The Instant Media Phenomenon That is Caitlyn Jenner

The Vanity Fair cover Her upcoming appearance on the ESPYs Her soon to debut observational reality series amp8220I Am Caitamp8221 on E Her recordbreaking Twitter launch Prime real estate in hundreds of newspapers magazines and Web sites And so much more to comeIn many ways this is cause for celebration Caitlyn has been warmly welcomed by and is on the receiving end of much love and support by millions Condemnations by quothatersquot the likes of which were everywhere when transgender trailblazers Christine Jorgensen Renee Richards and Chaz Bono among others went public amp8211 have been largely suppressed or rendered irrelevantThis is a historic time for the transgender community and for transgender TV Caitlyn39s story has fueled renewed interest in E39s aging quotKeeping Up with the Karadashiansquot and generatedamp160strong ratings for repeat viewings of the network39s documentary special quotAbout Brucequot Netflix39s hugely successfulamp160drama quotOrange is the New Blackquot has made a star of transgender actress Laverne Coxamp160The groundbreaking Amazon series amp8220Transparentamp8221 continues to be honored most recently with Critics Choice Television Awards for stars Jeffrey Tambor and Bradley Whitford I was seated at the table next to theirs at the awards and I can report that while the entire event was very much a festive celebration of the best of television the response to all things amp8220Transparentamp8221 from guests in the International Ballroom at the Beverly Hilton was especially joyousamp160And over at CBSamp8217 amp8220The Bold and the Beautifulamp8221 the love story of Rick and Maya amp8211 he the swaggering womanizing top executive at the highend fashion company around which most storylines revolve she the lovely transgender model who captured Rickamp8217s heart before revealing the details of her past amp8211 continues to inform enlighten and entertain Rick for years a romantic cad and a veteran of many failed relationships surprisingly responded to Mayaamp8217s revelation by admitting that he too had not been fully open and honest in his adult life about deeply personal matters and by further committing himself to herRegarding the story of Bruce Jenner and Caitlyn Jenner I think it is perfectly natural for the response at large to be mixed and I am troubled by the fact that Caitlynamp8217s supporters are acting so judgmental toward people who are having difficulty accepting itamp160or simply misspeaking when reacting to it People who need time to process her story or are simply full of questions of their own are being made by the media social and otherwise to feel like outcasts themselves I have heard it said more than once in recent days that people are afraid to speak their minds about Caitlyn for fear of the response These people arenamp8217t necessarilyamp160amp8220hatersamp8221 They are simply responding to something about which they have little understanding Making them feel inferior amp8211 asserting that their opinions and questions are without value amp8211 is not a good thing This is a teachable time for us allIndeed Iamp8217m a bit on edge while writing this story after receiving the wellintentioned email earlier this week from GLAAD with very lengthy and detailed guidelines and instructions on what terms to use and not use and what to say and not say when writing about Bruce and Caitlyn Iamp8217m concerned that I am going to say something unforgivable without meaning to do so and that I will be condemned for it not necessarily by GLAAD but by social media reactionaries So understand that I fully support the transgender community even if I have yet to confidently master the correct terminology I have been told to adhere to when discussing any aspect of itGetting back to the heart of the matter the idea of anyone condemning what Bruce did andor what Caitlyn is doing is absolutely disgraceful But everyone is different and everyone should be given the opportunity to process something like this at their own pace That doesnamp8217t give them the right to be hateful only to comfortably express their concerns and confusion in a civilized manner Itamp8217s as if the media again social and otherwise expects everybody everywhere amp8211 including people who likely gave transgender individuals little thought until very recently to flip a switch and be good to go Many of us can indeed flip that switch But we all need to remember that we are not all the same and it would be wise to allow everyone whatever time is necessary to understand it all without feeling pressuredOne aspect of this story that troubles me is the message that we are all supposed to marginalize or forget about Bruce and focus exclusively on Caitlyn Should we pretend Bruce never existed He was a source of great inspiration and a role model to millions of people at least in the Seventies and he has been a popular media personality for decades mostly by his own designIn the E documentary amp8220About Bruceamp8221 filmed before anyone had met Caitlyn including Bruceamp8217s family and which I watched after Caitlyn was introduced to the world on the cover of Vanity Fair we learned that the person having the most trouble with all of this was Bruceamp8217s wife Kris Believe me I do not lie awake nights worrying about the wellbeing of any of the Kardashians but I felt bad for her after Bruce sat her down to fully discuss the changes he was making in his life Although he was emotional he didnamp8217t seem especially sympathetic to the fact that Kris was finding it difficult to process what was happening and to evaluate what his openness revealed about their long seemingly happy and very public marriageWhen Bruce admitted amp8220For the first time in my life Iamp8217m trying to tell the truthamp8221 he added amp8220Youamp8217re the toughest one to talk toamp8221amp8220Maybe because Iamp8217m the one you lied to the longestamp8221 Kris replied unable to hide how much she was hurtingamp8220Your truth isnamp8217t always the truthamp8221 she later said When the conversation ended Bruce left the room in a cheerful upbeat way while Kris remained at the kitchen table sobbing and plainly heartbrokenLook I donamp8217t know if the content of Kardashian programming on E is real or not This form of observational reality so ubiquitous on E Bravo AampampE and elsewhere is certainly suspect and many of us have heard stories from the inside about how amp8220fakeamp8221 so much of it is But if that sequence between Kris and Bruce wasnamp8217t totally authentic amp8211 and Iamp8217ll admit that I believe it was then I think whoever fabricated it deserves special praise while Kris ought to be nominated for some kind of acting awardWhen Kris quietly said amp8220I miss Bruceamp8221 I couldnamp8217t help but think that many other people are going to miss him too Those people may not be among his family or friends but they have supported him since his legendary triumph at the 1976 Summer Olympic Games and through many of his undertakings since that time They have also helped to make him quite wealthy along the way Surely everyone should support Caitlyn and everything that she represents But is it right to ignore or push aside the passing of a man if thatamp8217s what this is who meant so much for so many of usGLAAD39s helpful guidelines aside there is no universal guidebook for this History is being made and it is important to be on the right side of it People need to support each other in every facet of this experienceAs Jenneramp8217s stepdaughter Khloe confessed in amp8220About Bruceamp8221 amp8220I have to transition myselfamp8221 It may have been the wisest and most telling comment ever heard on any of the Kardashian programsThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Media Village management or associated bloggers

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The Instant Media Phenomenon That is Caitlyn Jenner

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Ed Martin

FEMA and the Ad Council Encourage AANHPI Communities to Enhance Disaster Preparedness in New PSAs - Ad Council InSites

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The Instant Media Phenomenon That is Caitlyn Jenner

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