When He Becomes She

Caitlyn “formally known as Bruce” Jenner has stirred the hearts of millions by appearing on the cover Vanity Fair after a successful gender transition surgery. According to International Business Times, her penis isn’t on the chopping block yet, but I imagine her little guy’s end is faster approaching. I’ve written about this issue before and progressives—specifically trans friendly feminists—would consider my opinions to be transphobic. These words are not written to heap hate on Caitlyn for her choices. Individual freedom should be cherished and gender dysphoria is a complex mental affliction. While gender transition seems like a poor choice of “medical” treatment to me, If her dysphoria is alleviated, then who am I to stop her? However, the knee jerk reactions to Caitlyn’s surgery illuminates deeper fissures of intolerance which plague our culture.

Vanity Fair Cover

There seem to be three types of responses: 1) complete support and excessive rejoicing (starry eyes included). 2) Disgust and sneering mockery. 3) A sigh and shrugs from folks who either don’t care or ponder under foggy ambivalence. Jenner wasn’t a big name on my radar, but her Olympic accomplishments have created a loyal following among athletes. Now Caitlyn is known by everyone—famous or otherwise. Gender fluidity advocates are hailing this event as a big increase in awareness for trans people and their struggles.

I have been referring to Bruce by his chosen name and preferred pronoun. One might assume that I disagree, yet still endorse her choices. My word choice is a polite gesture and nothing more. Normally this charade isn’t a topic worth writing about until Caitlyn won the Arthur Ashe Courage Award. Let me slay some falsehoods: there is nothing intrinsically brave or courageous about getting gender reassignment surgery. The ESPY awarded Caitlyn specifically because she is a trans person. That decision stinks of social ass-kissing. Nathan Galloway, who is a double amputee and Iraq War veteran, has many sports related accomplishments which I think eclipse Jenner’s gold medals. Certainly this man has overcome greater adversity than Caitlyn. His status as a “runner-up” for the award is false, but the disgrace of choosing Jenner over Nathan and other qualifying candidates remains.

Being critical of individuals who fundamentally alter their natural form doesn’t represent any kind of phobia. Intolerant attitudes will label such criticism as hate-speech. When did absurdity become normal? I read an article talking about a professor from Quebec who proposes the idea of “trans-ability.” This refers people suffering from Body Identity Integrity Disorder and how society should encourage these people to cripple themselves. Presumably doctors would be forced under the law to perform procedures demanded by mentally ill patients because that’s how the medical field has always worked right? Only academics would promote ideas that are completely divorced from reality. Perception doesn’t trump the real world. Someone questioning bodily integrity doesn’t make that person’s notion correct. Caitlyn may look like a woman—props to her plastic surgeons—but she, in all technicality, is still a man. Phrasing, ideological redefinitions and academic theory won’t change the truth. Mentally stable people do not alter their bodies—changing sex or removing limbs—for any reason other than medical necessity. Our culture must stop encouraging this behavior or the people we want to help will be irrevocably damaged. Understand, I’m not advocating that we shame trans people for their struggles; we should be looking for alternative treatments, not spewing gender identity rhetoric.


Edit 6/82015: A couple readers brought some concerns and questions about this post, therefore, I’ll provide further clarification about my stance on this issue. First off, technicially transsexual is a gender identity deriving from one's gender dysphoria (classified as a gender identity disorder). I’m not saying that some criticism of trans people doesn’t come from a phobia, that’s definitely a possibility. But right now cultural rhetoric will classify any criticism as transphobic speech. My criticism stems from a concern that people with transsexualism are being convinced that gender transition surgery is “cure-all” solution for the common depression and suicidal tendencies which afflict these individuals. Statistics on the success rate of gender reassignment surgery tells a different tale. Trans people is a problematic term because there are many variations and specific circumstances through which one might label themselves a “trans person.”


My statements and criticism do not extend towards intersex people. These are folks who have androgynous genitalia and/or other physical abnormalities usually caused by chromosomes and hormones not developing properly. In these cases, they have very good reasons to question their gender and sexual orientation. I still believe therapy is a good place to start, but other treatments may be necessary. Now to Jenner. While I disagree with gender transition surgery on principle, I don’t have a problem with Caitlyn for that reason. It seems like she made an educated decision after years of therapy and struggling with dysphoria, she didn’t make a rash decision and hopefully her gender dysphoria will be eliminated. My complaint lies with the ESPY and their reason for nominating Jenner. The last paragraph deals more with my frustration about how crazy academia have become regard these issues and the worldview assumptions they make about gender and sexuality. I hope this edit better illustrates my position. Thanks for reading. 

