Caitlyn Jenner: An Olympian and Role Model Caitlyn Jenner was given the Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards (ESPY) Arthur Ashe Award for Courage. Twice an Olympic triathlon athlete, she blazed new trails. Long before her transformation, Jenner lived a life that her family and society expected of her: a loyal, loving son and father and an outstanding sportsman. Her newest role was as an advocate for the transgender community, which may become one of her greatest roles. Presently, Caitlyn Jenner’s purpose was to promote sexual diversity, accepting differences, and respect for all human beings. As I watched Jenner accept her award, I reflected back on my understanding of transgender orientation. During the mid-1980’s while in …show more content…
She did not know anyone like herself. So she kept her feelings of shame and fear of being exposed to herself. In turn, Jenner expressed the same kind of feelings when he, previously known as Bruce, tried to cover them up with what he felt was the image of maleness. He exhibited characteristics familiar to men: a muscular body, a deep voice, and the ability to impregnate a woman. When he identified as Bruce, Jenner vigorously trained himself to be the best physical specimen of a man. Undeniably, he achieved just that, and I still remember how proud I was of him when he became an Olympian, representing our country well. Later, I could not have been more proud of him when he courageously revealed that he was transgender. The lecturer dealt with her vulnerable feelings by overeating and isolating herself from others. Like her, Bruce preferred to be by himself and this caused him to feel awkward in social situations. For years, they were tormented by the sight of their bodies—hair in places they did not want, male genitalia, and an array of emotions like those of females rather than males. Bruce and the speaker used to stifle their feelings, which were their way to cope with their struggles with self-identity and self-esteem. By doing so, Kim and Bruce gained approval and acceptance by others. Unlike Jenner, Kim avoided having intimate relationships because of her personal turmoil. Jenner chose to live as a man for many years. He got married and divorced
First of all David Reimer (then known as Bruce) was genetically born a boy however in 1966 his penis was destroyed by accident during a circumcision, his parents then took him to a psychologist and sexologists John Money. Money advised the parents to change the sex of their child since penis reconstruction wasn’t an option then, he was a supporter of the idea that gender wasn’t predetermined genetically and was from the influence of the environment.
After finalizing the divorce of him and Kris Jenner in early 2015, a 20/20 interview with Diane Sawyer came out in April of 2015, releasing the news that Bruce came out as a transgender woman. Caitlyn said that she had dealt with gender dysphoria since her youth and that, she cross dressed for many years and also took hormone replacement therapy, but stopped after her relationship with Kris Jenner in the early 1990s became more serious. Caitlyn recounts having permission to explore her gender identity on her own from Kris, but because of not knowing the best way to talk about the issues they faced about this situation of wanting to become a woman, it lead to the deterioration of the 23-year-long
Dr. Money argued it was possible for a person to change gender successfully through surgery, socialisation and hormone replacement. Unaware Dr. Money had never attempted this before, Bruce’s parents, Ron and Janet Reimer consented. On 3rd July 1967 Bruce was surgically castrated and renamed Brenda.
I understand that beauty is in the eye of the beholder; however, in my opinion, Bruce Jenner looks like Hilary Farr from a distance and up close he looks like a client on the television show botched. As for Serena Williams, I think that she is a very attractive woman, but her body builder like features ruin her overall sex appeal. DL Hughley stated in his interview on “The View” that he also did not see Caitlyn Jenner as attractive, and then compared him to Laverne Cox by saying she went all out and Caitlyn gave up in the process. I completely agree with DL Hughley because the fact is Bruce Jenner has not completed his transformation, and is debating on if he should finish it. I have nothing against LGBT people, but as long as Bruce Jenner
Kris and her late husband Robert Kardashian were close friend with Nicole and OJ Simpson. They spent a lot of time together and Robert even helped OJ during his trial. ABC News shared how Kris Jenner felt about her ex-husband Robert actually defending OJ Simpson during his trial. This was a very difficult time for Kris Jenner because Robert was trying to keep OJ Simpson from going to jail. Jenner spoke out about how hard it all was for her and the family of Nicole Brown Simpson.
Throughout the years, she tried to hide the fact that she was a woman trapped in a man’s body, but eventually, that subsided. Gladwell stated: “But if you're taking on a powerful and organized establishment you have to be a hierarchy” (Gladwell 237). In other words, Gladwell is saying that in order to initiate a trend, it should be an individual who stands up for what he or she believes in, regardless of the cost. Caitlyn was a prime example of one who stands with bravery and took a risk, confessing to everyone the transition that was happening in her life. This courageous action influenced and touched the hearts of many people, allowing other transgender individuals to act freely and not hide his or her identity.
Communication is a process that allows us to construct identities based on the interpretation and intention of speech acts. Caitlyn Jenner, formerly known as Bruce Jenner, spent most her life identified by her master identity as a cis-white-male and until a few years ago she adopted the interactional identity of a transgender female. In this paper, I will demonstrate how various forms of speech acts build, remain and/or change the master and interactional identity of Caitlyn Jenner as well as her relationships to others. To do so I will explain how Caitlyn Jenner seeks advice from her close family member Scott Disick to help her understand the variety of speech acts coming from both her private and public life: ranging from Scott who demonstrate face redress and accept her based on her new interaction identity as a female, while also dealing with the face threats that come from those (particularly males) who only see her as her previous master identity as a male.
