If you’re reading this that means you have a computer, which means that you’ve probably seen the Olympian formerly known as Bruce Jenner publicly come out as Caitlyn Jenner on the cover of Vanity Fair. Ever since Caitlyn came out to the public as a woman, she has been a topic of conversation everywhere — at work, at school, at home, and in class. She has opened up the topic to the public, and to her very public family. Most people are admiring the fact that she is embracing her true self, that she is taking charge of his life and celebrating her identity.
I wrote the word “he” automatically, and halfway through the sentence I stopped for a second. The concept of gender identity is a hard one to grasp, and it is going to take time to acclimate to these changes, even for writers who fully support her decision. Some people are finding the transition harder than others. It’s difficult for some to understand what is going on in Caitlyn’s life.
I’ve heard arguments that Caitlyn was born a man, and therefore it should not be within her right to “play God” and rewrite those decisions that He made regarding Caitlyn’s life path. I’ve heard that it’s unnatural, that it’s wrong. I think the problem is that a lot of people don’t understand because it’s not talked about enough in society. Sometimes these issues are not black and white, and even those who boast of their tolerance still struggle in new instances of acceptance.
While transitioning is not a new concept in history, it is relatively new to our modern publicity platforms. In the past, media coverage of gender identity and being transgender has only gone so far as to cover things like “Ru Paul’s Drag Race,” which is hardly a true, in depth, or even an accurate portrayal of that community – especially since not all drag queens identify as trans*. Now, we turn on the television and see an honest, emotional story about a woman who has struggled with her identity for a while. Everyone will continue to have their opinions about it whether they love or hate her, it doesn’t matter. It’s starting a conversation— a conversation that will go beyond Caitlyn Jenner.
Renee Richards
Richard Raskind was a professional tennis player in the 1970s who transitioned into a woman and, at the age of 42, petitioned for the right to play in the 1976 US Open (the same year the Caitlyn Jenner won gold at the Olympics). She was denied participation in the women’s tournament, but that decision was overturned when a New York Supreme Court decision ruled in her favor in 1977. She played in the tour, but not without experiencing backlash.
She received death threats, needed body guards, and her presence prompted many of her competitors to drop out of competitions that she has entered. Richards, now in her 80s, has been questioned as to whether she has been coaching Jenner through her transition, but she denies these claims. Caitlyn Jenner may be a trailblazer for representation of trans* individuals within the sports arena, but people like Renee have been clearing the path for Jenner and others to come out starting years ago.
Bacha Posh
In Afghanistan, the culture dictates that families take pride in their male heirs. Families without sons strive to avoid the humiliation of having only daughters by disguising their oldest daughter as a boy in public. While her sisters may be attending school in dresses and head scarves, the oldest daughter attends in pants and a shirt with her hair cropped short like a boy. She is avoided being referred to as a son or a daughter, and is instead known as a bacha posh, which translates to, “dressed up as a boy” in Dari.
When the bacha posh goes through puberty she is then transitioned back into a woman, which often causes extreme causes of gender identity confusion. For some it may be disorienting, and for others it is liberating to no longer be trapped in this limbo between being a boy or a girl. No one knows just how many bacha posh there are in Afghanistan, but the practice dates back for generations by the culture’s social pressures to produce sons.
Two Spirit
In many Native American societies, individuals who did not conform to our contemporary understanding of the gender binary were not issues at all, but rather something to be celebrated. Many tribes held a concept of a two spirited person who embodies both the feminine and the masculine, and who often switched between the two in their looks and wardrobe. They had many different names, including the nàdleehé of the Navaho tribe, meaning “transformed,” the winkte in the Sioux tribe, and the lhamana in the Zuni tribe. These people were thought to have been blessed with gifts from the gods, and often became medicine men or tribal leaders. Children who exhibited signs of gender traits belonging to a different gender than the one we would today assign according to their anatomy, were given a ceremony in which the tribe let the gods decide what gender the child will be, showing that the idea of gender identity was a pliable construct in those societies.
There are many untold stories out there. Caitlyn’s story will join the stories of Renee Richards, the Bacha Posh, and the Two-Spirits, among many others. Together they will help to build a platform for which people and society as a whole can accept these changes in the future.