I am a sports atheist so my knowledge of Bruce Jenner begins and ends with the Wheaties box, track & field and the Olympics. I generally hate reality tv except if it involves cooking competitions, modeling or The Amazing Race. Up to now, I’ve lived a Kardashian free life. I only get near the tabloids when I’m at the supermarket. I don’t even have cable. So why did I pay money to see I Am Cait on Amazon Instant Video? I, along with over 16.9 million viewers, watched Bruce Jenner’s interview with Diane Sawyer–not live, but the next day on Hulu– because I’m interested in transgender issues.
I understand that Caitlyn Jenner has become a really controversial figure because people are transphobic. They say she’s doing it because it is popular and lucrative. They say she’s actually mentally ill. They say she isn’t courageous. They say that she made fun of Serena Williams. The only valid controversy that I’ve heard to date is that she may be guilty of vehicular manslaughter. If she is, then put her in jail otherwise I don’t want to hear it.
It is not popular to be transgender. Transgender people are more likely to be murdered, commit suicide or be denied health care than any other section of the community. A handful of trans celebrities does not change that. Racism didn’t go away because a black man is president. Come on now. Caitlyn Jenner was rich before this transition and will be rich after. Don’t be jealous. Most men won’t say they are women unless it is true. True or not, most men wouldn’t want to be treated like women are generally in society. There is no benefit. They lose family & friends. There are medical complications for being trans.
While gender dysphoria is a formal psychological diagnosis, there are genetic and biological causes for being transgender including a prenatal exposure to hormones that affect brain structure. I am not a scientist, but the science that determines what makes someone a man or a woman is more complex than we ever imagined. Women with vaginas are regularly denied the right to compete with women in athletics because of their genetic profile or amount of testosterone levels in their body.
So the world used to be simple, but it isn’t anymore. In Matthew 19: 4, Jesus said, ““Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female.'” Then He goes on to discuss divorce, the Mosaic Law permitting divorce versus what God ideally wants. Then He discusses how now there are people who are not men or women in verses 11 and 12, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others—and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.” The world was complex then, and it is complex now. Some people are born neither male nor female. Some are made that way. Some choose to live that way. Obviously trans people are not exactly eunuchs, but eunuchs were also people who inhabited a complex gender world and were societal outcasts. Jesus’ disciplines always welcomed eunuchs in contrast to the rest of the ancient world. If it doesn’t affect you, don’t worry about it and be respectful.
Caitlyn and all transgender people are courageous to be who they are in the face of violence, harassment, exile from families, friends, employment and other associations (churches, fraternities, lodges, etc.). I’ve actually read casual comments in forums that Caitlyn should be killed for just being who she is. Did anyone say that about Bruce Jenner? I’m not comparing one person’s courage over another’s. This is not the courage olympics. Caitlyn Jenner never insulted Serena Williams. Use Google or Snopes and stop being petty.
Now that I’m done addressing all the naysayers who have NEVER SEEN THE SHOW (bye, Felicia), I’m going to say that I love I Am Cait. I love that trans people get to live vicariously through Caitlyn Jenner’s joyous coming out in contrast to their own stories and finally can be celebrated for who they are instead of denigrated. I Am Cait consciously addresses its detractors: being trans isn’t just about dressing up like a girl, partying and having fun though a great part of the show is devoted to those aspects and is obviously centered on a certain privileged socioeconomic status. Trans or not, most people can’t afford to completely redesign their house, have someone do their hair and makeup and choose her clothes 24/7.
I Am Cait is also about Caitlyn Jenner consciously saying, “I don’t know anything as someone who pretended to be a white rich man for over 60 years and is now a rich, white, beautiful woman. Tell me about my community and its struggles.” I love that Caitlyn Jenner openly says ignorant stuff, acknowledges that her transition was easier for her than others because of her wealth and community, is making the effort to learn more and is never defensive when others correct or challenge her. She knows that she has a lot to learn and accepts the responsibility of becoming a role model. I Am Cait devotes a considerable part of each episode to address the concerns of the trans community: getting appropriate medical treatment, accidentally being outed by others or one’s own voice, finding a network of friends and allies, navigating legal challenges because of birth gender designation and legal names, discovering a significant other and one’s sexuality. I Am Cait didn’t have to do any of that. I Am Cait is on the E! network. If E can do it, every other network needs to do better. If this particular Republican can do it, then so can other Republicans and certain progressives and liberals. Good for you, Cait!
I also love that Caitlyn Jenner challenges and is challenged about gender norms for being a girl. On one hand, she is happy to toss away the frills, still wants to ride dirt bikes and do activities that aren’t girly. She encourages her trans women friends to do the same. On the other hand, she is clearly not attracted to men, but thinks that trying to be attracted to men may make her more female. I think that I Am Cait’s conscience may be Jenny Boylan, a consultant who also appears on I Am Cait and managed to keep it from being the trans version of Keeping Up With the Kardashians or a trans Sex & the City without the sex.
Oddly enough, the Kardashians became more human to me after hearing Caitlyn discuss the loving acceptance given by Kim and Kanye during the Sawyer interview and episode 1, but I Am Cait’s weakest episodes were the ones involving the Kardashians reaction to the Vanity Fair article: episodes 4 & 8. I do NOT care. Of course, if you have kids with someone, you need to get along with them, but by episode 8, it was obvious that Kris missed Bruce, which is understandable. Tough cookies! Bruce was wallpaper standing still in the background based on the few clips that Diane Sawyer showed during the interview. Bruce wasn’t real. Bruce was the drag. Caitlyn is the real person.
I think that is what I most love about I Am Cait. I Am Cait exposes that maybe there are a lot of people who appear successful, but are truly unhappy because it takes a lot of work to obey the rigid rules of outward success. In many ways, I Am Cait encourages us to ask ourselves what is the drag that we put on to gain acceptance from the world and encourage ourselves to take that off because nothing is more successful than being who you really are.