Caitlyn Jenner’s Vanity Fair cover has garnered worldwide attention. Jenner, along with fellow trans activists like Laverne Cox and Janet Mock, have been using this media coverage to raise awareness of important trans issues.
We, like Jon Stewart in the video below, were wary about how the media would treat Caitlyn, but the response has been surprisingly and overwhelmingly respectful of her transition with many anchors calling her an inspiration.
Yet, as Stewart flippantly remarks: “It’s heartening to see everyone is not only accepting Caitlyn Jenner as a woman, but to waste no time in treating her as a woman.” In the media’s coverage of Jenner as the woman that she is, she’s also gotten the same shitty attention that many famous cis women get as well: an unending focus on her appearance. (We couldn’t help but mention it in our own coverage, too.)
“So sexy it hurts!” says one anchor. “I got a couple emails from some friends saying, ‘I’m a little jealous. She looks better than I do!” says another, completely unaware that this is an absolutely unacceptable comment about the appearance of a trans woman. “She looks beautiful! She looks amazing! That is a hot woman,” exclaim another trio.
Stewart satirically sums up the coverage from the mainstream news: “My brain was like, ‘This is a great milestone for the transgender community,’ but my penis was like, “[bleep]!” And he uses his platform to call the media out on this misstep:
“You see, Caitlyn, when you were a man, we could talk about your athleticism, your business acumen, but now you’re a woman, and your looks are really the only thing we care about.”
Image via Vanity Fair
