Maybe this is incredibly ignorant, but using female pronouns to describe Bruce in the 70s/80s is weird to me. I'm all for using them now but using them for that far back, especially when describing his male athletic accomplishments (he wasn't in the women's decathlon) sounds confusing and a bit like rewriting history. Same goes for Bradley Manning. He was a solider who leaked documents. She (Chelsea) is now sitting in prison. I'd love to hear others' thoughts on this. Am I being ignorant or coming off as transphobic?

Also, from Wikipedia:

    Jenner prefers to be seen as male until he reveals his feminine side publicly. He plans to share his new name when he more fully transitions, although he referred to himself as "her" and called his emerging identity "she". His gender transition is the subject of an eight-part documentary series starting July 2015. While Jenner has undergone some cosmetic surgery as part of his transition, he has not ruled out gender reassignment surgery, and feels life as a woman is primarily a matter of mental state and lifestyle. He said he has never been attracted to men and has always been heterosexual, but currently identifies as asexual. His announcement came at an unprecedented time for trans visibility, including legislative initiatives.

I don't know.

coffeesp00ns:

I enjoy the message of this article - one of support, and admiration.

That said, you're 100% correct about the way the article is written. The author notes at the end:

    [Author’s note: While the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) recommends that the media use male pronouns when referring to Jenner, stating that “at this time, Bruce Jenner has not indicated that a new name or pronoun should be used,” I disagree. Since Jenner told the public that she has never fully thought of herself as male, I don’t believe that we should necessarily defer to using male pronouns just because that’s how Jenner has been referred to in the past.]

That sounds nice an all, but what it does is completely remove Jenner's agency in the matter. Jenner says "use male pronouns", then use male pronouns, or at the very most, use gender neutral pronouns. Using female pronouns without their permission or consent is just as bad as posting photos of them in a dress in the daily news, and is just as much of a breach of agency.

However, if Jenner said "Use female pronouns", then all future articles should use it for all aspects of their life, past, present, future. While this seems strange at first, you have to realize that this person has always been their chosen gender, even though they weren't necessarily able to show it. It also creates linguistic and editorial clarity (which, as evidenced in this article, can make it difficult to read when the pronouns aren't all sync'ed up). No switching from m to f pronouns necessary - just use them all the time.

Edit: as a side note, this is why 3rd person singular is SO USEFUL. Don't know which pronoun to use? "They" will do!


posted 3285 days ago