How We Talk About Caitlyn

This was bound to happen. We all knew it would. I mean, shit, if the world can barely talk about gay rights, how on earth did we think we'd be able to discuss any other letter on the LGBTQ spectrum without some transphobic bumps in the road? Admittedly, people are handling this better than I expected. As Jon Stewart pointed out, the mainstream media (typically a bastion of ignorance) has, for the most part, handled this issue fairly harmlessly, albeit with the occasional incorrect pronouns.

And, hell, even Fox News (with the exception of professional Mr. Potato Head, Neil Cavuto) has been tame in this matter. But it's not hard to imagine that Fox News, a money making machine from the get-go, is learning to appeal to a younger, more socially-conscious crowd.

This all being said, people are still generally fucking awful and the internet is here to tip the scales back in favor of ignorant stupidity. Twitter, Facebook and similar brain-drain sites have happily delivered the kind of transphobic nonsense one would expect from the mostly uneducated public. But this is par for the course. There is no end to hateful shit on the web and to expect otherwise is the quickest path to disappointment.

Ignorant, grammar-challenged troglodytes spewing disjointed insults via their iPhones don't really concern me much these days. It's their slightly more evolved cousins that do the most damage. These creatures, bubbling to the surface of the primordial ooze, sneak in to the modern world using misdirection and sensationalism. They know openly hating is passé and that the cool thing these days is to passively disapprove by offering up a completely unrelated subject.

For example, the Arthur Ashe Award. The award, given by ESPN at the ESPY's, is an award for courage, something that no one can deny Jenner has shown. In lieu of being able to openly condemn Caitlyn Jenner, a particular element has taken to bitching about her receiving the award over other candidates.

Specifically, Total Frat Move, a trash website run by former frat guys who hit their peak Junior year of college, has published a stupid article about the whole thing, whining that Jenner is getting the award and that Iraq war veteran, Noah Galloway, is not. The fact that this is purely based in rumor and has been completely disproven aside, this argument has been a huge issue for those championing social justice for years. It's the age-old argument of "you don't support the troops!"

Americans have quite an aptitude for public shaming (and yes, it goes both ways). But the classic dodge of "there are more important things" is an ignorant one and one that has become a real issue. It affects reasonable people in an unreasonable way, convincing the more gullible among the population that maybe LGBTQ issues ARE worth putting off until we honor every single enlisted military member with a throne of gold and endless praise. Make no mistake, being in the military is a great sacrifice and a great service. But because it is worth noting does not cancel out the importance of all other issues.

There is no priority to honor troops. There is no huge lobby against those in (or formerly in) the military and no cultural stigma against it. Sure, you had people hurling slurs like "baby killer" at Vietnam war vets and, yes, there has been a pretty poor response to soldiers coming home with PTSD and other mental issues. But, again, this does not disqualify the importance of transgender awareness.

Transphobia is real. Things may be getting better, but it is still out there and it is still affecting lives, sometimes in a deadly manner. Caitlyn Jenner, no matter what you think of her family, has made an incredibly important step in her own life, and in the lives of transgender people all across the world. She's on the cover of Vanity Fair for chrissake! What a fucking achievement and I applaud her for it. But this isn't the "we have a black President in the White House!" sort of deal where we get to pretend like we "fixed" an issue. There is still ignorance to combat. Please do so if you see it online. Speak for a group that, until very recently, didn't have much of a voice of its own.

And for god's sake, please use the correct pronouns.