Caitlyn Jenner? Of course we know the name! She is on every TV show and in every magazine. We know she is, as of right now, the biggest advocate for the transgender community. She is an inspiration to many, but what did she really go through?
One of the things people know for fact is that Caitlyn is a former Olympian and also starred on the hit TV show “Keeping up with the Kardashians,” but those are the only real things that we can say for fact. They do not know what she went through to get to the stage she is in now. They know what the tabloids and the paparazzi show in pictures and in comments from unnamed sources.
What I really think is that people need to let things be. Yes, Caitlyn won an award at the ESPYs. There is nothing you can do to change that. Yes, she is courageous to go through all of this so publicly, and it should be recognized, but what she should really be recognized for is having the nerve to do all of this in general, not just because she did it in the public eye!
One of the things that I really found that stood out to me is what kind of reaction Caitlyn had after her facial reconstruction surgery. It was said in the Kardashian interview that she had a panic attack after this step. It is a common reaction for many who have this done. However, some are twisting it to say that, because she had this reaction, she should not have had this done. Once again, they do not look up the facts. They do not look to see the statistics of how many have this reaction because if they did they would see that this happens to many people who have any type of plastic surgery because of the shock.
Aside from the actual transition to physically have female features, Caitlyn has gone through many therapy sessions as well as certain times of disbelief just as anyone going through something traumatic would, but many do not see it that way. Many will just look at the outside and see the new features and believe that the transition is over. However, the thoughts that are going through the person's mind are endless. "Is this it?" "What will my family think?" "Will I be accepted?"
The moral of the story here is an old one: Don't judge a book by its cover. Make sure you have facts before judging not just Caitlyn, but anyone. There are some things that people do not have control over. Sometimes there are things that happen in life that cannot be changed no matter how hard you try, and unless someone knows the absolute facts, they have no right to tell people what is and isn’t OK!
