Caitlyn Jenner is the most discussed trans person in pop culture of all time. Her Diane Sawyer interview, Vanity Fair cover, and reality show “I am Cait” have sparked a worldwide conversation about the trans community. This unprecedented amount of media attention marks a significant moment for trans visibility, and presents a powerful opportunity for the spread of compassion and understanding. Unfortunately, however, mainstream media has spent more time objectifying Caitlyn than working to make a difference in the lives of trans people.
While celebrating Jenner, we hoped the media would draw attention to barriers transgender people face in everyday life, and advocate socio-political progress. However, discussion has mostly centered on her boobs. As former The Daily Show host John Stewart adeptly said, “It’s really heartening to see that everyone is willing to not only accept Caitlyn Jenner as a woman, but to waste no time in treating her like a woman. When people saw Caitlyn as a man, we talked about athleticism and business acumen. Now that we know she’s a woman, her looks are the only thing we really care about.”
Transgender actress and activist Laverne Cox has had a similar experience with the spotlight. She explains, “I saw posts from many trans folks saying that I am ‘drop dead gorgeous’ and that that doesn’t represent most trans people. What I think they meant is that in certain lighting, at certain angles I am able to embody certain cisnormative beauty standards. It is important to note that these standards are also informed by race, class and ability among other intersections.” Cox and Jenner have both had the privilege of being able to afford the procedures necessary to meet a globalized beauty standard that is exclusionary to anyone who is not cisgender. By focusing so heavily on the appearances of these two women the media has reaffirmed this problematic beauty standard, which very few trans people can afford to meet. Further, not everyone aspires to conform to stereotypes of what society says a man or woman should look like. Beauty means different things to different people, and you don’t have to resemble Jessica Lange to be worthy of acceptance.
While Jenner’s celebrity status is great for visibility, the focus on her appearance has been a distraction from the lived experiences of the diverse trans folk who continue to battle discrimination when accessing basic needs. As a rich, white, conventionally attractive celebrity, her experience is far from the reality of most transgender people.
Five things you won’t see on “I Am Cait”…
1. Job Discrimination
According to the National LGBTQ Task Force, transgender people are twice as likely to be unemployed and four times more likely to live in poverty compared with the general population, and these disparities are much greater for transgender black and Latinx women. 33 of the 50 states have no state-level gender identity protection, meaning in over half of the U.S. it is perfectly legal for employers to fire employees simply because they are transgender. Nearly half of trans people report having been fired, denied employment, or denied promotion for being trans, and 90% of trans people report being harassed at work for being transgender.
2. Homelessness
Transgender people are frequently evicted or denied homes. 19% of trans people have been denied housing and 11% have been evicted for being transgender. 20% of trans people are homeless at some point in their lives. In order to cope with the lack of housing and employment, a significant number of trans people are forced to move to cheaper places, bunk with family and friends, or become sex workers. To make matters of homelessness worse, shelters frequently refuse transgender people or force them to stay in facilities that do not match their gender. 29% of trans people report being physically assaulted in a shelter.
3. Lack of Healthcare
Therapy and gender affirming procedures like HRT, mastectomies, tracheal shaves, etc. are medically necessary for many trans people to feel safe and comfortable in their bodies, but 19% of transgender people have no health insurance, which can make a medical transition difficult or impossible. Hormones alone can cost up to $150 per month. Even for those who are insured, the fight to prove these procedures’ medically necessity is often long, difficult, and potentially traumatizing.
4. Violence and suicide
The level of violence targeting transgender people, particularly transgender women of color, is a national crisis. Trans women face a 1 in 12 risk of being murdered by a cisgender person. This statistic increases to 1 in 8 if she is a trans woman of color. Alarming rates of homelessness, unemployment and incarceration make trans folks particularly susceptible to violence, as well as a lack of safety in public spaces. Bills have been introduced across the country to criminalize transgender people for simply for using the bathroom. The majority of the victims of hate violence homicides (72%) in 2013 were transgender women, and 67% were trans women of color. The murders are typically gruesome and have gone mostly unsolved, and local media routinely misgender the victims.
The oppression of trans people leads to a staggering rate of suicide among the trans population. 49% of transgender people attempt suicide. Two reliable factors for predicting suicide are bullying and a lack of familial acceptance. A 2014 analysis of the National Transgender Discrimination Survey found that more than half of people who have been bullied at school due to anti-transgender bias have attempted suicide. Among people who experienced physical or sexual violence at school, a startling 78% reported having attempted suicide. Among respondents who reported that their parents and/or families had stopped speaking or spending time with them after coming out as transgender, 57% had tried to end their lives. Conversely, people whose familial relationships had remained strong after they came out reported a significantly lower suicide attempt rate (33%).
5. These issues disproportionately impact trans people of color.
The number of black, Latinx, and indigenous trans people who are unemployed, homeless, or uninsured are all nearly double that of white trans people. Trans women of color face much higher rates of violence and murder, and often receive substandard help from law enforcement.
What You Can Do To Help…
· Work to make your college or company trans inclusive.
o Advocate for gender-neutral bathrooms.
o When people go around the room making introductions, ask them to share their pronouns. Then respect these pronouns!
o Encourage trans awareness and inclusion workshops.
· Speak out against transphobia.
o Challenge hateful jokes and comments.
o Initiate open and honest conversations about gender with your peers.
· Press for laws protecting gender identity.
o Find out if your state has laws protecting transgender people from discrimination.
o If it does not, put pressure on your local representatives to put gender identity protection laws into place, and support organizations that are fighting for those laws.
· Hire or house trans people.
o If you are an employer, ensure that your hiring process gives equitable opportunity to everyone.
o If you are a landlord, accept and protect trans people in the residence you oversee.
· Support trans organizations in your area.
o Trans organizations across the country are consistently fighting for trans rights and providing needed resources, sometimes including healthcare. They are always in need of help in both funding and support.
· Listen to transgender people.
o Get your information about trans people, from trans people. Listen to their concerns, and understand how you may participate in the proliferation of cissexism. Self-reflect, and work to progress.
o This does not mean it’s open season for interrogating trans people. Trans people do not exist to educate others, and should not have to constantly defend and explain who they are. Listen if they engage you in conversation, but also make use of the plethora of invaluable information trans people share online.
· Have compassion.
o Respect the terminology a trans person uses to describe their identity. Never ask their “real gender,” “real name,” or “real pronoun.”
o Difference is the only thing we all have in common. Celebrate diversity!
As Laverne Cox explains, neither she nor Caitlyn Jenner can “represent all trans people. No one or two or three trans people can. This is why we need diverse media representations of trans folks to multiply trans narratives in the media, and depict our beautiful diversities.” She goes on to explain, “I hope, as I know Caitlyn does, that the love she is receiving can translate into changing hearts and minds about who all trans people are, as well as shifting public policies to fully support the lives and well-being of all of us.” Let’s use the important moment of trans visibility not to objectify another woman, but to work to make our world a better place.
Sources:
http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/03/entertainment/laverne-cox-caitlyn-jenner-feat/
http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/03/living/caitlyn-jenner-transgender-reaction-feat/index.html
http://mashable.com/2015/07/24/transgender-challenges/#qA8EiypdJ8qZ
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wwjtd/2012/05/murder-statistics-of-transgender-people/