a&e features
Caitlyn Jenner: American hero or ‘arrogant’ dilettante?
Former Olympian’s prominence a mixed bag for trans community
Transgender visibility in mainstream culture is at an all-time high thanks to Caitlyn Jenner’s media exposure this summer. (Photo courtesy NBC Media Village)
Few would argue that Caitlyn Jenner is the most prominent transgender person in the country right now.
The Olympic champion, who found a second wind of fame as patriarch on reality show “Keeping Up with the Kardashians, is now in the national spotlight after coming out in a Diane Sawyer interview on ABC’s “20/20” that aired in April, a Vanity Fair cover story and huge fashion spread in its July edition and a new reality show. She’s halfway through the eight-episode initial run of her own show “I Am Cait,” which airs Sunday nights at 8 p.m. on E!
For Jenner, who has publicly admitted to shortcomings as a parent to the four children she had with her first two wives — Burt, Cassandra, Brandon and Brody, all of whom have declined to participate on “I Am Cait” — there is early evidence that she hopes to be a worthy unofficial spokesperson for the transgender community. On the two-part Aug. 2 and Aug. 9 episodes, Jenner takes a road trip with newfound LGBT allies and discusses whether she’s a suitable person for the cause considering her new fame as a transgender icon.
Some transgender activists have approached the situation with a raised eyebrow. Posing in high-end fashion gowns and corsets in Vanity Fair, for some, highlights the huge gulf that exists between Jenner and the kinds of homeless transgender women of color Washington-based activists such as Earline Budd at HIPS (a resource agency for sex workers) and Ruby Corado (of Casa Rudy, a local LGBT resource center) have worked with for years, as well as everyday transgender people who struggle with health disparities, income inequality, access to health care for various gender-related procedures and a wide spate of other well-documented issues. Many agree Jenner’s prominence is a good thing but could it send the message to the straight, middle-America heartland that Jenner is anything close to representative of the trans experience?
Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, says it’s important to remember two major factors: both the unsung heroes of transgender rights who’ve been working on these issues for decades — she mentions names such as attorney Shannon Minter, activist Marsha C. Botzer, author/artist Kate Bornstein and several others — as well as recent transgender celebrities such as writer/activist Janet Mock and actress Laverne Cox (Sophia on “Orange is the New Black”).
While nobody’s calling it a contest, Keisling says it’s important to keep Jenner in perspective.
“I think Laverne and to a much lesser extent Caitlyn has done us all a really big favor by coming out,” Keisling, a trans woman, says. “I’m probably not in a majority position on that, but I think what Laverne and even Janet Mock have done is in a lot of ways bigger than the Jenner thing, which is burning really brightly right now, whereas Laverne has had this really fiery glow for a couple years now and it doesn’t show any signs of subsiding. I just cannot say enough about what Laverne has done. Being a model of possibility for trans women of color at a time when we really needed that and in a way that could really change some things, she’s done that really smartly and graciously and amazingly.”
Executive Director of the National Center for Transgender Equality Mara Keisling (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Dr. Marci Bowers, a California-based trans gynecologist who performs gender reassignment surgeries and has been an outspoken advocate for trans rights for many years, says she “has a tremendous amount of respect” for Jenner, but says she also has concerns.
“Stepping on the stage and kind of self anointing as the spokesperson for the trans community — and I really don’t think she does this intentionally — but it smacks of being a little bit arrogant and a little naive to the community,” Bowers says. “She must not forget the real pioneers, people like (tennis player) Renee Richards who came out in the 1970s — now that was difficult. … I’ve done hundreds of series and documentaries and these are things that have paved the way for Caitlyn Jenner. … She is literally standing on our shoulders and it would be nice if that was acknowledged. It seems painfully obvious to me. I haven’t watched all of her programming but from what I’ve seen, she doesn’t seem to get it.”
Bowers agrees, though, that Jenner deserves a grace period for being new to LGBT matters.
“I hope acknowledgement will come in time,” Bowers says.
