#CallMeCaitlyn

Last night (Monday 1st June), we were introduced to Caitlyn Jenner. The latest cover star for Vanity Fair Magazine, Caitlyn set herself up with a new Twitter and Instagram account, and with the support of her Kardashian/Jenner family, as well as several other publications, we were shown a range of photos showing off her new body- which is stunning, may I add- her luscious locks, and the strong woman she is destined to be for the rest of her life.

Obviously, this transformation has caused quite a stir. Having been married to Kardashian matriarch Kris Jenner for 23 years and having two beautiful daughters with her, this transition from masculine athlete to glamorous cover star has been a shock to the system, and has stirred up a mix of reactions from both the family and from the public.

After the big reveal, I myself had a multitude of things I wanted to say regarding the whole situation. I took to twitter, ready to speak my mind- and then stopped. With just 140 characters to speak my mind, it seemed likely that someone would be offended by what I said, or would criticise me, or take it out of context. So instead, I turned to my blog to make sure that I could explain my thoughts properly.

I realise some of the things I am about to write may stir up controversy or may be different to something you may think about Caitlyn Jenner. I hope rather than be nasty about my own views, you can respect my decision and engage in a healthy debate. Anybody who is plain rude will be deleted and ignored.

Caitlyn Jenner helps to break the stigma…but it is in a fairly unrealistic way.
I think it is the bravest thing in the world that Caitlyn has made the transition into the person she is today, having to change her entire lifestyle, leave her wife and start everything over. It is both an exciting and scary concept for her I am sure. As with any celebrity who does something with courage, I am sure that I am not alone when I hope that this bold step by Caitlyn will help to start a movement that allows more transgender people to feel comfortable with themselves, encourage them to be true to who they are and to live the life they truly want to. I also hope it will start to break the stigma surrounding transgender people, and that now someone so in the public eye has made this massive change to themselves in order to be truly themselves, it will help others to understand transgender people better. It is just one small change, but hopefully it will start a movement.

However.

Caitlyn Jenner has made her transition seem rather simple. Obviously, it wasn’t simple- I am not so naive that I think this all happened without emotional trauma and difficulty. But, if Caitlyn did not have the funds that she does, her transition from Bruce to Caitlyn would not have happened as successfully or as quickly, and I am not sure what sort of message this will give to transgender people. Not being trans myself, I obviously can’t speak from my own emotions regarding the situation. But I think it would create a sense of false hope within transgender people. For most, it can take months and months, sometimes a number of years before someone can change their gender, their lifestyle, to come out and be accepted. Getting and removing various body parts is not a simple process, nor is facial reconstruction, hormone treatment and so on. Thankfully for Caitlyn, the process happened quicker than it would for a normal transgender citizen- due to the amount of money she had to help her out, she can afford to be seen straight away, receive the best counselling, undergo as many operations as she has to to achieve her desired look. And whilst I am not saying it was easy for Caitlyn in any way, it seems to have been a quick and simpler process than it would be for, say, a struggling teenager, desperate to change their life. I hope that whilst Caitlyn will inspire the trans community to make the changes they need to in order to lead a happier life, they will realise their journey will be very different to Caitlyn’s.

Body positivity.

Now, this may be a vain, crude or just “ignorant” observation, but obviously, Caitlyn was a man. This means her legs and arms are still fairly…well, masculine. But I’m not criticising this at all! I think it looks wonderful. She is the cover star for a HUGE magazine, and yet her arms and legs are not stick thin. They look bigger than your average “supermodel” and therefore more “normal”- a more realistic standard for women to look up to. If Vanity Fair can accept a model like this, then why can’t all models be this sort of size- or any sort of size! Not just a size 6!