So last Friday night, 20/20 aired an interview between Diane
Sawyer and Bruce Jenner, in which he details his internal struggles with being
transgender (I am referring to Bruce Jenner using male pronouns because that is
how he referred to himself throughout the interview). Since I am doing my project about trans
representation in the media and conducting a study that is
examining predictors of prejudice against trans individuals for my thesis, I found myself struggling with how I felt
about the interview.
On one hand, I was very glad that ABC aired this interview
and I thought that they did a great job at letting Jenner tell his story. The interview provided the opportunity for
millions of people to learn about someone who is transgender, and perhaps opened
their eyes to what being trans means. On
the other hand though, the interview is just another example of the media and
our culture being hung up on the coming out spectacle. In fact, Jenner is being
featured in a docuseries on E! and at the end of the interview Jenner invited
Sawyer to “come back in a year” to check in on his progress. The problem with
this is that Jenner’s transition is all that people are going to talk about.
Yes, they are being exposed to someone who is transgender, but there are way
more newsworthy and important things that involve the trans community than Jenner’s
transition. As Laverne
Cox explained to Katie Couric, "The reality of transpeople's lives is that
we are targets of violence. We experience discrimination disproportionately to
the rest of the community. Our unemployment rate is twice the national average;
if you are a trans person of color, that rate is four times the national
average. The homicide rate is highest among transwomen. If we focus on
transition, we don't actually get to talk about those things." Like Cox
said, these are the things that society should be discussing. The
discrimination and oppression that are lived realities for so many in the
community, as well as the accomplishments of trans people, and their day-to-day
actions, not just their transitions.
Even
so, I am left wondering if coming out interviews, like Jenner’s, are needed in
order for society to be exposed to and discuss those issues in the trans
community? Without people like Jenner or Laverne Cox, would this community even
be talked about in the first place? I’m not so sure that it would, and isn’t
positive exposure better than no or negative exposure?
Cylie, I think you introduce several interesting and important questions regarding the trans community. I haven't been following Jenner's story carefully, so I had very limited knowledge regarding not only his situation but the transgender community in general. The statistics you mentioned Laverne Cox explained are astounding! I had no idea the unemployment rates were that staggering. As for your question about if coming out interviews like Jenner's are necessary or not, I think it could be looked at differently. I think interviews such as this are a great way to increase public awareness about transgenders in general and hopefully lead to increased public acceptance. Maybe after people become more aware and accepting of trans, our society will gradually move towards discussing the important issues you brought up. Basically, I think it's probably a step in the right direction, even if we're not to the point of talking about the hard topics yet. I think your project sounds really interesting, thanks for bringing awareness about these issues to the class!
ReplyDeleteI also watched the interview with Bruce and found it incredibly interesting. I later was discussing it with my sister, and my dad overheard and said he too watched it. This surprised me. My dad watches the news and occasionally the history channel (or naps through the history channel). So the fact that my dad took the time to sit down and pay attention to this, just made me wonder why. I think he thought of it as a spectacle, but also a learning experience. He watched because its out of the ordinary and trendy, but he paid attention because he was hoping to learn. I often feel I do the same thing just because that is the simplest way to learn about a different culture, but I also agree that it can be harmful. In other words, I don't really know if the televised interview was positive or negative...maybe it just depends on the viewer.
ReplyDeleteI see your concern about the chosen exposure of trans individuals in the media, but I think Bruce Jenner's publicized transition will be helpful to awareness. Bruce is used to media coverage and I think Bruce can handle to pressure of constant attention. I think something else that's important about the situation is the support Bruce has been receiving from the family around him. I'm by no means a Kardashian fan, but when you have the support of a huge public figure, even when it's your family member, I think that helps. Here's an article about Kim's views on the transition: http://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/kim-kardashian-west-on-bruce-jenner-%e2%80%98i-support-him-100percent%e2%80%99/ar-BBiKcqK?li=BBiFTSt&ocid=iehp. In addition, with this attention, I think that the concerning unemployment issues, violence against issues, and others, for the trans community would get more light shed on them. That's ideal, of course, but I think that has a strong chance of happening with this amount of coverage.
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