“Because she only started using female pronouns after her glamorous Vanity Fair reveal, I’m wary of the way Caitlyn Jenner is wielding her power to define acceptable trans womanhood.”
On Bruce Jenner's Pronouns
I published an article in Buzzfeed on April 25, the day after Bruce Jenner’s interview on ABC where the former Olympic champion and reality TV star publicly disclosed as transgender for the first time. In it, I used she and her pronouns to refer to Jenner. It was a deliberate choice I made on short notice, one that I knew I risked criticism for, which ended up being angrier than expected. So I’ve taken the time to reflect, and watch Jenner’s interview again. I’ve come to the conclusion that she and her were valid pronouns for Jenner given the available information at the time. But more importantly, I’m recognizing that the passion over pronouns probably has less to do with Jenner and more to do with the priorities of cisgender people, whether the vast majority of the general public or those in Jenner’s inner circle.
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