I thought this post would be appropriate because of the general topic being very popular especially in this class about Bruce Jenners transition. June 1st, Bruce made the official transition into the public as Caitlyn Jenner, from here out I will refer to her in feminine pronouns.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjfKWoksmlk[/youtube]
With all of the pre-caitlyn news, you could say it was hard to believe, however after seeing Caitlyn with all her gorgeous-ness, it truely was breathtaking and moving. A quick glance at the photos and one gets the sense of “she was meant to be she”.
In this article on CNN, I found an interesting statement (not to steer away from Caitlyn):
“Indeed, most stories about the cover photo could not help but include glowing reports of Jenner’s white, satiny corset and long, brunette locks. But, then, I guess, what else is new when it comes to media representations of women. It’s all about what she’s wearing and how good her skin looks, isn’t it?”
What I found interesting was that transgendered females and females in general are still facing the sexualization of females, even Caitlyn Jenner. Why is this?
Welcome to the World, Caitlyn Jenner!
Hey Madeline! One of my favorite guilty pleasures is watching Keeping Up With The Kardashians. I have been an avid watcher since the show first premiered. When Caitlyn told the world that she had always wanted to be a woman I was surprised but thrilled for her as well. I never saw it coming until I watched a few episodes of her new show I am Cait and everything began to click. One episode I remember from KUWTK was when Kim wanted Bruce to cut his hair off for her wedding and he started crying. No one knew why, and thought that his long hair was him going through a mid life crisis, but I was really him wanting to feel feminine. I thought it was interesting you talked about how the media sexualizes women, even transgendered women. I remember when Caitlyn’s Vanity Fair cover came out people mainly focused on the way she looked not her journey and all the struggles she went through as a man.
I found this blog post interesting since I had just listened to speech in class on transgenders. What I found interesting in your post was that you focused on the sexualization of females as a whole, even transgendered, instead of focussing on Cait’s process of fully becoming a she. This reminded me of the Q&A during the speech in class when a classmate was curious if a transgendered female understood the struggle of being a woman. I think this post proves more that they do understand somewhat of what we go through.
Madeline, I have had plenty of conversations about Bruce Jenner’s new found identity. Maybe I should be more politically correct and use her actual name which is “Caitlyn Jenner”. Don’t get me wrong, I am not against those who prefer to be transsexual. I just think that with her new image, I don’t think she has realized what effects she has on people. However, she may not see the effects of what she is doing for herself as a women in today’s society. Its’ not just about being transsexual anymore. You’re a full fledge “women”.
I do agree that this cover of Caitlyn in the Vanity Fair Magazine is still showing how females are still facing sexual stereotypes. In order to be pretty and loved, you have to wear the right outfit and have the right look. In the Vanity Fair cover, they portrayed Caitlyn as “a sexy new women” however is that what “we” women want to be known for. As a women, I am in agreement with showing off our bodies in nice classy but tasteful way but this cover does not show the “Caitlyn” that I was expecting to come out. This cover depicts how women have to prove how beautiful they are by wearing a corset and nothing else. This just proves that “Caitlyn” has yet to understand the troubles that come with being a women. It is better to be a tasteful rather than distasteful women.
Hey Madeline! I think that you chose a great topic to discuss to put on the Gender Watch Blog since Bruces transformation into Caitlyn Jenner was becoming the hot topic to talk about throughout social media. Taking the Gender Communication course this semester and constantly discussing gender norms and the acceptance of one another has really put a lot in perspective for me. I think that their are many different ways a person can view this topic.
Yes, I do believe that it is awesome that Bruce has finally been able to open up as the person he believes he always has been, but I do believe that the media is portraying this to be more of a “heroic” action that Caitlyn has done due to being a celebrity figure. Many people go through these struggles trying to figure out themselves every day but with this being Caitlyn Jenner, it comes off through the media that this is such a rare transformation though people are transforming themselves every day. A positive towards her opening up in the media is that many people who face this same struggle may feel more comfortable coming out as trans-gendered. This story outbreak may be the beginning of positive change where people can finally accept themselves for who they are. The only reservation I have with this story is that I felt social media was only covering this topic and forgetting the other important issues occurring within our society.
Now, I do not want you to think by any means I don’t think we should be proud of Caitlyns courage because I am happy to watch Caitlyn begin her life the way she has been imagining it for such a long time. I do on the other hand want people to remember that sometimes I think us social media users get caught up in media gossip and stories and forget about other important topics occurring. I am excited to see where her journey takes her and I think you expressed your opinion well in your post!
