner for her lack of bravery ought to be intrepid enough to express their own thoughts in public without fear of reprisal, right?
Caitlyn Jenner’s experience isn’t reflective of the struggle many trans individuals experience in America: She has had the benefit of wealth, a good PR team and the resources allocated to her as a successful athlete that have undoubtedly made her life easier. However, for someone of her standing to publicly undertake this journey qualifies as something resembling bravery. Jenner decided to unveil who she truly is on a world stage; that’s more than I can say for most of the Internet.
Zach Schlein is a UF political science junior. His column appears on Thursdays.
[A version of this story ran on page 4 on 6/4/15]
