Image via Twitter / Caitlyn Jenner
Nearly six years ago, in September 2015, I launched my Shepherd Express column with a critical piece about the former Olympian decathlete and Kardashian groupie Bruce Jenner’s transition to Caitlyn. Now, she’s at it again, announcing her candidacy for governor of California.
Incredulously ridiculous as that whole scenario of an intrepid “can-do” transwoman Republican gubernatorial candidate might seem (except, perhaps, as Disney movie or a “South Park” episode), she is, as her gluttonous celebrity demands, quenching her thirst for attention. Of course, there’s plenty of “Jenner for Governor” merch now available online.
But if one were to try to find a silver lining in this embarrassing dark cloud and expect Ms. Jenner to at the very least advocate for trans rights, one would be sorely disappointed.
Currently, the hot button issue for Republicans is trans student athletes. Several states have passed laws banning them from competing in school sports. Dozens of states have proposed such laws. These target transwomen in particular, the rationale being that women born male competing with cis- women is unfair based on biological factors (namely testosterone) that supposedly favor male physiology as inherently stronger. Hence male to female trans athletes have a performance advantage, even with testosterone suppression therapy. The science on the matter is far from definitive. (Besides, since when has Republican policy relied on science for validation?)
Culture War Continues
For all intents and purposes, the real numbers of transgender high school and college athletes is miniscule. One would hardly expect, say the Bay View High School track team to transition en masse and go on to win the girls’ State Championship and go on to Nationals (although, to be fair, it would make a great plot for another Disney movie).
However, ginning up Republican hysteria with the specter of just such a scenario produces the inevitable collateral damage to transgender rights in general and, by extension, to LGBTQ rights. That’s been the strategy all along, namely to open another front in the culture war and attempt to outflank President Joe Biden’s embrace of LGBTQ rights and particularly those of the transgender community.
Meanwhile, trust Caitlyn Jenner to enter the political fray and stoke that very fear as she vies for the California’s governorship. Rather than address the issue as an advocate, the transgender celebrity has come out supporting the transgender athlete ban.
Admittedly it takes nerve to run for office, but Caitlyn’s cojones notwithstanding, her motivation is obviously neither lofty integrity nor political ambition for the sake of social good. (Speaking of “South Park”, it presaged this very moment in a 2015 episode in which an orange faced Mr. Garrison campaigns for president with Caitlyn as his running mate. Pondering the possibility of actually winning, Mr. Garrison asks the cartoon Caitlyn what they’re supposed to do once elected. Caitlyn responds “how the f*ck should I know?”)
To be fair, back in 2018, Ms. Jenner did criticize the former president for having set back the transgender community 20 years. With her gubernatorial sights set, she may well accomplish another decade or two of setback.
Admittedly, however inadvertently, she is normalizing and advancing America’s trans awareness. Like whistleblower and spy Chelsea “Mata Hari” Manning and, more recently, trans-terrorist and Oath Keeper Jessica “Trumpista” Watkins who stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, she may prove, whether dumb jock or nuclear physicist, deep down inside, trans folx are just like everybody else.
I think we’ve learned a lesson here. As I wrote years ago, Ms. Jenner is not a role model. And, later that same year, “South Park’s” Kyle, equally politically incorrectly for the times, opined, “Caitlyn Jenner is not a hero.” In the face of backlash, and under the duress of public humiliation, Kyle was forced to recant, asserting not only Jenner’s heroism but that she is “absolutely stunning”.
Meanwhile, actor-activist George Takei just summed it up succinctly, saying “She’s a menace.”
