how come Jenner is such a big deal anyways?

[Nicole Erin]

Yeah I know, another one of these damn Jenner threads. Just what this forums needs...

ANYways, alright so Jenner is not the first TG on the planet or in the news. Off the top of my head of ones in the news at some point -
Christine Jorgensen (years ago), Jazz Jennings, Kim Petras, Miss Canada, the 1980's brought us Boy George and other music bands... I mean even if the bands were crossdressers, the public still sees TS and CD pretty much the same.

No one noticed the other TG mentioned. Yet some old trans comes along and all the sudden the whole damn planet wants to talk about it. For those of us full time and not stealth, we know all too well about people wanting to bring up Caitlyn Jenner. I mean who gives a rat's ass? Why is she so special?

A few people at work have brought up Jenner (thinking I am so interested in it). My ex-wife brought it up in a text. THAT was real annoying cause my being TG is a big part of why we divorced.

Am I the only out and full time TG who is almost phobic about someone bringing up Jenner? It just kind of reminds me of when I was into weight training. Strangers would want to talk about some other person they knew that was into lifting weights. LIKE I CARED!

Maybe people think they are cool. "Huh huh, I am cool, I am talking to a transgender person about Caitlyn Jenner".

[Jorja]

Well first of all, Jenner was as Olympic gold medal winner. That gold medal was won doing the decathlon. It takes a real man to even complete the decathlon, let alone win it. She is the most famous person to ever transition. You could compare it to the time Christine Jorgensen came out as the first known person to have a "sex change". People are shocked. Not Mr. He-man! Then you have all the Trash-dashian stuff. I don't want to call that fame but they are very well known and seem to be everywhere these days.

[Rogina B]

I agree ! I personally know of over a half dozen "Trans representatives" that work hard for our community daily.They are celebrities in their own right in that they are on TV,talk shows,give speeches,as well as mingle[and get feedback] with the community they represent.They are here for the long haul...

[justmetoo]

What I don't get is all the hate, or at least disdain, Caitlyn is getting from the TG community.

I say good for her and wish her the best! Same as I would wish for anyone.

[PaulaQ]

Although it is shallow and superficial for Caitlyn to be as big of a deal as she is, that's the world we live in. I'm personally glad that the questions I'm asked about her give me additional educational opportunities. Do I worry that her privilege and wealth could distort people's view of transition? Of course. However, sports and reality TV are hugely important in our culture. This seems stupid to me, but they didn't consult with me when the set up our world. And so Jenner is uniquely positioned to reach a ton of people who'd never really think about transgender people.

Yes, her issues are in many ways far removed from mine. However, my hope is that people will remember at least one thing from all this "transgender? Well there was that athlete who was, that doesn't seem like a big deal. Why do we wanna make a law against those people? They aren't hurting anyone."

If that's all we get from this, it's a pretty good outcome. Time will tell.

[Rachelakld]

We had Georgina Beyer.
Georgina Beyer is a New Zealand politician and former Labour Party Member of Parliament. She was the world's first openly transsexual mayor, as well as the world's first openly transsexual Member of Parliament. - Wikipedia

Unfortunately she didn't do anything seriously and famously MANLY before she transitioned.

[Christina Kay]

I know in my instance, that by the interview, it really helped my wife understand, our predicament. So if for nothing else educating people is a big plus.

[Megan G]

I could care less why Caitlyn is such a big deal to society. She is however in a unique position that her transition is well documented to the general public and this in my eyes is the big deal.

People knew her as the superhuman athlete, the motivational speaker and the reality show dad. Now they get to see her transition socially and in the process she is educating the public that as mentioned above hopefully some peoples views will change to "they aren't hurting anyone" from a past position of intolerance, hatred or bigotry.

Megan

[Starling]

Here's a link to a post of mine, in another Caitlyn Jenner thread, which I think is distinctly relevant to this thread.

http://www.crossdressers.com/forums/...t=#post3761468

Lallie

[BOBBI G.]

If for no other reason, her openness will be good for the economy. KTN (Kardashian Television Network) has the crews, and the equipment and staff to follow her for, at least 13 episodes. And in the process, maybe someone's ears and eyes may actually gain a better understanding . One can only hope.

Bobbi

[Beth-Lock]

....so Jenner is not the first TG on the planet or in the news. Off the top of my head ...Christine Jorgensen (years ago), .

