I appreciate Joe's take and pretty much second it, with this quibble: I have done some work with a LGTBQ support group for the last 8 years or so; most of the trans people I have gotten the chance to know do not have nearly the resources that Caitlyn Jenner has. While I am happy for her (I had her Wheaties box as a kid) and recognize that the culture-reverberations when celebrities break taboos can help everyone down the line, I reserve most of my admiration for the folks who come out without the buffer of fame or fortune, who risk getting the shit beat out of them every time they try to use a public restroom or, even in a city like San Francisco, walk down certain streets, whose families will never offer support and who will never have their photographs taken by Annie Leibovitz.
On Mon, Jun 1, 2015 at 8:14 PM, Joe Hass <[email protected]> wrote: > While you're welcome to fundamentally not give a shit, I think comparing > Chaz and Caitlyn is fundamentally wrong on two key points: > > 1 When Chaz transitioned in the late 00s, the mentality of this country > was that, well, this is a bit freakish. There was very little talk about > the T in LGBTQ. Caitlyn is transitioning at a time when the cultural shift > in this area is aggressive, front of mind, and not stopping. That offensive > InTouch cover from six months ago was met with a goodly amount of derision > (not nearly enough for my taste, but such is life) as being just so very > wrong. The Vanity Fair cover is as huge a middle finger to six months ago > as could possibly be able. I, for one, loved it. > > 2. While Chastity Bono was a part of the public sphere, she was hardly in > the center of it when she transitioned. Bruce Jenner, regardless of whether > you think it's deserved or not, is far closer. And the fact she's owning > this, celebrating it: that's a most wonderful thing. > > Finally, and most importantly, by being so open and upfront about this, > Caitlyn can shine a path for every other person who is struggling with > this. If she does nothing else but help some poor kid who has zero support > in dealing with their gender identity, that's pretty awesome. > > A story to close: last year, a lesbian couple I worked with went to > breakfast with my family. One of them was having a delightful time with my > son, and a couple times I used the pronoun "she" to refer to her, despite > the fact she is clearly gender non-confirming (to the point I had no clue > for months what sex/gender she was, always using her given name to avoid > the risk). Afterwards, I realized I may have made a social faux pas, and > shot her a note apologizing and asking what her gender pronoun preference > was. She identified that, indeed, she was not binary, but "she" was just > fine. But she also noted that I was the first straight person who ever > asked ask her that question. And I refused to believe that to be the case, > until her wife confirmed it to me. > > I mention this not as a humblebrag, but as how much this fact stunned me. > Seriously? No straight person had ever asked what to me was a simple act of > courtesy? And yet that was the case. And as I hear more about the Ts and > Qs, I just appreciate how much that struggle must be: a struggle I'll never > be close to knowing, but am in awe of never the less. > > On Mon, Jun 1, 2015, 18:50 Kevin M. <[email protected]> wrote: > >> When a family member outed himself to me, he almost immediately got mad >> at me because he seemed to believe I was hiding my emotions... that I was >> angry at him or saddened or disgusted or something else. As I said to him, >> "I had no interest in ever seeing you have sex with a woman, and I have no >> interest in ever seeing you have sex with a man. Promise me I won't have to >> see either and you may go do whatever your heart desires." >> >> I will always champion any and all pro LGBTQ equality, but I can honestly >> say I do not care about the name change (or even the gender change) of >> somebody I will never meet and probably wouldn't like if I did. I wish >> Jenner nothing but the best in life but I just don't care about that >> family's exploits. I don't see Jenner as the ideal poster-child for the >> cause. Chaz Bono seemed to handle it with more... I don't know exactly... I >> think it was more that Chaz just sort of did it and (aside from a Barbara >> Walters interview and Dancing With The Stars) didn't waste a lot of time on >> the public perception of it or reaction to it. It was "I'm Chaz now... so >> what?" which is more or less how I feel about anybody's sexuality. Your sex >> life (and your sexual orientation) ain't my business, so go do what makes >> you happy and kindly don't subscribe me to your newsletter. >> >> On Mon, Jun 1, 2015 at 1:14 PM, Bob Jersey <[email protected]> >> wrote: >> >>> A "So long..." subject would have implied the wrong thing, biologically. >>> >>> Caitlyn introduces herself with a Buzz Bissinger article and Annie >>> Leibovitz pix, pee-arr for which at Vanity Fair magazine >>> <http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/06/caitlyn-jenner-bruce-cover-annie-leibovitz> >>> (link). >>> >>> B >>> >>> -- >>> -- >>> TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>> Groups "TV or Not TV" group. >>> To post to this group, send email to [email protected] >>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>> [email protected] >>> For more options, visit this group at >>> http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en >>> --- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>> Groups "TVorNotTV" group. >>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>> an email to [email protected]. >>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >>> >> >> >> >> -- >> Kevin M. (RPCV) >> >> -- >> -- >> TV or Not TV .... 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