How to talk about Caitlyn Jenner
The conversation has started, but what are the right words to use?
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Caitlyn Jenner’s Vanity Fair cover has furthered an important conversation about transgender rights.
But many don’t know the right words to use when talking about transgender people, given that the movement has only recently come to the national forefront. Even briefly listening to talk radio this morning, it was clear to me that a lot of us are confused.
What it all comes down to is not disrespecting people by referring to them using language they don’t identify with or find hurtful.
So here are a few things to keep in mind when it comes to talking about Jenner and other transgender people, taken from GLAAD’s website.
Use the pronoun the person has said they prefer.
When her Diane Sawyer special aired a few weeks ago, Jenner at the time still wanted to be referred to as Bruce, and still wanted the public to use male pronouns. Now, Jenner is going by Caitlyn and using female pronouns. This doesn’t mean that when you’re referring to aspects of her past that you should use male pronouns. Example: “He won the decathlon’’ is wrong. Instead, say “She won the decathlon,’’ or, “Prior to her transition, she won the decathlon.’’
Don’t ask a transgender person about their surgeries, their genitals, or their sex lives.
This is from GLAAD’s website:
It would be inappropriate to ask a non-transgender person about the appearance or status of their genitals, and it’s equally inappropriate to ask a transgender person those questions. Don’t ask if a transgender person has had “the surgery’’ or if they are “pre-op’’ or “post-op.’’ If a transgender person wants to talk to you about such matters, they will bring it up. Similarly, it wouldn’t be appropriate to ask a non-transgender person about how they have sex, so the same courtesy should be extended to transgender people.
Just because Jenner is now a woman, doesn’t mean she’s now attracted to men.
Gender and sexuality are separate. In the Vanity Fair story, the author Buzz Bissinger writes: “Bruce Jenner as Bruce Jenner had a sexual appetite exclusively for women. Caitlyn has no idea what the future will hold as Caitlyn Jenner. But, she adds, it is not important to her right now. ‘If you have a list of 10 reasons to transition, sex would be number 10.’’’
Don’t say Jenner was “born a man.’’
Again, from GLAAD’s website:
Avoid the phrase “born a man’’ when referring to Jenner. If it is necessary to describe for your audience what it means to be transgender, consider: “While Caitlyn Jenner was designated male on her birth certificate, as a young child she knew that she was a girl.’’
Caitlyn Jenner’s Vanity Fair Photoshoot
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