Caitlyn Jenner Wins Glamour's "Woman of the Year"

[roddma]

but not everyone is happy http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/16/living/widower-911-officer-glamour-award-caitlyn-jenner-feat/index.html

[Fundie Bunny]

She was a bad joke before transitioning. She still is. Isn't it time to stop praising her for every idiotic thing she says?

[SnazzyNazzy]

I have nothing but NOT nice things to say about her.

[Cleopatra7]

I don't really have a dog in this fight either way, but isn't it a bit presumptuous for Mr. Smith to return his wife's award when there's no way of knowing what she would have thought about Jenner?

[louisa05]

I find it absurd that so many people are so upset about a silly award given by a silly magazine that is only for the purpose of selling issues. Several of my male hillbilly cousins are ranting about this on Facebook. I have resisted the temptation to ask them when the last time they bought Glamour magazine actually was. 

Why does everyone take everything so seriously? 

[Walking Cat Bed]

I'm just wondering if there was really such a shortage of remarkable women that a privileged trans*woman who is still wealthy and still has an overwhelmingly positive reputation is the best winner. 

I understand that transitioning is difficult, but...she's still wealthy, she's still connected to Kardashia, she's still as famous as she was. 

 

Were there no political activists or rescue workers or, hell, celebrities who've actually DONE something for the world? At least their community? 

 

For a tradition that alleges to focus on positive actions rather than appearances, they certainly chose someone who is overwhelmingly focused on her appearance.

[PennySycamore]

Glamour's WOMEN of the Year included Reese Witherspoon, for fighting for women's inclusion in Hollywood; Team USA for winning the Women's World Cup; the women of Charleston especially the women of Mother Emanuel AME Church; Elizabeth Holmes, the entrepreneur; Misty Copeland, the first woman of color to be prima ballerina for the American Ballet Theatre; Cecile Richards, the president of Planned Parenthood; Victoria Beckham, the ex-Spice Girl and designer and Caitlyn Jenner.  There are women there who've done something other than just look pretty.  There are some really admirable women there.

[roddma]

Nothing against Jenner, but her situation is unique. Not every transgender person has her resources. And nothing against 'Glamour' in particular, but as said above it'a silly mag devoted to looking good. I dont know if I ever read it and have no interest. THat's right Cleopatra7, how does he know how his late wife would feel?

[OkToBeTakei]

Bruce Jenner came across as a complete twat and Catelyn Jenner appears precisely the same way.

I do hope her transition helps transgender people in a positive way but apart from that one important issue I could not care.

[Imagine20]

I briefly watched one of Caitlin's shows, and it was basically a roundtable of trans women explaining how difficult their lives have been and her just feigning understanding with head nods and a fake sad face. Even though she seems to be the de facto face of the transgender community, she has not had the same experience as 99.9% of trans people.

So many cannot afford to transition and they fall into sex work to help pay for their treatment. Others get lost to addiction, suicide, or depression because transitioning isn't an option or because they've been shunned by family and friends. Some are turned away by doctors when they seek routine medical care, and there are very few medical practices that specialize in transgender health. Many of these have not been issues for her.

I think if the point of the award going to her was to bring positive attention to the trans community, another inspiring activist could have been chosen.

However, I don't think choosing Caitlin diminishes the award that went to that man's wife and he just comes across as a bitter bigot by returning it.

[Fundie Bunny]

I see that many people have failed reading the article. He didn't return the award because it went to a trasgender person, he returned it citing this specific article

http://www.buzzfeed.com/kristinharris/caitlyn-jenner-the-power-of-the-woman-hasnt-been-unleashed#.emvlMoqVM

The hardest part about being a woman is figuring out what to wear. It’s always that way; I never thought it would come to this. I had really no sense of style. Everyone around me in my family had the sense of style — I learned as much as I possibly could. But, it’s more than that. I’m kind of at this point in my life where I’m trying to figure this womanhood thing out. It is more than hair, makeup, clothes, all that kind of stuff. There’s an element here, that I’m still kind of searching for. And I think that’ll take a while. Because I think as far as gender, we’re all on a journey. We’re all learning and growing about ourselves. And I feel the same way.

[Rachel333]

Yeah, that quote that "The hardest part about being a woman is figuring out what to wear" made me lose pretty much any goodwill I had towards her before. She is so out of touch.

[ADoyle90815]

Yeah, that quote that "The hardest part about being a woman is figuring out what to wear" made me lose pretty much any goodwill I had towards her before. She is so out of touch.

Same here. She's so out of touch and has no idea what the majority of transgendered people go through.

[Cleopatra7]

Same here. She's so out of touch and has no idea what the majority of transgendered people go through.

Trans or not, Jenner hasn't been a "normal person" since she won the Olympics, which was almost forty years ago. Since then, she's been a rich celebrity, with all the perks that entails. The cis women that she has been around have all been rich celebrities as well, from the Kardashians to her ex-wives, which is a sub-set of women that are particularly image-obsessed. The only non-celebrity women Jenner probably knows are her sister and mother, both of whom live on the other side of the country from her. While Jenner may have been struggling with her gender identity her whole life, living in the Hollywood bubble for so long has warped her outlook.

One useful thing I have gotten from Jenner's story is that it drives home how simply adhering to gender stereotypes doesn't solve the underlying problems that trans people have. I remember reading an article in the National Catholic Register, a conservative Catholic paper, some years back when trans issues were starting to get mainstream attention, and it said that gender variant children should be forced to adhere to whatever the stereotypes are for their gender and "fake it till they make it." This is what Jenner did for almost forty years -- winning the Olympics, marrying a slew of conventionally attractive women, having a bunch of kids -- and not only did it never resolve the underlying problem of gender identity dysphoria, but also brought a bunch of kids into the mix who would have a dysfunctional relationship with their father who was too obsessed with her own issues to be there for them. Maybe Jenner's conservatism will help show other conservatives that gender identity problems aren't something one can choose and that it can happen to anyone.

[PennySycamore]

I think a better trans woman to honor might have been Abby Stein.  I can't imagine what her struggle as a transgender person growing up Hasidic was:

 http://www.kveller.com/this-woman-left-hasidism-so-she-could-become-a-woman/