Dear Misunderstood,
Caitlyn Jenner, formerly known as Bruce Jenner, won Glamour Magazine's Woman of the Year award. You're upset. Caitlyn was a man for over 65 years. She didn't get her period in 7th grade during gym class. She didn't have those awkward years of stuffing her training bra before puberty kicked in. She never carried the weight of a child growing inside her. She never had the responsibility of birthing that child. She never fought breast cancer, enduring months upon months of chemo and radiation. She never joined the army and she never saved lives over seas. So you're upset that she received this award anyway.
You're misunderstood though. You don't understand her. You don't understand the agony she's endured her entire life on the inside. You don't understand the never-completely-satisfied taste in her mouth even after winning olympic medals in the men's olympics.
You see a man dressing in women's clothing on the cover of magazines, winning awards created for women. It's confusing, it's difficult to understand, and it's very hard to be supportive of. There are women enduring hardships all over the world. There are women saving lives all over the world. There are women who are seemingly more deserving of this award than Ms. Jenner. And I'm so sorry that you can't understand how wrong you are.
While I agree there are hundreds of thousands of brave women out there, extremely deserving of an award for the things they've done and the misfortune they've been through, I'm afraid I can't agree that this does not include Caitlyn Jenner.
I'm sorry you've never had to live your entire life wondering why you were given the wrong body. I'm sorry you've never been so under pressure to fit society's mold of what you're supposed to be that you couldn't be yourself for your entire life. I'm sorry you never had to tell your family on national TV that you were going to transition into a woman and hope that they still accept you as their family member. I'm sorry you've never been in the public eye, forced to listen to the scrutiny because of your choices. I'm sorry you've never made the decision to be truly happy, only to receive backlash from millions of people who don't understand you. I'm sorry you've never been anything besides exactly what society says you should be. Because you've never had to do any of these things, you now cannot understand why Caitlyn Jenner deserves an award.
You can't see how her choice to be her true self in front of the entire world is courageous. You can't see her as a role model because you don't understand those that look up to her. You can't agree that she should be a woman of the year because she didn't get to be a woman for her first 65 years on Earth.
However, your persecution only makes her more deserving. She walks with her head high, even when you try with everything you're made of to beat her down. She stands by her decision to show her true colors, even when you disagree. She is a voice for all who struggle with their identity, even when you try to keep her quiet.
I did some research for you, to at least try to help you understand. Almost half of the world's transgender population attempts suicide. That's 41% of people who attempt to live their life the way they feel it was meant to be lived, and then attempt to end their life because they are never accepted.
Society is an unacknowledged war zone. Acceptance is a luxury many never get the chance to enjoy. Acceptance is the unspoken goal of virtually all humans. We strive to fit into the cookie cutter shapes that our own society has created. A man who provides, a woman who cares for her children, a man who is masculine, a woman who is feminine. The shapes are constantly changing and evolving. We now have strong women who do men's jobs and loving men who stay at home with the kids. But we are still, always trying to fit. When we don't fit, it's hard to gain acceptance. When we aren't accepted we feel alone. When we feel alone we crave affection. When we can't get any, we feel hopeless.
Caitlyn is someone who stands up for what they believe in. Someone who helps others who struggle to fit in to society. Someone who tolerates your ignorance in hopes that someday, people like her will finally be recognized as normal. She lives in a world full of people fighting against her, to fight for those who understand her.
I'm sorry that you can't see her as a hero. I'm sorry you can't agree that she deserves the award she received. I'm sorry you can't put her in the same category as a woman who saved lives over seas just because we can't put a number on the lives she has saved by telling them it's ok to be themselves.
I hope someday you have a change of heart. I hope someday, even if you don't have a change of heart, that you don't feel it necessary to say unkind things about Caitlyn Jenner in an attempt to bring her down. I hope someday you can understand why she's awesome.
Sincerely,
Open Mind
