Today, her very own reality show premieres on E! and the whole spectacle just makes me think that Bruce is just loving all of this attention.
I’ve been an avid watcher of the family's original reality show for years and there have been numerous occasions where you see him (I'm going back to that pronoun now as I talk about Bruce, not Caitlyn) whining or acting resentful because he is being overshadowed by the stronger, glamorous female personalities in the family. Now, the spotlight is on him and you can tell he’s loving it.
His social media antics do little to dispel this assumption:
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| Twitter: Caitlyn Jenner |
Erm Caitlyn, you know who else has millions of followers? Amanda Bynes. Twitter followers does not necessarily mean support - some people just like to see a car-crash play out in front of them. It's entertainment. Don't be fooled.
Besides, are you 12 that your self-esteem relies on how many social media followers you have? Or do you just relish ANY sort of PR coverage and its milestones, whatever the circumstance?
To be brutally honest, I would have a lot more respect for Bruce if he continued the process in PRIVATE. At the very least for the sake of his kids, the youngest of whom is 17… it’s already a confusing enough time for them, they don’t need the world watching too.
It’s this selfish "look at me!" approach that makes me slightly troubled by the entire thing. I’m hoping it is not some kind of latent transphobia, as I’m trying to live my life being a better person, and that includes being tolerant of things I may not perhaps understand.
However, I’ve never really been a fan of Bruce, based entirely on the way he came across on Keeping Up With The Kardashians. He always seemed to favour his own biological kids over the Kardashians, and there have been frequent situations particularly involving Khloe where she has been put in her place as a "stepchild". Ironically, it’s been Khloe who has been there for his biological teenage daughters throughout this whole debacle, who have been clinging onto her for support where their parents are obviously failing.
They did a "coming out" special on the latest episodes of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, and Kim’s story about how she discovered Bruce cross-dressing when she was a teenager, and the way he told her to keep it quiet, further proved just how unsettling and selfish his parenting abilities are.
Can you imagine how damaging that could have been for a then-younger Kim Kardashian? Parents divorce due to a high-profile murder case of a family friend. Your mum remarries. Your transvestite stepdad tells you to keep his cross-dressing tendencies all hush-hush. That’s a whole new level of dysfunction.
Speaking of the show: 8 years and 10 seasons. That’s how long the show has been on television. And yet, not a single mention or hint of this until his recent admission. It makes you question just how authentically the Kardashians are living their lives on the show.
I mean, we all know it’s "scripted" reality, but just how many more skeletons do they have in their closet? How much of the Kardashians/Jenners are we really seeing? Especially as they’ve reached a level of fame where their brand needs to be protected.
There had been speculation for months that Bruce was indeed transitioning into a woman, and so we were all waiting with bated-breath for the admission. This admission came in the form of a televised news special with Diane Sawyer... as well as a spread in Vanity Fair. As you do.
I dunno. It makes me wonder if perhaps he just spent too much time around glamorous women. Glamorous, independent and business-minded women. Who receive a lot of media attention. Maybe he felt emasculated, and those feelings manifested to something more extreme.
I'm not trying to belittle his struggles identifying to the opposite sex. But I do find it insulting that, to Bruce, being a woman seems to be all about make-up, high-heels and nice dresses. There are a lot of downsides to being a woman, and I wonder if he would be so eager to put on that Herve Leger dress if he had to experience some of these not-so-pleasant aspects of being a female.
Another thing…his transitioning into becoming a woman has made his catty side all the more apparent. A large part of that Vanity Fair article was spent trash-talking his ex-wife, detailing how controlling and difficult she apparently was.
He seems to be forgetting he was in a 23-year marriage in which he was lying to his wife every single day. Kris Jenner may indeed be a hard woman to be married to, but I’m actually on her side in this; I can't help but think how painful all of this must be for her and her family.
Bruce wants support and understanding, not just from his family but the entire world too, yet is so bitchy towards his ex-wife and his non-biological kids. Going back to the show, he has been incredibly judgemental when hard-hitting issues cropped up, such as Lamar’s drug problem, and when Khloe visited a community rehabilitation centre in an attempt to understand her husband’s addiction.
At the same time, he dotes on the last of his biological kids to the point where they act like spoilt brats…yet still selfishly puts his needs before theirs. He was very grateful when they showed him support, but it was very clear that he was willing to go off and do his own thing had they not been supportive. When Khloe, who seems to be the main voice of reason in that family, probed him with uncomfortable questions, she was met with the familiar "well, I only really care about my REAL daughters" attitude. A complete slap in the face.
The whole thing just makes me realise that the kids in this family are actually a lot more responsible and mature than their goddamn parents. I guess this is often the way with kids who have experienced absent parents. It’s common in affluent households too, where parents are too busy with their own pursuits that they forget to maintain a real connection with their kids.
When it comes down to it, I guess it is brave to reveal your true desires about your lifestyle to your family and friends, especially if you’re in the public eye. And he has every right to live his life in a way that makes him happy. He has apparently had this internal struggle his entire life, and if living as a woman provides some relief to that then that’s what he should do.
But people need to stop acting like he’s making some massive contribution to humanity. Especially when he’s making a mockery of real women everywhere.
Because seriously, having lived for 65-years as a man, what does Bruce know about being a woman? He's never had a period. He's never felt real women's emotions, including love and disappointment. He’s never had that fear of potentially being harmed or violated in certain situations, simply because of his sex.
Being a woman isn't just about looking like one and playing dress up. Getting glammed-up and pouting and posing for the cameras might make him more accepted in a superficial environment like the entertainment industry, but in the real world it just makes him look like an attention-seeking, publicity hound.
Brilliant article. I watched that one episode of I Am Cait.
ReplyDeleteHey thanks a lot :)
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