With so little transgender celebrities and almost no representation of transgender in the media, it is no wonder that you hear of so many trans youth killing themselves. The most famous representation of the transgender community is Sophie in Orange is the New Black, who was thrown into prison for credit card fraud to afford her transition. There is also Adam on Degrassi, a female to male transgender whose mom did not fully accept him until he was dying. Degrassi is my favorite representation of transgender youth because when people of the school found out about Adam, the jocks of the school started to tease him and pick on him, even throwing him into a window. This accurately showed what it is like to be living as a transgender person in a bigoted society where you don’t feel like you belong. One celebrity that comes to mind when some hear the term ‘transgender’ would be Caitlyn Jenner. Born Bruce Jenner and being a famous Olympian, she proudly came out as Caitlyn and made the brave decision to publically transition. But yet, people of the world did not want to accept her as Caitlyn. People even made pictures and posts saying “Bruce is not brave, our soldiers are brave,” and comments out loud saying “Gender identity is something Bruce Jenner is struggling with.” Although there was a number of support, trans youth cannot be expected to fully come out and love themselves if they have very little representation and
Sexual subjectivity refers to the notion that a person’s sexual orientation, or rather, sexual desires dictate their identity and how they perform said identity. For the purposes of this essay, the focus will be on the recently dubbed “American hero” for her journey with transitioning from being a male to a female, Caitlyn Jenner. The famous news of Caitlyn Jenner’s transition had plagued the tabloids in 2015, where some probing questions about her sexuality have been answered and some left unanswered. Caitlyn Jenner has performed two distinct forms of gender on the family reality television series (Keeping up with the Kardashians) and her new reality television series, which will be the media discussed (I am Cait). These distinct forms of gender roles also accompanied a change in her sexuality—or at least the spark of a change. Although Caitlyn Jenner’s new identity has majorly evolved during the past few years, due to her lack of disclosure in regards to her sexual orientation, her identity as a whole remains to be under questioning. Certain aspects of Caitlyn Jenner’s transition tend to indicate that she will succumb to society’s ideals of heteronormativity and transform her sexuality as a result, by creating a new sexual identity for her new gender. It can also be argued that her sexuality is completely dependent on how she performs it, rather than what she as an individual actually wants and desires. This essay will use evidence through Caitlyn Jenner’s new reality
Kidd and Witten define the term transgender vaguely, stating it “describe[s] people who transcend the conventional boundaries of gender, irrespective of physical status or sexual orientation” (Kidd & Witten, 2007, p. 36). This term is a reference for the ‘other gender’ that is not particularly male or female. Currently, within the American society, there is a growing awareness of individuals who are transgender. Much of this awareness comes from LGBT movements and
Over the past few years, the issues faced by people who identify as transgender (gender dysphoric) have gained momentum in the media. From Caitlyn Jenner to which bathroom to use, transgender people have made a lot of progress in addressing
America prides itself on being one of the most open-minded and tolerant nations in the world. In many cases, it is true. America does allow “the pursuit of happiness” for many, including other religions, immigrants, and, most recently, homosexuals with the passing of the Supreme Court decision which now allows gay marriage throughout the nation. However, when faced with transgenderism, America remains ignorant. A phobia against transgender people is prominent amongst the American people. This hatred and misunderstanding was evident during Bruce Jenner’s transition to Caitlyn Jenner. People took to name-calling, used transphobic slurs, and even refused to call Caitlyn Jenner by the pronoun she felt comfortable with. Due to this is a high-profile
The United States is a divided society. We like to categorize ourselves according to political affiliation, race, and religion. We are members of the middle, low-income, or wealthy classes. We choose what seats to sit in during a football game according to the team we are rooting for. It is oddly comforting to know that you belong. All too often, however, transgender youth are denied that sense of ubelonging because they defy society’s categories of male and female. The gender binary divides society into two separate, unequivocal categories that marginalizes transgender youth and directly impacts their emotional health and well-being. Society’s collective response of demeaning, shaming, and violence further increases the divide.
Jenner said that as a boy, he was very lonely and never fit in with other people. In fact, he still feels like he doesn’t fit into our society because he is transgender. He admitted that as a young child, he secretly wore dresses and went out of the house covering his head with a scarf so that no one would recognize him. As an Olympic champion, Jenner stated that he was very confused and was focused only on running away from his gender identity issues, using the Olympics and his athleticism as a way to do so. As a husband, he felt very flustered and restless in his marriages and said that he had to deal with
The life of a transgender person is not as easy as it seems. When a transgender person decides to courageously change their sex to the one they identify with, they are subject to ridicule and hate. In the TED Talk “Why I Must Come Out,” fashion model Geena Rocero tells the powerful story of who she was at birth and her transition into who she knew she was meant to be. Geena begins her speech by expressing that “The world makes you something that you’re not — but you know inside what you are.” Geena Rocero reveals that she was born a male, but always felt more female than male.