“I Am Cait”

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    • #110385

      I am watching season 2 of I Am Cait.  I feel bad for Caitlyn.  I feel bad for her.  She is (in some ways, but certainly not all) lucky to be able to monetize her transition, but doing it so publicly has got to be extra hard.  And, the cast they have surrounded her with is somewhat supportive, but ultimately they see to be using her for personal promotion and using her fame to accomplish their political goals.

      I see them trying to bully her into adopting their political views, and it seems unfair.  They gang up on her, and when she becomes defensive (as anyone under attack would) they accuse her of frightening  them.  They scheme behind her back as to how to manipulate her.

      I think that they should try to persuade her through one on one discussions, rather than trying to pressure her as a group.  And, they should accept her if she never agrees with them politically.

      I am a relatively conservative person, though I am rather socially liberal.  I agree with Republicans on some things, but also agree with Democrats on others. I basically consider myself  a Libertarian.

      as a Libertarian, I want small government.  But, I recognize that (at least where I live), most people reject us.  And, it is nice to have legal protections against discrimination. Of course, sometimes it is the government that discriminates against us (usually Republicans, but not always).

      Anyway, they act as if Cait will be irrelevant in the world as a conservative transwoman, but I disagree.  She is famous, and enjoys acceptance most of us never will.  She will still be famous if trans activist turn against her.

      I don’t think we all have to conform to some trans “norm”.  We are all so much individuals.  And, we are all Ambassadors of transgender experience.  If you are out, people who know you will largely think of all trans people what they think of you.  If they like and respect you, they will have a higher opinion of us, of our causes and of our needs.

      It al seems to be coming at Cait so fast.  They need to give her time, and support her emotionally through her pink cloud.

    • #110420
      DeeAnn Hopings
      AMBASSADOR

      The fundamental issue is that while she has transitioned, she has not understood what the reality is for MANY trans people. She continues to look at things through her previous lens and it hasn’t changed. I think it surprises people, and also disappoints people, that she has done the physical work, but not the mental work. Personally, I don’t know if that will ever happen.

      And yes, I’ve seen all of season 2 and at least half of season 1. I expected something positive to happen, given the length of her struggle, because I thought she would be an advocate and a useful public face for the community. Instead she is a pariah and a lightning rod…

      • #110437

        Caitlyn is a strong willed person.  You don’t win Olympics metals and be someone who rolls over when people challenge you.  And, that was the approach they took.  They tried to bully her.  So, all they did was make her defensive and then the was determined not to change her mind.  They effectively closed her mind up.

        Yes, she clearly fails to process a lot of what she has heard and seen.  But, you can’t tell someone that everything they think about the world is wrong, and expect them to believe you:  you have to encourage them to experience new things, to learn and to be open to thinking about new ways to make things better (without saying what you think is right is all wrong).

        Not all Republicans are transphobic.  But, the Republican Party as a whole does use us as a scare tactic.  I don’t believe Trump cares much about our rights one way or the other, but his instinct was that we don’t need bathroom laws (law to outlaw us using the right room), because there hasn’t been any problems.   Pence, on the other hand, is on a religious mission to discriminate against us.

        Yes, Trump did roll back a lot of the protections Obama tried to install.  To what degree those Obama changes were good for America in general can be debated, but for us they were positive.

        I think that if I spent time with Caitlyn, she would soon be more libertarian than Republican, and while she would still be fiscally conservative and not a Democrat, she wouldn’t be whitewashing Republican discrimination.

        from people I know that have considered her a friend, I believe (because they agree) that she is a good person, a good human being.  She is wanting to help people.  And, she doesn’t have to become a Democrat to do that.  But, she does need to acknowledge the problem some factions of the Republican Party present to us.  And, she does need to think about priorities.  What is most important for America.

    • #110548
      DeeAnn Hopings
      AMBASSADOR

      No, I don’t think that she will ever understand. She’s had some years to get herself informed and there has been no movement. That is demonstrated by her recent comments regarding trans athletes. She has allowed dogma to overtake the science in her mind. However, the good news is that she doesn’t have much credibility in general, so that’s a good thing. To me, what happened during that program is irrelevant. She never took the opportunity to educate herself and understand the larger picture. People should be asking themselves about her viability as a political candidate if she chooses not to invest the energy in actually understanding issues and solely work from her own opinions and prejudices. By and large, that is the Trump approach.