Long-time activist Dana Beyer of Gender Rights Maryland, a trans woman and former eye surgeon who has blogged extensively on Jenner for the Huffington Post, says, “I don’t think there’s any question” that Jenner is now “the most prominent trans person in the world and in history,” an occurrence she calls “a good thing.”
“I just hope the point is made that she is not everyone and we all have different stories,” Beyer says. “That is true of any movement but given the fact that there are so few trans people in the public eye, it becomes even more potent. I have no problem with it. I just hope she speaks properly and gets her facts right and learns a little history, a little about the law and medicine and biology and activism and legislation and all of that stuff. I hope she gets that right. She’s really obligated to do it and I think she will. She seems very humble.”
Possibly further securing Jenner’s spot in an ivory tower, Beyer says, may be her status as an “older, white-collar, Christian Republican.”
“Even if this is mired in identity politics, I think (she) could make a positive difference as long as she knows what she’s talking about.”
Is there a chance Jenner could blow it and set the transgender movement back? Beyer and Bowers both point to Zoey Tur, an Emmy-winning reporter noted for her use of helicopters for live news reporting, who drew heat in March for statements on “Dr. Drew On Call” about trans women in locker rooms, the legitimacy of trans men and more (Tur is trans herself).
“Here you have somebody who was a bit of a celebrity 20 years ago get on CNN and talking about stuff of which she knew nothing,” Beyer says. “The law, legislation — she was wrong about virtually everything she said. Somebody like that is dangerous. … She’s a good example of a recently transitioned person who is not a good spokesperson. … We tend to put the recently transitioned in the spotlight, and that’s not always good.”
Dr. Marci Bowers and Dr. Dana Beyer (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
Shannon Minter, a trans man and legal director at the National Center for Lesbian Rights, says so far he’s been impressed with Jenner’s poise.
“Of course no one person can represent the diversity of any community, but Caitlin’s visibility has been hugely positive and has helped millions of people become more aware and supportive of transgender people,” Minter wrote in an e-mail to the Blade. “I know from my own experience as an advocate that she has helped many parents be more accepting of their transgender children. Her experience is different in some ways than that of trans people who are not as wealthy, but she seems to be keenly aware of that and to take her responsibility as a spokesperson and role model very seriously. I have been impressed by her thoughtfulness and especially by her concern for transgender children.”
Transgender author and teacher Alex Myers says it’s been amazing how much dialogue Jenner has generated among his trans friends and colleagues.
“My perspective on it is that she’s giving the movement and the identity better publicity than we’ve gotten in a long time, not even just coming from her and her own presentation but from the questions people are having,” Myers says. “We don’t want her to be the only voice, but I think she’s been well received and I think it’s a much more positive representation than anything else I can think of in recent history.”
Aside from Jenner’s reality show fame and status as an Olympic icon, Myers says stories of trans women tend to play well to middle America.
“I think the media in general is much more fascinated by trans women,” he says. “It’s much more perplexing for a guy who has all this privilege and status — why would they want to give that up? It makes for a much more sensational tale. When trans women transition, they often present in this very glamorous, very cisgender and dramatic way and that’s just not the case with trans men. We look like these short, dumpy guys and we don’t make such a sensational story for Joe Q. Public.”
Earline Budd says there’s a big difference between Jenner and many of the trans women she’s worked with over many years on Washington’s streets.
“I strongly support her but at the end of the day, I do feel it would serve her best if she did reach out to individuals such as myself who are leaders in the African-American transgender community who understand the struggles and the hardship and to engage folks,” Budd says. “She will never be the model for the African-American transgender experience. She doesn’t come from the same plight as many of us. Even my own personal experience of being openly HIV-positive, having been homeless before, having been an addict, having been incarcerated. I understand she is doing some work with some African-American trans women, helping one woman go through nursing school and that is really great, but … at the end of the day, we can’t put all our hopes and needs on one person. … We need to come together and figure out how we can put revenue behind where the real needs are.”
Earline Budd(Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
Further adding diversity to the wide umbrella that encompasses the trans experience, author and academic Genny Beemyn, who identifies as gender nonconforming, says Jenner is “an anachronism in a lot of ways.”
