Call Me Caitlyn: Article Analysis

“Call Me Caitlyn” Beneficial or Detrimental to the Transgender Community

The July 2015 issue of Vanity Fair contains an article titled “Call Me Caitlyn.” The article is about Bruce Jenner’s lifelong struggle with gender dysphoria, and his transition from male to female. The author Buss Bissinger spent three months with Jenner leading up to the Vanity Fair photo shoot. Bissinger begins the article by describing how the paparazzi endlessly stocked Jenner while she was having multiple surgeries to look more feminine. He then explains how Bruce Jenner won a gold medal in the 1976 Olympic decathlon. The article also describes how Jenner had begun to transition back in the 80’s, but ultimately decided to stop transitioning when the media started

The transgender community has had very little media coverage on their issues, that is until Bruce Jenner suddenly made his gender identity public. That is one reason why young people with gender dysphoria may resent Jenner. They may have questions like, why is this issue only a big deal now because a wealthy well-known celebrity is dealing with it, or they may have concerns about the ways in which Jenner is portraying transgender women and the avenues she is using to present her story to society. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, Vanity Fair “…has earned a reputation for lively writing, in-depth reporting, and insightful social commentary,” but that it also has “[a] predominately female readership…” (par. 4). So while the magazine in which Jenner’s “coming out” article is published seems reputable, the audience is somewhat limited. Which means that even though most people are aware of the article, a much smaller few have actually read it. Although, the channel that Jenner used to first make her story public did not negatively impact the transgender community it may not have been the best choice in terms of audience reach. It may seem unfair that American society only takes a major interest in issues when it is thrown in their faces by Hollywood and the media, but Jenner cannot

Until Laverne Cox from Orange is the New Black came on the scene, there has never been a transgender celebrity in mainstream Hollywood. There definitely has never been a big time celebrity go through a gender change right before the eyes of the United States. A country that has a vast amount of differing viewpoints. If nothing else, this article has got people talking about gender issues, and while that may be a good thing it has created a lot of tension between friends and family members who have always avoided the issue but can no longer escape it. A few heated arguments between friends doesn’t seem all that problematic, but sadly this is not the only effect of the ever growing tension surrounding issues of gender. In an article titled, “Why Transgender People Are Being Murdered at a Historic Rate” written by Katy Steinmetz for Time Magazine, she claims “[t]ransgender people are four times more likely than the general population to report living in extreme poverty” and that “[n]early 80% of transgender people report experiencing harassment at school when they were young” (par. 8). Steinmetz also says, “While images of Caitlyn Jenner receiving a standing ovation