There was a great deal of controversy and debate surrounding the recipient of the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at last night's annual ESPY awards ceremony, as former Olympic champion Bruce Jenner was presented this award for coming out as a woman, Caitlyn Jenner. Regardless of whether a person believes someone other than the former decathlon champion should have received the award or questions her true intent of coming out as Caitlyn Jenner, there can be no denying that Ms. Jenner's speech was a very important, timely, and powerful one.
Caitlyn Jenner's speech largely centered around her struggles in coming forward as her true self, fearful of her family's reaction, and building off that to illustrate the larger problem in the transgender community. In a very emotional end to the speech, she thanked those closest to her for their love and support, said some transgender individuals aren't so fortunate, and wind up being beaten, killed, or killing themselves due to their identity, before declaring that they're people too and deserve our respect. (You can go to this link to see the entire speech - http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/caitlyn-jenner-preaches-acceptance-emotional-espys-award-speech/story?id=32479971)
While the LGBT community has made significant strides in attaining equal rights in this country over the past few years, the T (transgender) in that community appears to lag behind the L, G, and B more times than not when it comes to equal rights, protections, understanding, and respect. In fact, John Oliver spoke about just this on his show, Last Week Tonight, not long ago, which can be viewed here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmoAX9f6MOc. I think the main reason for this is a lack of knowledge, understanding, and emotional ties for many Americans with regard to the transgender community (of which they're aware...), similar to how things were with the LGB communities 15-20+ years ago. It was far easier for people to adamantly oppose homosexuality when they weren't cognizant that someone close to them was in fact gay. It was far easier for people to adamantly oppose gay marriage before science started showing trends that homosexuality was inborn and before an increasing number of theologians began to alter their views on the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah, from that of homosexuality to inhospitality. The more people came out, the more those around them had to reflect on their beliefs and ultimately decide whether it was more important to be stubborn about their past beliefs and push their friend or family member away, or to push those old beliefs to the side and love the person just as much as they always did. While this wasn't always the case, more appeared to go with the latter as opposed to the former option. After these trends started taking place, amazingly, the public began to reverse its viewpoints on homosexuality, to the point where the Supreme Court has made it legal for gay and lesbian couples to marry nationwide, and approximately 60% of the public (and growing) agree with the ruling.
Unfortunately, these significant strides in the LGB communities haven't been felt to quite such a great extent in the transgender community, which is why I think Caitlyn Jenner's speech was so important last night. While most everyone in this country seems to now know at least one gay or lesbian individual, that isn't the case when it comes to transgenders, which has resulted in many of us, myself included to a certain extent, being rather ignorant on the subject. So, while most of us may not know Caitlyn Jenner personally, I think her journey and her words are an important first step to help many people start to understand and accept transgenders as people, and to fight for their rights. Slowly but surely, an increasing number of transgenders will come forward, and like with the LGB communities, acceptance of them will start increasing as a result. Like I said regarding homosexuals, it's a whole lot easier for a person to adamantly oppose transgenders when they're not aware that someone close to them is in fact transgender. It's easy to despise a seemingly fictional character, and much more difficult to do so when that invisible being comes to life, is directly in front of you, has known you for years, and is asking for acceptance.
In closing, I was very fortunate 15 years ago when one of my best friends came out to me. I really hadn't thought much about the LGBT community until that time. I was just getting out of high school, and simply focusing on college life, as well as my health struggles. Right after my friend came out to me, he asked, "Do you have any questions?" I was hesitant, as I didn't want to make him uncomfortable, yet since he was the first person to come out to me and being the thinker (over-analyzer) that I am, I definitely had some questions. I didn't have many, but he reassured me I need not be tentative, answered my questions, and then we just went on talking about other things like it was just a regular old conversation. Understandably so, many in the LGBT community don't like to constantly be asked questions about their orientation or identity. I admit, if I were gay or transgender, I'd probably get fed up with it too after a short while. However, in being a curious and progressive straight man (who studied psychology in college no less), I enjoy talking to and trying to understand people the best I can. It's one reason why I'm so fascinated with other cultures, philosophies, and religions. I just enjoy expanding my horizons and attempting to garner a better understanding of people whom may have grown up in a different country or culture than I did, have far different religious views than I, etc. After my friend came out to me 15 years ago, I can't tell you how many others have done the same, and I never feel any need to ask them questions, such as, "When did you know?" or anything like that. Fifteen years ago, my friend was incredibly open and honest with me, and from that point forward, I went from fairly indifferent with regard to LGBT rights (politics in general) to an ardent fighter for them attaining equal rights. I've only met one transgender individual to this point, however, so like I was at first when my friend came out to me over a decade ago, I may be tentative at first when speaking to such a person about touchy topics like their identity, as I won't want to offend them any. Fortunately, for myself and any other individuals who may feel similarly, I stumbled across a site which provides excellent advice on the matter. It's entitled, "How To Ask A Trans Person Questions Without Being Insensitive About It," and can be viewed here -
http://freethoughtblogs.com/nataliereed/2012/02/03/how-to-ask-a-trans-person-questions-without-being-insensitive-about-it/
Our fight may have resulted in gay and lesbian couples being legally allowed to marry nationwide, but we still have a long way to go until they have fully equal rights across this nation, and transgenders have an even longer way to go. So, now's not the time to put our gloves down. As Caitlyn Jenner contended, gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgenders are all human beings, deserve equal rights, and deserve our respect. Until that's achieved, the fight's not over.