“It’s amazing how much visibility this has brought,” Beemyn says. “I have gotten more media inquiries in the last few months than I’ve gotten in the last few years combined. It’s unreal the number of people who are doing stories, not necessarily on Caitlyn going public, but trans issues. … I think there is some danger in her becoming the face of transgender people. Even with some of the other narratives that are out there, such as Laverne Cox and Janet Mock, they are all conventional, very feminine, trans women so we’re still seeing some erasure for people who don’t have the ability to look so glamorous or like cis women.”
Even with the concerns, Beyer says the visibility Jenner brings to the national dialogue far outweighs any concerns. She, too, has been barraged with requests for comment.
“A lot of these newspapers really never gave a damn about transgender people until a few months ago,” Beyer says. “This is a huge deal. People are calling to be educated. Nobody cared enough before Caitlyn to want to be educated. We are going to look back at this as being a post-Jenner moment and we’ll talk about things pre-Jenner and post-Jenner. Everything has changed as a result of this because all of a sudden now when these issues come up, people will have somebody to relate all this to. They don’t really know her, but it will be a lot easier to make the sale. ‘Oh really, you’re going to tell Caitlyn Jenner she can’t use the women’s restroom?’”
Beyer says it’s a new era of visibility and progress.
“Who were our options before? (Convicted murderer) Michelle Kosilek? Chelsea Manning? Somebody whom half the population thinks is a traitor? It’s a big difference to go from, ‘Hi, I’m a trans woman,’ ‘Oh, like Chelsea Manning,’ to ‘Oh, like Caitlyn Jenner.’ That changes everything. She’s a great athlete and an American hero and we’re basking in the reflections of that hero status. In today’s America, that’s about as good as it gets.”
a&e features
What ‘Queer Eye for the Straight Guy’ can still teach us
Producer David Collins on lasting impact of hit series
It’s hard to imagine where LGBTQ+ television would be without “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,” the trailblazing reality series that premiered in 2003.
Each episode of this Emmy-winning show saw a group of gays converge on a struggling man — the titular straight guy — and offer nonstop wit while organizing his endlessly messy life. This program about a group of homosexual helpers took the world by storm, furthering the love of gay television begun by shows like “Will and Grace” but bringing it into the growing medium of reality TV. Of course, it wasn’t perfect; “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” often cast its experts less as multi-faceted queer folks and more as sources of early 2000s gay jokes. But despite these pitfalls, it’s undeniable that the original program explored the realities of being gay in a way audiences had never seen before. It was a monumental piece of LGBTQ+ representation, and its success is largely owed to the man who fought to get this show made: producer David Collins.
Collins spoke with the Blade from his Los Angeles home, where he’s spent the past few years living with his husband and his two daughters. David spoke fondly of his many years in the industry, detailing how it feels to be such a huge part of LGBTQ+ history. He explained, however, that he didn’t initially set out to alter how queer people were seen on television. “I never went out to make gay television,” said the producer. “I went out to tell great stories.”
“I’m a hillbilly from Ohio, and I thought I was going to be an editor,” David laughed, looking back on his career. “I interned at the Cincinnati Film Office, and I showed up to work my very first day, and the film commissioner was like, ‘Get to the airport right now and pick [someone] up. Don’t talk to them.’ Well, I ended up picking up Jodie Foster.” Collins raved about this car ride that changed his life, with the pair becoming friends and Foster pushing him to become a producer who puts their own media out into the world. Eventually, he did just that, and after learning about the wild new genre that was reality TV, he pitched a series to Bravo: “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.”
“I was obsessed with Esquire magazine, and they had five categories: fashion, grooming, interior design, culture, food, and wine. So I gave them each a gay, and the Fab Five were born!” Collins said, describing how viewers quickly fell in love with the concept and earned the program four seasons and an Emmy for Outstanding Reality Program. He spoke about how proud he felt creating a show that centered real gay people, not characters in a story, remembering, “To stand in the middle of Times Square and look up and see this massive billboard with the original Queer Eye guys…it wasn’t even a dream come true, because it wasn’t a dream I had even fathomed.”