I think it was 1954 when she started going on American t.v. to talk about being trans. Before that, I don't think anyone here even had the concept in their ken, that sex change was a possibility. That opened it up for our existence to be recognized at least. Then, the public media wasted the next twenty-five years, talking about us if they did as a freak show, freak. I remember on "Laugh In" Christine Jorgensen's name used as the punch line in a smutty joke. The popular media usually fails to really "get" their own message, huh. Flash forward to right now, when today, the message the public gets from all the publicity trans are getting, is how so many Doctors are helping us now, when it fact, specialists helping us are retiring, medical and psychological services are being cut back or privatized so only the rich trans can afford a full transition, and trans are dying from gaps in the health care system.

Yet some old trans comes along and all the sudden the whole damn planet wants to talk about it. For those of us full time and not stealth, we know all too well about people wanting to bring up Caitlyn Jenner. (and any other trans in the news..) ...I mean who gives a rat's ass? .... A few people at work have brought up Jenner (thinking I am so interested in it).

Am I the only out and full time TG who is almost phobic about someone bringing up Jenner? ... LIKE I CARED! .

No, you are not alone. Yeh, friends and acquaintances think I am interested in every trans who goes public, etc., etc., and I am sort of bored with it all. Why don't they want to talk to me about me? My experiences must count for something. Why don't they ask me? I could tell them a really unique story or too, and up close and personal too. And the kind that will never get into print.

However, perhaps Caitlyn Jenner is an exception I should talk about with acquaintances. Everyone talks about "the" picture, the one on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine, yet it is the cheesecake one, and several others inside are quite artistic and even include a tasteful example of boudoir photography with Cairtlyn dressed tastefully, and wearing dramatic gold high heels. There are other softly femme photos taken in her bedroom.
But then why does everyone talk only about "the picture," when inside, is a long essay-like article that might be really helpful in conveying more that the public might like to know, about trans. But then life is fast, and reading is slow, while a glace at just one picture is fast enough to fit in with the pace of life as most live it. Problem is, we live our lives too shallowly. The famous "one" picture's purpose, is to sell copies of that magazine and I hope enough are sold that people that otherwise would not, actually read the article inside, and look at all the pictures. And by the way, the magazine is no more expensive than most supermarket fanzines of the superficial sort. Sadly, it will soon be sold out.

. Maybe people think they are cool. "Huh huh, I am cool, I am talking to a transgender person about Caitlyn Jenner".

Hey, we are like celebrities now. And being a celebrity is a bit of a hassle, but at least they are hassling us because they love what we are, at that moment anyway, not because they hate what we are. That one has to admit is a deliciously nice about-face. Was it not Andy Warhol, who said everyone gets their minute or two of fame? Our moment is here. Fortune is smiling on us, after all that abuse from the system, and the know-it-all professionals who forced us to listen quietly and without telling them off, to the nonsense they periodically talked about us.

Fantasy dream scene: A crowd o acquaintances are around me, all wanting to talk to their favourite trans, at least one they really know, and the trans can they can brag that they know. I am signing autographs with a cute flair of the pen to form a sort of cartoon. Then, one of the haters feeling left out, comes over and wants an autograph too, maybe thinking it will be worth money some day. "Oh --Oh, the pen just ran out of ink," and I am getting emotional and writer's cramp at a the same time, and "I must head off to the little girl's room for a bit of an emotional do or a cry now" or to treat an attack of the vapours, or something, and maybe take some heart medicine, like from the pink flask in my over-sized purse. Snicker, snicker. (Just kidding!)

[Kaitlyn Michele]

well for starters, he won the fricking decathalon...
the MENS decathalon.. he was the greatest all around male athelete in the world..

he was a male icon of a generation... and its what i'm hoping is that last or next to last generation that is fundamentally unsupportive and ignorant of the idea of gender dysphoria and how we best beat it...
he is directly impacting the 40-70 crowd that grew up in a world where ts people were freaks, there was no internet to tell our story, just Renee Richards and a couple others that were not exactly household names

whine all you want, Caitlyn is a winner, Caitlyn gets paid, Caitlyn looks great, Caitlyn is going to continue to get alot of attention........if you don't like it, smells like sour grapes to me...

