Caitlyn Jenner Apologizes For "Man In A Dress" Remark. But Is She Sorry?
Love her, hate her or just prone to clicking on headlines with her name, Caitlyn Jenner – and the media circus relentlessly surrounding her – remains one of the most talked about figures in the media.
Her visibility and panache for public speaking have made her an instant advocate for the transgender community, despite embracing her presence within said community mere months ago.
Still – and Caitlyn will be the first to admit this – she has much to learn when it comes to the nuance and care that must be considered when speaking on behalf of an entire group, especially one afforded so few opportunities to ignite a conversation about themselves outside of their otherness.
Caitlyn recently secured the seventh spot on the TIME Person of the Year shortlist. The profile of Caitlyn successfully focused on the other banner achievements behind the trans movement such as the the Secretary of Defense calling the ban on transgender people’s open military service “outdated” and directing that the policy be reviewed or that a measure to add nondiscrimination protections for LGBT people to the Civil Rights Act was introduced in Congress with nearly 200 co-sponsors.
Caitlyn's win felt like a win for the trans community, until one glaring quote began making headlines.
“One thing that has always been important for me, and it may seem very self-absorbed or whatever, is . . . your presentation of who you are,” Jenner said. “I think it’s much easier for a trans woman or a trans man who authentically, kind of, looks and plays the role... I try to take [my presentation] seriously. I think it puts people at ease. If you’re out there and, to be honest with you, if you look like a man in a dress, it makes people uncomfortable.”
The backlash was swift and impassioned, with some comparing Caitlyn to Donald Trump.
But what is Caitlyn's journey if not just that, a journey, and one in which she will undoubtedly falter.
In a new op-ed for WhoSay written by Caitlyn, she sets the record straight, admitting that there's still so much to learn. "I think I caused a lot of hurt with this comment, and I'm truly sorry," she says.
She continues:
What I was trying to say is that our world really is still a binary one, and that people who look "visibly transgender" sometimes can struggle for acceptance and may be treated poorly by others. And while this may be true, it's also something that needs to change.
Some people look gender non-conforming because they want to look that way - they don't want to conform to society's expectations. Those people have every right to look and present exactly as they choose. And then there are other people who don't have the resources to access the medical procedures that would help them look the way they would like to look. Procedures, incidentally, that most health insurance plans refuse to cover. All of these people are my brothers and my sisters, and I am fighting alongside them, too.
My comments probably made it seem like all I care about is fashion, or makeup or appearance. I can tell you I really enjoy all of that – it's who I am. It's the world I come from, and as a person in the media I have certain expectations for myself. But I am only one person. There are a lot of ways of being trans. And I want to help create a world in which people are able to express their gender in any way that is true and authentic for them. And most importantly – a world in which how a trans person is treated isn't dependent on how they look.
It takes courage to admit ones failure, so its important to recognize Caitlyn's effort do better. Nonetheless, an off-color quote in TIME's Person of the Year profile will circulate far wider than any apology. Perhaps had Caitlyn considered her words more carefully, thought outside her own arguably limited experiences as a trans woman, she might have caught her words before uttering them.
She ends the op-ed by saying that she promises "to keep learning, and to try to be more articulate in the future," adding that "we have a lot of hard work to do," work that she is looking forward to doing together.
But the question for many remains: Heartfelt sentiment or does the community deserve a more considerate voice?