The title of this article was what first caught my attention. The whole Caitlyn Jenner situation causes a lot of talk and uproar amongst our society. I honestly do not know what to think or believe when it comes to Bruce “Caitlyn” Jenner. This article is very relevant in our course because we just started talking about how gender ideals vary throughout people. With this topic of conversation, Caitlyn Jenner, many people have many different opinions. Gender is changing ever so quickly in this world.
It amazes me that the nation made this a hot topic to talk non stop about and flood the media with. Meanwhile, a lot more important serious issues are happening throughout our country and the world at this same time. Anyways, going back to Caitlyn. I think it is so interesting that all “her” life she was this macho man, athlete, man’s man, and then all of a sudden, bam! , she’s this girly, stiletto wearing woman. Of course, there is nothing wrong with this AT ALL. However, it is just something that is hard to grasp to this day. It is crazy to think that “her” whole life she felt like a woman inside, and had to hide it for decades. I agree, she is courageous for making the transition and coming out. You can never fully understand how one is feeling or what one is going through unless you are going through it too. However, I do not agree that she should have stayed on the headlines for as long as she did and win the Arthur Ashe Courage Award. Going off about your comment about how Caitlyn is already experiencing that sexualization of females, that is very interesting. Even after making her transition very public, and seeing her physical appearance going from Bruce to Caitlyn, people are still sexually commenting about her is very….interesting. That was a good detail to add to your post that most people wouldn’t know about!
Hi Madeline,
I’m glad you posted this because, as you say, it has become a very popular topic these days. I first found out about Bruce’s physical transformation (to Caitlyn) when I saw Ellen DeGeneres’ post on Instagram, where she praised Caitlyn for being so brave for taking her decision. I knew that these news would generate all sorts of comments; some supporting Caitlyn and welcoming her, while other comments would probably be very negative about this. One thing that surprised me though, was that some people would already start making sexual comments about Caitlyn’s body, as I saw in some comments. So I started to wonder, does this problem comes automatically because she is now a woman?
In Chapter 11 of our textbook, Dr. Wood talks about how the media portrays women stereotypically; she said that “the most traditional stereotype of women is sex object.” This means that even before associating a woman as “delicate” or with being a mother, looking at them as sexual comes first. This is a sad fact but at the same time we should expect it from the society we live in. Just look at some controversial ads or at how some female models tend to pose with men models nowadays. We need to do something to change this.
Madeline, I have actually been thinking about this a lot over the last few days because of this class. I think that everything about her is beautiful and we know about the struggles that they go through on a day-to-day basis. There are a lot of people calling her brave and heroic, which I do agree with especially because of the situation she is in with her family being such a huge part of the media and constantly under the microscope. It’s a different experience for everyone and her circumstances bring different challenges than other people’s. That being said, I was thinking about it today and how much people are focusing on her looks and the visual aspect of her and how that correlates with the fact that people are calling her brave. Outside of the makeup and glitz and glamour, I think that the people that are opposed to her being called brave aren’t looking at the big picture. Not only did she transition, but she is now a woman and we have discussed the struggles that we deal with regularly. So not only is she brave for physically going through it, I believe she is brave for taking on all the potential emotional things as well.
Madeline, I have also been closely following the story of Jenner’s transition. I think what she is doing is great, and it is extremely interesting to me because of what we are learning throughout class. While watching E!News the other night they were talking about how a lot of the coverage that Caitlyn Jenner was receiving was based on what the wardrobe for her shoot was, rather than the fact that she even transitioned. I think that this is because mass media causes us to focus strongly on gendered violence, and gender-shamming. We are constantly judging people based on their personal image, rather than paying attention to the bigger picture. You did a create job on calling out the fact that the media has been guilty of doing this recently. I can’t wait to see what is next in Caitlyn Jenner’s life, and what her mini-documentary series will tell society about what she has faced throughout her transition.
I think Jenner’s transformation is amazing. I’m glad she is being brave and meeting her desires. I’ve always believed you have to make yourself happy first before anyone else and I think that what Jenner has done regardless of the media and people who don’t agree with her transition. Women and transgender women are going to be sexualized regardless of any situation/case because they are still women and in today’s media, women are labeled mainly as sex objects. I also saw a “meme” that was interesting. It had a picture of Jenner and his ex-wife and it said something along the lines of, “This is what it looks like when your ex-husband is prettier than you.” Looks/physical appearance will also come into play with females and the media.