Full disclosure i have dealt with this personally in the TS community about my transition... i had the money for surgery, the FFS worked better than i ever could have hoped, my kids continued to love and support me..i planned well and saved up the resources to make my recovery from GD happen...it all went very well despite what i lost (my well paying job, my marraige and my 18" money jump shot)...

our therapy group broke up because successful transitoners ended up being mostly unwanted and there just werent enough of us to split into two groups..

and then there is the whole thing here about "trannier than thou" and what i percieve as a jealous nastiness directed at successful transitioners (by some, not the majority)

i have lost a number of relationships (my choice) because it was clear to me that the person was bitter and jealous of me...one particular dear friend just drifted away from me because they couldn't bear it...
i have been asked for money and derided for not giving it...i was asked for money lying in my hospital bed one day after GRS//
that really P@@@'d me off...and when i said no, i never saw that person again


in any case,
i will continue to cheer Caitlyn on. I'd also point out that the last iconic TS person from the sports world was MPenner the sports writer and he/she was unable to cope and lost his/her life trying to cure gender dysphoria
Caitlyn can benefit from all of our support because the last thing we want is for her to wilt under the constant pressure.

[gonegirl]

Caitlyn can benefit from all of our support because the last thing we want is for her to wilt under the constant pressure.

This is so true.

Further more, I feel sorry for the people who are jealous of Ms Jenner. We all have our s*it to deal with, some of it is very serious, but pinning our problems on a TS woman whom is making it happen for herself speaks more about our own character flaws, than hers. Give this woman a break... she deserves it...

[Eringirl]

I don't know...I don't have any issues with her. Call it naiveté? But I only wish her well. I can't even begin to imagine transitioning under a microscope and being subjected to comments for all walks of life, both CIS and TG. Sad to see "the claws" coming out is some instances though . Sure, people ask me about Caitlyn. I think they see it as a safe and comfortable way for them to engage me in the topic. It is then my job to navigate the conversation to how transitioning impacts those of us that do not have her resources. I take responsibility for doing that. That is my job. So, I use it as a spring board and not make it all about her. This has been working so far, so I don't have any issues Caitlyn. It gets people talking.....

and, oh yeah, she was an American hero, the "greatest athlete in the world". So I would suggest that puts her apart from others, but that is just me.

Erin

[stefan37]

Caitlyn is a big deal because she's a high profile celebrity.
Chaz Bono was a deal for a while. Not as big as Caitlyn. Had Sonny or Cher transitioned they would have been as big a deal or real damn close.

[audreyinalbany]

I'd much rather they make a big deal about Caitlyn (who is at very least interesting and was famous for actually accomplishing something ) than about her no-talented, endlessly annoying and whinny step daughter, Kim Kardashian.
And I too feel it is curious that caitlyn seems be getting more than her share of distain from the trash community.

[Sara Jessica]

I'd also point out that the last iconic TS person from the sports world was MPenner the sports writer and he/she was unable to cope and lost his/her life trying to cure gender dysphoria
Caitlyn can benefit from all of our support because the last thing we want is for her to wilt under the constant pressure.

I'm glad you brought up Christine. I still harbor a great deal of anger with respect to certain aspects of her journey and what ultimately happened to her. Lately this has been fueled by the Jenner story in that I couldn't imagine anything cooler than for Christine to have met Caitlyn. Sports Journalist, meet Sports Hero.


As for our original programming, Caitlyn's story demonstrates this thing of ours doesn't choose us based on size, shape or what we have done with our lives. If it can happen to "the worlds greatest athlete", it can happen to anyone. If a greater understanding comes out of this, it can only help all of us.

[Dianne S]

I think a lot of it has to do with timing. For some reason, transgender issues have been much more in the public awareness in the last couple of years than before. So when a famous person comes out as trans, there's tons of media interest.

[Badtranny]

There have certainly been others. Some of note, and some who have been great ambassadors, but there has never been a more famous man undergo a gender transition.

I was born in 68 so I was just a lil kitten when Bruce did his thing, but even I was aware that he was something special. Fame doesn't get much more mainstream than having your face on a cereal box.

Who is the most famous person you can think of today? George Clooney? Not even close. Jenner's fame crossed all generations and races because he won a gold medal during a time when America really needed one.

Kait said 40+, but the real impact is on the 50+ because those men are contemporaries and they very likely witnessed his super human achievement.

Caitlyn is a big deal because Bruce was a big deal.

[LeaP]

Two words : massive visibility. All the reasons why are interesting, but matter less.

[Nigella]

This is not a personal reflection so should have been posted with the main thread in media.

Thread closed