Tag: bravery

I don’t know what the rest of the universe is discussing this week, but here in the states the top story is Caitlyn Jenner’s cover photo for Vanity Fair. She looks stunning. I’m not being facetious or sarcastic, I’m just stating my opinion. 

As might be expected a great many people are upset by the story of Jenner’s transition from male to female. I understand that. It’s as if Angelina Jolie had announced that she identified as male. America loves her icons. We put them on pedestals. They’re supposed to stay the way we want to picture them forever, even if it kills them.

The words “hero” and “brave” have been bandied about in reference to Caitlyn Jenner’s  journey, and there are those who take exception to those adjectives being used in this instance. After all, they say, our soldiers and firemen are brave, not someone who changes genders. 

But how can one not refer to her as brave? Caitlyn lived a lie for the majority of her life. She had to play a role. Her entire life. She could have continued in this lie. It would have been so easy. Just keep being who people thought she was. She’d done a great job of fooling the world for all these years. Only her health, self-esteem, and personal integrity were on the line.

Instead she knowingly risked everything, her family, her reputation, her career, to become her authentic self. That is bravery. 

I don’t expect to change anyone’s mind on this issue. There are all sorts of folks who will argue against me on religious grounds, but I believe God would want Caitlyn to be true to herself rather than living a lie.

We are just beginning to be able to understand gender identity, and if we keep our hearts open we might just begin to realize that gender isn’t a hard and fast rule. It literally is more than just the sum of our parts.

Peace, people.