Photos: Google Images
It’s official – world class and iconic athlete Bruce Jenner is now Caitlyn. Caitlyn made her official debut on the cover of Vanity Fair, giving us pin-up girl fabulousness as she announced to the world, yet again, that she is Transgender. In a Twitter version of the childhood game “There Go My Car,” the Twitterverse reacted with talk about which legendary star she most resembled – Jessica Lange, Cindy Crawford, Janice Dickinson or an amalgamation of all three. Caitlyn has been on a media blitz since her interview with ABC‘s Diane Sawyer six weeks ago, promotion of her upcoming E network reality show chronicling her transition to womanhood and now landing on the coveted cover of Vanity Fair, photographed by Annie Leibovitz no less. Two snaps up for the diva in waiting giving us so much food and fodder to discuss when it comes to her latest accomplishment.
While I’m all for Caitlyn’s ascent and shine on some levels, I am not for all of the hype surrounding news that she will receive the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at this year’s ESPYS. The only thing that makes me more upset than the reduction of the complexity of womanhood to hair, make-up and clothing when defining womanhood in relation to Caitlyn, is that she will be winning an award named for a man whose life’s work she currently does not reflect.
Arthur Ashe is the first African American to win the men’s singles at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, and the first black American to be ranked No. 1 in the world in tennis. Ashe survived segregation as a child in the capital of the confederacy, used his platform to call for equality and justice here and abroad and led his life with truth, integrity and dignity from the very beginning to the end. What I saw in Bruce Jenner as a man and am seeing in Caitlyn Jenner as a woman is largely the antithesis of what Ashe stood for as a world-class athlete, humanitarian, husband and father.
According to ESPN.com, the award states as the criteria:
“Recipients reflect the spirit of Arthur Ashe, possessing strength in the face of adversity, courage in the face of peril and the willingness to stand up for their beliefs no matter what the cost. The award is inspired by the life that Ashe lived, using his fame and stature to advocate for human rights, although, at the time, those positions may have been unpopular and were often controversial. From speaking out against apartheid in South Africa to revealing to the world his struggle with AIDS, Ashe never backed away from a difficult issue, even though doing so would have been easier. Winners of the Ashe Award strive to carry on Ashe’s legacy in their own lives – – inspired by those who do so each day.”
Jenner was a man who had the opportunity to use his international platform to work on behalf of justice and equality his entire life and for all intents and purposes has done the opposite using his platform to elevate his personal brand and celebrity. He is a world-class athlete who is most recently known for endorsements, marriages to beautiful women and being henpecked on the E network’s runaway reality show Keeping Up With the Kardashians, not standing up for unpopular beliefs like justice and equality.
Jenner hasn’t reflected the spirit of anything other than the pursuit of fame and celebrity for his personal wealth. Caitlyn, who admits in Vanity Fair that her public transition is as much about business as it is about creating change, hasn’t moved very far from that model. It is difficult to understand how Jenner, a card-carrying Republican and who will remain so as told to Diane Sawyer in the interview seen around the world, will reconcile the GOP’s treatment of women, sexual minorities and people of color with her new public identity. Many members of this political party, have stood in the way of progress including marriage equality and equal pay for women. Jenner, who stated that he is a Republican because he believes in the Constitution during the Sawyer interview, is now a member of a disenfranchised group by choice. How will she use her platform to help her fellow Trans community, particularly those who are not formerly wealthy, famous, white or privileged?
This is my problem with Caitlyn getting this award at this point. I’m not saying that Caitlin should never get this award. I am just saying that she should at least be given the opportunity to prove that she is worthy of such an award because her life is just beginning. Her prior life as Bruce Jenner has been completely about Bruce Jenner. Caitlyn’s rise in popularity now has been about Bruce Jenner, not the larger Trans community. Jenner’s current class and prior gender and racial privilege have allowed her story to literally catapult over the stories of scores of Trans women who are facing major battles in their daily fight to live their truth on their terms. While Caitlyn is trying to figure out how to continue to eat with the men at her exclusive country club, thirty percent of Trans women will lose their jobs because of their “new” public identity. When discussing Trans women of color, they are disproportionately under-employed, under-housed and impacted by discriminatory practices, according to the Trans Women of Color Collective.
Actress Laverne Cox and many on Twitter raised important issues for all of society; what about the average Trans woman without celebrity on her side or the means or desire to attain dominant beauty standards? Trans women are being fired and all women aren’t receiving equal pay. Will Caitlyn use her platform to address these issues or continue to do what Bruce has done before – make sure that she’s okay and the hell with everyone else?
I know this perspective is not popular. I do believe that Jenner is courageous for going through this part of her transition, which is a private matter, publicly. I also believe that her decision to transition publicly will help others who may be struggling in the same way as she did as a child. The massive publicity around the transition does not stop me from observing Jenner’s competitive nature and need for attention and celebrity, which is also driving the way in which she is transitioning to a woman. The massive publicity does not stop me from thinking that Caitlyn had years to deal with this in private, while her family, particularly her children, not all of whom are reality stars, must deal with her transition publicly. In terms of the award, there are plenty of people that have already proven that they embody the spirit of Arthur Ashe.
Lauren Hill was courageous. She played basketball with brain cancer and raised $1.5 million for cancer research before she passed away in April. Noah Galloway is courageous. He lost most of his left arm and leg as a soldier in Iraq, then went on to become a distance runner, personal trainer, motivational speaker and, a third-place finisher on “Dancing with the Stars.” Devon Still is courageous. He has been raising awareness and money for cancer research while raising his 4-year-old daughter Leah, who is fighting for her life.
Arthur Ashe was courageous. He raised awareness about HIV/AIDS, fought against Apartheid in South Africa and fought for the rights of Haitian refugees while battling AIDS, which he contracted from a blood transfusion. He was doing this at a time in history when those with HIV/AIDS were stigmatized, socially isolated and damned to hell on a daily basis, much more so than now. This is a man who in 1968, went back into the U.S. Army as a Lieutenant after winning the U.S. Open. Re-enlisting after winning a major tennis championship is an act that takes courage.
Previous Arthur Ashe Courage award winners include Robin Roberts, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali, Pat Tillman, Jim Valvano and Billie Jean King. Should Caitlyn Jenner truly be on this list?
I’m all for Caitlyn getting her shine and finding her truth, and hopefully her popularity will help fight Transphobia. Lets wait and see how Caitlyn will use her platform before handing out awards in the name of those who worked tirelessly on behalf of others. Caitlyn is famous for being famous and that in no way, shape or form reflects the legacy of Arthur Ashe.
This post was written by Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D., founder & editor-in-chief of the award-winning news blog the Burton Wire. Follow her on Twitter @Ntellectual.
