I Am Cait

[meridannight]

You thought I was slamming Audi..

i read it as that, yes.

and, yes, the R8. Audi has other good models as well, but that one is my favorite by them. i've driven that thing, too.

[Emiliano]

You guys think you know luxury with your fancy automobiles. But there's nothing like riding the Q.


Right?

:|

[Emiliano]

Please see my comment on the other thread on this topic, I would be curious to hear your thoughts about it. If it turns out that I am wrong, I will actually be glad because of the people who will benefit. But I still won't watch it. If that makes me a hypocrite, so be it.

https://gayspeak.com/showthread.php?t=37006

Don't get me wrong, I'm not feeling strongly enough about this show to go up to debate on its behalf or anything. I'm not really trying to convince anyone they should watch, and I'm really not in any role to be calling anyone a hypocrite. I just thought it was interesting enough to see what other people thought, for their good or their bad opinions of it.

I dont think theres anything about it that is going to make people who dislike her suddenly love her and want to put her up on some sort of pedestal of trans representation. Other people might want to do that, but not people who already feel some type of way about all this. I thought that the other trans women on the second episode were telling her that isn't her role at all and to check herself before she starts thinking it is. Thats really what caught my interest.

But like I said, I don't know what will go down on episode three. If it becomes some show that allows the viewer to learn about the broader trans community through the eyes of a famous, rich, privileged, conservative, but still very newly transitioned woman. Or if it will be some sort of side show with all the class and depth of any other reality show.

Another thing I saw in your comments in the other thread though, Caitlyn Jenner aside, is about how people reject certain traits as a way of distancing themselves from them.. or also I guess in a way of identifying as a group. In all facets of our identities - race, sexuality, gender, whatever else, we display identifiers. We are expected to behave in a certain type of way to display to others what sort of person we are.

I think in some ways, people who have felt very isolated by the broader society, at least initially, really latch on to the identifiers of the group they finally are able to identify with. Whether its a young gay man affecting a lisp and a swish, a lesbian rejecting all things feminine, or a trans woman trying to perfect all things 1950s housewife. Or for that matter, a new gang member wearing certain colors, a ballet dancer wearing her hair in a bun outside the studio, or i dont know, whatever else. Sometimes it seems like people embrace stereotypes in order to be more readily identified as such..

I mentioned early that I read a book by Jennifer Finney Boylan and attended a lecture she gave at NYU not too long ago. She mentions in her book that early on in her transition she felt like she was living this teenage girl life that she never had. Like rather than transitioning to an adult woman, she formally had the body of an adult male that was thrown into the mentality of a 16 year old girl. She matured out of it pretty fast, but I still think that was interesting thing to share.

In terms of Caitlyns politics and race and money though, I get why its upsetting but i also think its good from some perspectives. Because there actually are wealthy, rich people who are trans. The last thing anyone would want, i'd think, is for there to be an association that all trans people are sex workers, people of color, coming from poverty, with poor, tragic back stories. Caitlyn may not have the typical or the comfortable narrative of transition that we are often exposed to, but she is still experiencing this. And maybe other wealthy white conservative "successful" people will see themselves reflected in her story.

But then again I have a strong tendency to want to see the good in people, and in situations.

Haha but if you're not into the show, then dont watch it. Like I said, its yet to strike me as mindblowing or required watching.

[Chase]

I don't like the whole Kardashian thing of "being famous for being famous" but hey it's none of my business what other people watch for entertainment.
As for people who are "calling Cait out on her privilege" - well, I don't find being rich in it of itself a bad thing. My views are open to change, but provided they pay an appropriate tax rate, and they don't hoard as much as Rockefeller did, I don't have a problem with people being rich. With that said, Cait does need to understand most transgender people don't have "FU Money" like she does, and job discrimination and housing discrimination can lead many transgender people to below poverty and homelessness. If she wants to be an activist, she needs to address this (rather than going all Rush Limbaugh on us).

[ShiftyNJ]

I thought that the other trans women on the second episode were telling her that isn't her role at all and to check herself before she starts thinking it is. Thats really what caught my interest.

This is in line with what observed during my work with the trans community in the wake of Islan Nettles' murder. I attended a forum at Hunter College and it quickly became clear that there was clearly no consensus on what it meant to be trans or how you should present yourself. There were two distinct camps (no pun intended): one who felt once you transitioned you were free to discard the trans moniker and just be a woman (interestingly there were few if any F2M trans folks participating), and the other felt you had an obligation to be there "in the ballroom" as a role model. They couldn't get past that to the problem that so many of their number were being murdered.

But like I said, I don't know what will go down on episode three. If it becomes some show that allows the viewer to learn about the broader trans community through the eyes of a famous, rich, privileged, conservative, but still very newly transitioned woman. Or if it will be some sort of side show with all the class and depth of any other reality show.

It will be interesting to see... unfortunately the pattern with gay-themed TV is that shows about healthy, functional people who happen to be gay seem to fall in favor of ones that fulfil people's stereotypes

Another thing I saw in your comments in the other thread though, Caitlyn Jenner aside, is about how people reject certain traits as a way of distancing themselves from them.. or also I guess in a way of identifying as a group. In all facets of our identities - race, sexuality, gender, whatever else, we display identifiers. We are expected to behave in a certain type of way to display to others what sort of person we are.

I think in some ways, people who have felt very isolated by the broader society, at least initially, really latch on to the identifiers of the group they finally are able to identify with. Whether its a young gay man affecting a lisp and a swish, a lesbian rejecting all things feminine, or a trans woman trying to perfect all things 1950s housewife. Or for that matter, a new gang member wearing certain colors, a ballet dancer wearing her hair in a bun outside the studio, or i dont know, whatever else. Sometimes it seems like people embrace stereotypes in order to be more readily identified as such..

I see this and get it, totally, and it's understandable for n00bs, but for "seasoned" gays to pressure others to continue to conform to it is frustrating.

I mentioned early that I read a book by Jennifer Finney Boylan and attended a lecture she gave at NYU not too long ago. She mentions in her book that early on in her transition she felt like she was living this teenage girl life that she never had. Like rather than transitioning to an adult woman, she formally had the body of an adult male that was thrown into the mentality of a 16 year old girl. She matured out of it pretty fast, but I still think that was interesting thing to share.

YES!! You see this in gay men who come out even in their 60s and 70s... it's like a delayed adolescence. So liberating but you have to be aware of it and understand that others are not on the same page.

In terms of Caitlyns politics and race and money though, I get why its upsetting but i also think its good from some perspectives. Because there actually are wealthy, rich people who are trans. The last thing anyone would want, i'd think, is for there to be an association that all trans people are sex workers, people of color, coming from poverty, with poor, tragic back stories. Caitlyn may not have the typical or the comfortable narrative of transition that we are often exposed to, but she is still experiencing this. And maybe other wealthy white conservative "successful" people will see themselves reflected in her story.

That is true... look up Stephanie Battaglino... she's a corporate executive who came out at work, stayed in her job, and now does consulting on the side for other businesses that want to become trans-educated/friendly. Great success story the world needs to hear.

But then again I have a strong tendency to want to see the good in people, and in situations.

Please don't let us, or anyone, rob you of that!

[Emiliano]

I'm still interested after the 3rd episode.

[CellarDweller]

I've watched some episodes, usually after stumbling upon it by accident.

I don't think it's as bad as The Kardashians, but to each their own. If it helps some transgendered people, then I hope it stays on the air.