It has been quite the summer for the LGBTQ+ community. Its issues have been emphasized more than ever, as their march towards acquiring civil liberties becomes a reality. One woman has a lot to say for these people: Caitlyn Jenner.
Before Caitlyn, there was Bruce Jenner. A man who was not comfortable in his own body. Bruce Jenner was a gold-medal winning track star who set a world record in the decathlon at the Summer Olympics in 1976. The decathlon “is one two-day test of speed, strength and stamina”, according to the New York Daily News. A decathlete is almost the epitome of a masculine athlete. Bruce Jenner was a visionary for athletes everywhere, displaying a role of strength and a “real man” at the time. Jenner continued to be a motivational face for athletes everywhere. He appeared on the “Wheaties” cereal box, convincing people if they ate Wheaties then maybe they could be as strong as Bruce Jenner.
On June 1, Vanity Fair came out with the “Call Me Caitlyn” cover. Bruce Jenner had made his full transition into becoming who he was really meant to be: a woman. Caitlyn Jenner was awarded the Arthur Ashe Courage Award on July 15 at the ESPY awards, marking a huge step for trans people everywhere because they were being represented in a setting that is truly uncommon for them. Yet, there was much opposition to Jenner receiving the award.
Some believe others were more deserving of the award. Twitter user KrisDaFit’s tweeted, “The fact that Bruce Jenner getting the award over Lauren Hill shows how truly lost the world is…” receiving 36 retweets and over 50 favorites. Hill was a college basketball player who made national news for making it her goal to play a game of college basketball at her school, Mount St. Joseph, before she passed away due to inoperable brain cancer. She received the Posthumous Award at the ESPYS, an award for true bravery.
Some believe since they don’t agree with Jenner’s lifestyle, she should not get the award. Well, I don’t think that’s a good way to treat anyone. Just because you don’t agree with someone doesn’t mean they aren’t as deserving as you. Jenner is a person going through a gigantic life change in the public eye, and has become an activist for all of those people who don’t feel comfortable going through this in private. Jenner knows who she is and she made sure that she achieved her true self.
There was also an opposition to Jenner because some believed that the award should have been given to Noah Galloway, a war veteran who lost his arm and leg in Iraq and now works as a motivational speaker. Many were surprised when soldier Joey Vicente was enraged by the constant disapproval of Jenner’s winning of the award. “40% of the transgender community have attempted suicide”, Vicente said. “What if I told you that her speech last night saved one human being from attempting to take their life? I’d call that a victory on any scale. I’d call that (gasp)… heroic?”
It takes an extreme amount of courage in today’s society to put yourself out there and defy society’s expectations. So when a gold-medal winning Olympian takes a stand and becomes a role model and fighter for all of the people out there that suffer from oppression of their basic civil liberties, then I think an award as honorable as this is appropriate.
Could others have won the award? Could another person with just the same tenacity of Jenner accepted the award? Well, of course. There are always going to be other people that are equally deserving. But, that doesn’t mean Jenner didn’t deserve it.
It’s 2015. It’s time for acceptance.
By Sushmitha Suresh
Online Writer
Photo courtesy of the Associated Press