10/30/2024
October 30 - Day 30 of LGBTQ+ History Month.
In a 20/20 television interview with Diane Sawyer in 2015, Caitlyn Jenner publicly came out as transgender (one year after Time’s infamous “Transgender Tipping Point” article featuring actress Laverne Cox). That same year, Caitlyn was featured in a photo shoot in Vanity Fair. She also starred in her own reality show, guest starred in others, and published a memoir about her transition.
Caitlyn is an example of a person with means and privilege—which is rare in the trans community—and she was able to obtain every medical and surgical result she sought as a trans person with little delay and no obstacles, which is practically unheard of. She refers to herself as a trans activist, but Caitlyn often advocates against the best interest of the trans community (and herself), claiming that she doesn’t believe trans women should be able to compete in sports or that youth and adolescents should have access to appropriate mental and physical gender-affirming health care. Scary.
Caitlyn Jenner is a good reminder that not all trans people speak for—or are reflective of—the trans community simply because they happen to be trans themselves.