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Updates and the Future

Before I begin, a huge thanks my readers for their continued support. It brings me great joy to know that at least some people want hear/see my thoughts and opinions. This blog originated as a rushed project for a writing class at college back in 2013. Slowly I started writing movie reviews because I enjoy criticizing fiction, but my content shifted away from fiction and rapidly changed to politics/social issues. Being a critic (self-proclaimed lol) applies to all facets of life whether real or fictional. That’s why my movie and anime reviews will move over to my youtube channel. I’m a fairly animated person when talking about movies—lots of hand waving and yelling—then combine that with my incredibly high voice and hilarity will probably ensue. The channel will be my unadulterated ramblings with some humor injected at various points.

Job hunting and other circumstances have kept me from getting content on this blog or youtube. Hopefully I can get a video up before the weekend ends. I’ll create a page that further explains my intentions with my reviews in a new medium. Please subscribe if anyone is interested once some content actually exists. My goal is one day make a career writing and youtubing. Again thanks for reading, until next time

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The Duggar Family Deserves Criticism Not Empathy

Most people outside of conservative Christian communities didn’t know who the Duggar Family was, but now their names are plastered all news websites. For readers who still don’t know, this family are the subjects of TLC’s reality television program 19 Children and Counting. Similar to the Robertson family of Duck Dynasty, the Duggars have become celebrities in social conservative circles. Jim Bob and Michelle raised their children under traditional family and Christian values. They belong to the Independent Baptist denomination which has fundamentalist leanings. It’s no surprise their family has gained popularity among religious people who seek alternative role models to those in the secular entertainment industry, at least until controversy arises.

Please No White Knights

A police report from 2006 was leaked to the public about Josh Duggar (eldest son) sexually molesting five young girls between 2002-2003. On May 21st 2015, Josh admitted that to these acts, but his family asserts that he has moved beyond his problem. There will be an interview with Megyn Kelly on Wednesday (June 3, 2015) to shed more light on these events. Of course this news had a devastating effect on the Duggar’s future. Executives at TLC are weighing their options: whether to continue the show or cancel it. Either way, the Duggar’s television future is uncertain.

Hypocrisy follows the famous like buzzards follow the dying. Not one day goes by without a famous person not walking their talk and not surprisingly the Duggars have fallen into this trap. Along with the 2006 report, additional information emerged stating Jim Bob and Michelle waited more than a year before reporting Josh’s action to the police. They waited long enough that statue of limitation kept Josh free from any legal consequences.

We have come to crux my issue with this situation. Prominent social conservative figures, like Mike Huckabee, have come forward to defend this family; yet, they haven’t done anything worth defending in regards to this specific circumstance. Josh’s father-in-law wrote a rather nice blog post about why we all should dismiss this news, but it’s not that simple. The Duggar family has built their fame and fortune on promoting Christian values. Part of walking one’s talk is transparency and honesty. Scripture prioritizes public confession of sin (1 John 1:9, James 5:16, Proverbs 28:13) and receiving consequences for one’s actions. Josh did not openly confess this sin before taking his position at the Family Research Council. Jim Bob and Michelle did not handle that situation properly.

Authorities should have been contacted in close proximity to Josh’s repeat offense. If he only did it once, then their actions would be understandable, but he molested girls on five separate occasions. They hid this information away, probably trying to avoid legal consequences (my own opinion). They should be rebuked for this, not defended. A fourteen year old boy has enough understanding to know that touching young girls is wrong. Humans are sinful and Christians should readily forgive, however, avoiding consequences is another matter entirely.

I can’t help but think the emergence of support for the Duggars and Fox New’s silence on this scandal stem from the family’s connections. Their wealth and finical endorsement of many Conservative organizations and candidates give them a special status. Christians and other conservative folk, stop trying to downplay this incident. People were hurt and a molester escaped punishment. Josh’s past and his family’s involvement should not be blithely dismissed. To his credit, he has stepped down from his position. The Duggars hid a skeleton in their closest and someone found it. Whatever happens to them now, then brought it upon themselves. This what hypocrisy looks like.

On a final note, this post is harsh. Non-Christians look at scandals like this and think, “This proves that Christians don’t really follow their teachings.” That’s problematic to our witness. If the Duggars were honest about this incident before they were famous, then I wouldn’t be critical of them. For extra clarification: I would be content with how they handled the situation regarding Josh. Under no circumstances do I or any rational person endorse child molestation. This information was reluctantly forced from their hands. Instead of blindly defending their actions, let’s learn a lesson from this scandal. We should walk our talk (God’s commandments) and when we don’t: let’s honest and upfront about our sins.

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