Caitlyn Jenner's speech largely centered around her struggles in coming forward as her true self, fearful of her family's reaction, and building off that to illustrate the larger problem in the transgender community. In a very emotional end to the speech, she thanked those closest to her for their love and support, said some transgender individuals aren't so fortunate, and wind up being beaten, killed, or killing themselves due to their identity, before declaring that they're people too and deserve our respect. (You can go to this link to see the entire speech - http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/caitlyn-jenner-preaches-acceptance-emotional-espys-award-speech/story?id=32479971)
While the LGBT community has made significant strides in attaining equal rights in this country over the past few years, the T (transgender) in that community appears to lag behind the L, G, and B more times than not when it comes to equal rights, protections, understanding, and respect. In fact, John Oliver spoke about just this on his show, Last Week Tonight, not long ago, which can be viewed here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmoAX9f6MOc. I think the main reason for this is a lack of knowledge, understanding, and emotional ties for many Americans with regard to the transgender community (of which they're aware...), similar to how things were with the LGB communities 15-20+ years ago. It was far easier for people to adamantly oppose homosexuality when they weren't cognizant that someone close to them was in fact gay. It was far easier for people to adamantly oppose gay marriage before science started showing trends that homosexuality was inborn and before an increasing number of theologians began to alter their views on the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah, from that of homosexuality to inhospitality. The more people came out, the more those around them had to reflect on their beliefs and ultimately decide whether it was more important to be stubborn about their past beliefs and push their friend or family member away, or to push those old beliefs to the side and love the person just as much as they always did. While this wasn't always the case, more appeared to go with the latter as opposed to the former option. After these trends started taking place, amazingly, the public began to reverse its viewpoints on homosexuality, to the point where the Supreme Court has made it legal for gay and lesbian couples to marry nationwide, and approximately 60% of the public (and growing) agree with the ruling.
Unfortunately, these significant strides in the LGB communities haven't been felt to quite such a great extent in the transgender community, which is why I think Caitlyn Jenner's speech was so important last night. While most everyone in this country seems to now know at least one gay or lesbian individual, that isn't the case when it comes to transgenders, which has resulted in many of us, myself included to a certain extent, being rather ignorant on the subject. So, while most of us may not know Caitlyn Jenner personally, I think her journey and her words are an important first step to help many people start to understand and accept transgenders as people, and to fight for their rights. Slowly but surely, an increasing number of transgenders will come forward, and like with the LGB communities, acceptance of them will start increasing as a result. Like I said regarding homosexuals, it's a whole lot easier for a person to adamantly oppose transgenders when they're not aware that someone close to them is in fact transgender. It's easy to despise a seemingly fictional character, and much more difficult to do so when that invisible being comes to life, is directly in front of you, has known you for years, and is asking for acceptance.
In closing, I was very fortunate 15 years ago when one of my best friends came out to me. I really hadn't thought much about the LGBT community until that time. I was just getting out of high school, and simply focusing on college life, as well as my health struggles. Right after my friend came out to me, he asked, "Do you have any questions?" I was hesitant, as I didn't want to make him uncomfortable, yet since he was the first person to come out to me and being the thinker (over-analyzer) that I am, I definitely had some questions. I didn't have many, but he reassured me I need not be tentative, answered my questions, and then we just went on talking about other things like it was just a regular old conversation. Understandably so, many in the LGBT community don't like to constantly be asked questions about their orientation or identity. I admit, if I were gay or transgender, I'd probably get fed up with it too after a short while. However, in being a curious and progressive straight man (who studied psychology in college no less), I enjoy talking to and trying to understand people the best I can. It's one reason why I'm so fascinated with other cultures, philosophies, and religions. I just enjoy expanding my horizons and attempting to garner a better understanding of people whom may have grown up in a different country or culture than I did, have far different religious views than I, etc. After my friend came out to me 15 years ago, I can't tell you how many others have done the same, and I never feel any need to ask them questions, such as, "When did you know?" or anything like that. Fifteen years ago, my friend was incredibly open and honest with me, and from that point forward, I went from fairly indifferent with regard to LGBT rights (politics in general) to an ardent fighter for them attaining equal rights. I've only met one transgender individual to this point, however, so like I was at first when my friend came out to me over a decade ago, I may be tentative at first when speaking to such a person about touchy topics like their identity, as I won't want to offend them any. Fortunately, for myself and any other individuals who may feel similarly, I stumbled across a site which provides excellent advice on the matter. It's entitled, "How To Ask A Trans Person Questions Without Being Insensitive About It," and can be viewed here -
http://freethoughtblogs.com/nataliereed/2012/02/03/how-to-ask-a-trans-person-questions-without-being-insensitive-about-it/
Our fight may have resulted in gay and lesbian couples being legally allowed to marry nationwide, but we still have a long way to go until they have fully equal rights across this nation, and transgenders have an even longer way to go. So, now's not the time to put our gloves down. As Caitlyn Jenner contended, gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgenders are all human beings, deserve equal rights, and deserve our respect. Until that's achieved, the fight's not over.
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