When I think of courage, I think of the stereotypical stuff. Heroes in capes, bystanders stepping in front of armed bank robbers, the kind of things you pay ten bucks to see at the movies. But on Wednesday, July 15th, Caitlyn Jenner personified courage in a stunning gown and heels.
On Wednesday evening, Jenner accepted the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards. She joined a long list of other brave recipients, including Michael Sam, one of college football’s first self-acknowledged gay players. Jenner was honored with the award because of her "athletic prowess and determination" at the 1976 Olympics and the "strength of character" that she displayed in her recent ABC interview, according to ESPN. What made her stand out to me, though, was her poignant speech.
There was a lot of controversy surrounding Jenner’s nomination for the award; rumors circulated in the weeks leading up to the event that Jenner had been chosen for the award over Army veteran Noah Galloway, who lost parts of his left arm and leg while on active duty in Iraq. ESPN confirmed that there was no runner-up that Jenner had beat, but people still had their doubts about whether or not she was truly “courageous enough.” Criticism of ESPN’s choice could be found in every corner of the media, but after Jenner’s speech, she was met with nothing but praise.
It was only fitting. Jenner’s speech left me, well, speechless. It’s probably pretty easy to talk about how great you are when you’re accepting an award for your own accomplishments. However, Jenner did exactly the opposite. One of the biggest concerns that the LGBTQ+ community has voiced about Jenner becoming the “face of the transgendered community” is that she really only represents a small amount of transgendered people. She’s white, she chose to fully transition, and she had the means to fully transition. A lot of trans people don’t have the opportunity to or don’t want to fully transition, and the experience of a trans woman of color can differ vastly from the experience of a white trans woman. The community voiced major concerns that the awareness being raised around Jenner wouldn’t accurately reflect the people that needed the awareness to be raised. Those fears were easily put to rest in Jenner’s ESPY speech.
She poignantly remembered Mercedes Williamson, a young transgendered woman of color who was murdered last month, as well as Sam Taub, a young transgendered man who took his own life back in April. She also mentioned the growing community of transgendered teens and the staggering issues they face, saying, “They’re getting bullied, they’re getting beaten up, they’re getting murdered, and they’re committing suicide.” By acknowledging the struggles of the whole community, Jenner seized an opportunity to, in her words, “do some good.” The way that she used her spotlight to shed light on the struggles and needs of the young transgender community instead of applauding herself shows that she is the kind of role model that should be receiving the Arthur Ashe award. One of my favorite lines from her speech was this: “Start with education. Learn as much as you can about another person to understand them better.”
Whether you’re transgendered yourself, you’re an activist for the community, or you’re just being exposed to the process for the first time, we all have something to learn from Caitlyn Jenner and the courage she showed at the 2015 ESPYs. Whether you take away the grace she had in accepting her award or the educational information that she gave in her speech, Jenner’s appearance will be one that won’t be easily forgotten.
To watch Jenner’s full speech, click here.
