Fun fact: Caitlyn Jenner went to my college. Yes, at the time it was Bruce that was here, but now Bruce is Caitlyn. Yes, our athletic complex is still named the "Bruce Jenner Athletic Complex," but that's because it was Bruce that went here. Another fun fact: Caitlyn Jenner visited my college this past November. In fact, she filmed an episode for season two of her show, "I Am Cait."
There were rumors going around for about a week that Caitlyn was coming to town, but no one thought there was any truth to it. We were told that on November 17, a Tuesday, there would be a presentation on gender and identity, and that we should go. The professor of my freshmen class was even giving class credit to go. It wasn't announced until 30 minutes before that Caitlyn would be speaking at this event, but by that time, everybody already knew because she was spotted on campus a few hours earlier and word spread fast.
The whole thing was a publicity stunt for Caitlyn. When I first realized that she was only back to her alma mater for her TV show, I was annoyed. You should've seen the line to get in. Yes, I was in line with everybody else but I was genuinely interested in what was going to be said, and I was getting class attendance for it. Our huge theater seats eventually ran out so people couldn't sit, and I go to a small school, so that's a lot of people to show up at once. I got a seat with one of my friends, though, and eventually Caitlyn and the rest of the girls touring with her came out onto the stage, along with students from my school who were on the panel to ask questions to the girls.
As I was sitting there listening to the different girls speak, I was still annoyed that this was all for a TV show. I was annoyed that we all fell into the trap to help with TV ratings. At some point during the time, though, I looked in front of me and saw a row of guys that I don't normally see at school events. Then it hit me. I realized that all of this was a publicity stunt, but that it was OK because of people like these guys in front of me.
Gender and identity have been a hot topic in our society for awhile now. But there are still people who don't know about it, and if people don't know about it, the stigma and "negativity" around it won't disappear until people are exposed to it and talk about it. Nothing will ever change in this world if there aren't people talking about it.
So these guys in front of me were obviously only there because it was Caitlyn Jenner and she is a celebrity, and it's pretty awesome to see a celebrity, especially when you're in small town Iowa. But it was OK that people like them were there because of the publicity stunt, because they were being exposed to this topic. I have been very familiar with these sorts of topics in my life, but I realized that not everyone grew up in the environment like I did. Not everyone had the friends that I did where these such topics were common conversations for us. The publicity was OK because it exposed this topic and issue to people who may not have gotten exposed to it otherwise. And that is how change is made in our society. When people start talking about things.
So if you're interested in watching the episode, it is actually airing on Sunday, March 27. (There is also a chance you could see me because I had to sign a release form saying it was OK for me to be on TV.)
