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The fight for LGBTIQ+ rights has progressed quite a lot since just a decade ago, when there was little to no representation for queer people, especially transgender people, within mainstream media.
Over the years, many public figures have come out as transgender: Chaz Bono, who is the child of Sonny Bono and Cher; actress Laverne Cox; Elliot Page, who was the star of the 2007 film Juno; and Caitlyn Jenner, the Olympic champion who won a gold medal in the 1976 Olympics, to name but a few.
READ: Framing masculinity | What being a man means
Transgender politics don’t usually align with right-wing politics, but somehow Jenner is attempting to make it work. The results have only amplified what we can call the transgender-exclusionary radical feminist (Terf), a term usually used to describe a cisgender woman who identifies as a feminist and excludes transgender people from feminist discourse.
This week, Jenner made headlines after an altercation she had with fellow transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney, who became famous on popular app TikTok for her Days of Girlhood series, in which she documents her transition journey.
In her last episode, Mulvaney spoke of normalising girls with bulges in their pants as a way to include and respect transgender women who are at different places within their transition, whether it be due to financial difficulties or identity politics.
This came after she faced criticism and unsolicited stares regarding her bulge.
Mulvaney said:
In true right-wing fashion, many weighed in, with US senator Marsha Blackburn bashing Mulvaney, saying: “Dylan Mulvaney, Joe Biden and radical left-wing lunatics want to make this absurdity normal.”
Jenner’s response was shocking too, as she agreed with Blackburn, saying:
. @MarshaBlackburn thank you for speaking out and having a backbone - one of the best senators we have. Let’s not ‘normalize’ any of what this person is doing. This is absurdity! https://t.co/YmQcuwWKhj
— Caitlyn Jenner (@Caitlyn_Jenner) October 26, 2022
Jenner further went on to misgender Mulvaney, calling her a man, and even ridiculed the idea of Mulvaney being a woman with a penis.
No one is quite as eloquent as Mulvaney, though, whose latest episode of Days of Girlhood directly addressed Jenner, saying:
“Hi Caitlyn, I’m Dylan and we are two of the most privileged women in America.
“I’m just curious if you can think back to your early days of transitioning and remember being embarrassed about your body, or having strangers give you dirty looks. That’s why I made that video. Because I was embarrassed and I wanted to reclaim my body in a positive way. Now you’ve taken that and turned it into something really ugly.”
READ: Queer talk | Hands off my femme physique!
She ended the video off by emotionally calling on Jenner and her fellow travellers to be civil for the sake of the trans community.
The term Terf has become rather popular within new-age politics, with some of its biggest contributors being JK Rowling, the creator of the Harry Potter universe, and the radical feminist and African activist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
Some Terfs even believe that trans women are nothing more than men who are seeking a place within womanhood in order to cause harm. This is harmful rhetoric that we have seen media outlets use as propaganda against transgender rights and transgender access to things such as bathrooms and the workplace.
After the information overload, it becomes difficult to understand where Jenner fits into all of this, as she herself is inherently a perpetrator of Terf politics.
The plot thickens when we see that Jenner has been a loud advocate for right-wing politics, stands with Republicans as an avid supporter of Donald Trump and even views gay marriage as wrong because it is not traditional.
Much of Jenner’s upbringing was lived in privilege, and she was identified as a white man at a time when racial prejudice and oppression was reaching a boiling point in the US. She was also raised as a Christian, which she has said in many interviews has affected her social and political beliefs, even towards her own identity.
Jenner’s transition took shape in April 2015, when she would come out as transgender and also change her name from William Bruce Jenner to Caitlyn Marie Jenner.
READ: LGBTIQ+ coming out stories of note
Once this happened, her very public socialisation into womanhood came fast, as she quickly got gender affirming surgeries such as feminisation surgery and a breast augmentation, which her buckets of money afforded her.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the reality for many transgender people, who often cannot even afford the hormonal treatments, let alone the surgeries that would allow them to be seen socially as women.
So, is Jenner’s problem too much money, is she cosplaying a trans woman or is it just good old self-hate?
The issue with internalised transphobia when you are trying to live your truth is that it hurts other people within those communities and dehumanises their lived experiences. Add to that the amount of money that Jenner has, and you’ve got the perfect recipe for a transphobic transgender woman.
This unfortunate truth about Jenner and the Terfs she so strongly supports means that people will continue to live in the shadows, scared and disgusted by their own identities and oppressive towards others who also face harsh realities.
Should we normalise the bulge?
Transgender activists such as Mulvaney, along with other greats such as Marsha P Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, have changed the conversations around transgender people. They offer a better understanding and push the boundaries of the trans experience.
While, for some, this change proves difficult, there should be nothing more important than allowing every human to live strongly in their truth and express themselves in a way that honours their identity.
Normalising the bulge is not an endorsement of perversion, but a call for people to continue to live in their truth and love their bodies.
