On Oct. 22, following her 66th birthday, Caitlyn Jenner was announced as one of Glamour Magazine's "Women of the Year." Jenner will be featured on the magazine’s cover in December, along with Reese Witherspoon. In many ways, Glamour’s choice of naming a transgender woman “Woman of the Year” is in line with the recent public advocacy for LGBT issues, as well as ideas of acceptance and visibility of the transgender community. However, while Caitlyn Jenner does provide visibility for the trans community, there is an important question the public should be asking: Is she the best candidate for representing this community?
When Jenner was awarded the Arthur Ashe Courage Award in July, there was uproar similar to the reaction invoked the Glamour announcement. The public’s most-used argument against honoring Jenner was that Jenner’s courage was not valid. She didn’t embody the typical forms of courage, such as fighting in a war or overcoming a physical disability. Although courage is subjective and it is impossible to measure different forms of courage against each other, the public’s attempt to do so allowed them to dismiss Jenner’s struggles with gender identity.
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Similarly, in this case, the emerging viewpoint is that naming a transgender woman “Woman of the Year” is an affront to women. This idea stems from the fact that many people do not accept Jenner as a “real woman.” This viewpoint demonstrates the need for transgender representation in the media. In order for transgender women and men to gain acceptance in society, it is vital that their gender identities are respected. Refusal to acknowledge a person’s preferred gender identity or to use preferred pronouns is commonplace in the stigma that transgender people face. In awarding Jenner, it allows for these issues to be brought to the public’s attention.
The issue with naming Jenner “Woman of the Year,” does not lie in the fact that she is transgender, but rather in the qualities that she lacks as a voice for the LGBT community. In September, Jenner made statements that she does not support gay marriage. "I'm a traditionalist. I'm older than most people in the audience. I kind of like tradition, and it's always been a man and a woman. I'm thinking, 'I don't quite get it,'” Jenner said in an interview on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show."
Just weeks after her appearance on "Ellen," she backtracked on her stance. "Like many people, there was a time when I didn't realize how important it is for gay couples to have the right to get married. But after hearing from my gay friends and learning more about the hardships they faced because of discrimination, it became clear to me that everyone should be able to marry the person they love,” Jenner wrote on her blog.
Many also point to the fact that Jenner is best known in recent years for reality stardom in “Keeping up with the Kardashians.” Jenner’s recent accomplishments are often scrutinized, and an incident with vehicular manslaughter in February did not help Jenner’s reputation, despite the fact that she was not convicted. These factors should be more heavily weighed when considering Jenner being named “Woman of the Year” than her gender identity.
Glamour’s choice of naming Jenner “Woman of the Year” comes at an important point in time for the trans community. The community is becoming more visible in the eyes of the public, but the issues that they face are far from over. It seems as though Glamour simply went for the easy choice of naming perhaps the most prominent transgender figure in America today.
Glamour clearly chose Jenner as a testament to their progressiveness. Perhaps the only transgender woman who could rival Jenner in prominence is Laverne Cox, who was named a Glamour "Woman of the Year" in 2014. Instead of choosing someone who is extremely well-known, Glamour could have used this opportunity to introduce the public to other transgender actresses, activists, models, etc. if they were truly attempting to bring true visibility to the trans community. However, they instead chose a figure they knew would cause controversy in order to increase their publicity.