      There are indications that not every Republican politician is working against the best interests of the LGBT community. There was a bill up for vote in the House this past week concerning loans for LGBT owned businesses. 38 Republicans voted in favor of the bill, but the vast majority did not. The bulk of the Republican party would be exceedingly happy if LGBT people simply did not exist. There is no doubt of that. I strongly suggest that you read Brynn Tannehill’s book. The chapters on legal strategy, political strategy and religion illustrate what they have been doing and will continue to do. The thing to note about her book is that it isn’t a trans person just shooting off her mouth as the bibliography covers 61 pages by itself. It is exceedingly well researched.

      Regarding trans people in the military, as I understand, Tony Perkins, the leader of the hate group the Family Research Council was the big influencer. While certainly Pence would have been in agreement, Perkins played a role much like Stephen Miller has regarding the formation of immigration policy. Studies conducted here and abroad show essentially no change in morale or readiness with trans people in the ranks. Further, there are military forces in other countries that include trans people with no issues. With no evidence that trans people in the military are a problem, then we must ask ourselves why the previous administration would make this an issue. The only answer can be some sort of political gain. Therein lies the inherent dishonesty of the Republican Party in that it is OK to sacrifice a part of the population.

      Further, regarding the Republicans, I don’t think it is “some factions”. There are too many places currently with, or trying to implement, laws that severely impact trans people. It is a national strategy and not something pushed by a few. It also seems that the lesbian and gay community has been slow to realize that they are next in line.

      Anyway, the evidency strongly suggests that this will be a long term, uphill battle…

      • #110551

        The problem is, Democrats are socialist.  Democratic Socialism is still socialism.  I like capitalism.  So, so am Independent.

        I can’t really support Republicans because, as you said, many of them use us as sacrificial fodder to promote their own careers, both profiting from hatred against us, and simultaneously promoting it.

        So, I am a libertarian.  I do often vote for Republicans, because there is no viable Independent, and Democrats have a lot of policies that they support that I strongly oppose.  I used to be a member of Young Democrats, and worked on a lot of Democrat campaigns, but they have moved far left of me.

        There is no Party that actually promotes what I believe the country needs, and Republicans and Democrats are jointly destroying everything.  It is frustrating.

    • #110564
      DeeAnn Hopings
      AMBASSADOR

      I doubt that Jenner will ever progress beyond where she is right now, which is pretty much where she was 3-4 years ago. I don’t think she will never be able to see the world through something other than the lens of white male privilege. Stated another way, in her mind it appears that she is still more Bruce than Caitlyn.

      However, the political slant of this discussion has gone beyond how things work here. Any further and I will be forced to delete the thread…

      • #110568

        Ok, enough politics then.

         

        I appreciate your talking to me about it without getting angry.  And, I don’t tend to get angry when people have a different opinion than myself.

        I do believe that I have given a lot more thought to a lot of things transition related than Cait did.  Maybe, it is her age, or her wealth, or the fact that California has a different culture than Alabama, but I am aware of things that seem to surprise her.  I understand why some of us feel they have no choice other than sex work.  And, I have thought a lot about GCS, which she hasn’t?

        I am a little jealous of her having a group of people she is getting close to.  And, most people are sooo very accepting of her, it would not be that way for me.  Maybe, it her fame?

        • #110569
          DeeAnn Hopings
          AMBASSADOR

          My understanding is that she has medically transitioned. I believe she stated that at one point, but it isn’t worth searching.

          Are far as acceptance goes, my sense is just the opposite. When her transition was in progress there was considerable backlash. Many thought it was a publicity thing. Her medical transition may have toned that down a bit, but I think there is still a lot of negative sentiment. Inside the trans community she was thought to be exceedingly clueless and nothing has happened that would contradict that opinion.

          As far as what happened on the program, I think when the rest of the folks realized that she had essentially zero understanding of the situation for many trans folks, they became very frustrated. They had the expectation that she could be positive thing for our community, but the reality was 180 degrees off. Check the information about the cast. They are all pretty accomplished people in spite of the odds against trans people in general. I think they were perfectly justified in the thought that she would just join in and be a part of things, but quickly that turned out to be an unfulfilled promise.

          The parallel for me is realizing several years ago that the LGB part of the community was largely clueless about trans folks and didn’t have much interest in finding out. That seems to be changing in recent times. Perhaps people are realizing that attacking the trans community is a precursor to attacking them.

          Speaking specifically about M>F trans folks, what isn’t very well understood by many is that the world looks very different when you enter it from a female perspective. Holding onto privilege and trying to function from that viewpoint will not go well. For some it takes a long time before the light bulb goes off. Females are conditioned to work with and around privilege. If privilege is what stands between you and what you want, it becomes a matter of outsmarting it or circumventing it. I think the root is the fact that many trans women find it hard to give up privilege because they don’t understand that they have it. You can’t fight what you can’t see…

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