With his series, people were watching actual gay men and learning the realities of a queer culture that had always been portrayed as a danger to society. Collins tearfully recounted hearing about queer people using the show as a way to connect with their family, saying, “What I’m most proud of that’s come out of Queer Eye [are] the conversations that that series has allowed to have people around their kitchen tables with little boys in Ohio like me who were scared to death that they were going to burn in hell because their pastor was telling them that they were a sinner.”
Now, for all of its trailblazing, the program wasn’t wholly positive; the show’s focus on the central ‘straight guy’ meant it rarely delved into the lives of its Fab Five. Collins regretted that lack of depth but understood that earlier audiences weren’t accustomed to such a nuanced look into queerness — that would have to wait for the reboot.
When “Queer Eye” came out in 2018, audiences were introduced to not only a new Fab Five, but a whole new format (that didn’t rely on a straight person). Now, the series would assist queer folks and allies alike, spotlighting these individuals as well as the queer experts helping them improve their lives. The show has been applauded for its amazing makeovers, but where it truly stands out is its representation, offering a look into individuals across the country and the struggles — along with the immense joys — of being queer in America today.
Fans were disappointed to hear that “Queer Eye” would be ending after its 10th season, but David stressed that they wouldn’t have to be sad for long. “What I will say to you is this: hang tight,” he teased. “There’s yet another version of ‘Queer Eye’ to come, and we’re working on that now.” In the meantime, Collins is continuing his work with new shows like the “House of Stassi,” a series centered on “Vanderpump Rules’”prolific waitress. He’s excited about these new projects, but emphasized that his heart will always belong to “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” and all that it continues to do for viewers 19 years after its finale.
“It’s not about your new outfit or your new couch or your new whatever. It’s about your humanity,” said Collins, speaking about the core lesson he hopes people take away from the Queer Eye franchise. “It’s about seeing yourself. It’s about dignity. It’s about how confidence breeds success.”
A valuable message that queer folks can benefit from even more now than they did in 2003. And, while it’s unclear just what lies ahead for this franchise, one thing is for sure: “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” helped people everywhere understand the power that exists within our queerness. It’s a truth that has impacted countless pieces of LGBTQ+ television today, and it’s one that Collins promises to keep alive through whatever hit show he creates next.
a&e features
Jason DePuy on coping with homophobia in ‘Big Brother’ house
First drag queen contestant on CBS show fought to stay positive
One week after Jason DePuy (known as Salina EsTitties on “RuPaul’s Drag Race”) was bullied and eventually evicted from CBS’s “Big Brother” house, the queer drag performer is still emotionally processing his feelings.
During his 24 days in the reality TV competition, DePuy often had a rough time, with fellow cast member Kamuela “Kamu” Kirk making homophobic comments and feeling isolated.
In a conversation with Head of Household Rick Devens, Kirk left viewers upset when he said, “Bro, miss me with the drag stuff. Miss me. I’m still an MMA guy, and I have an image to uphold.”
Former “Big Brother” contestant Frankie Grande called his words ‘homophobic’ and ‘gross.’ Another comment, where Kirk said he wanted to end DePuy’s career, also received strong backlash online.
Now that he is out of the house, DePuy has been shocked and deeply touched by the love from “Big Brother” fans and former contestants. We chatted with DePuy for this Blade exclusive.
“To know that my community was rallying for me outside the house was the most wonderful thing. Seeing how much people were just wanting to shower me with love was incredible. Even my friends, I went to say hi and give them a hug, and they’re like, ‘Uh, uh, come here.’ They had to hold me and let me know America was feeling for me in a way that I had no idea.”
He added: “To see that reality was just overwhelming, and I couldn’t ask for more.”
Known as a messy player in the house, DePuy often had to fight to stay positive and stand up for himself.
“No one was coming to my rescue. In real life, it’s easy to block people, but in the house, I didn’t have that luxury, so I had to find it within myself to learn how to speak up for myself in a way that wasn’t nasty or biting. I didn’t attack anyone personally, which is what I was the most proud of.”
DePuy acknowledged he has had a history of putting his foot in his mouth when it came to certain “Drag Race”moments, being in the public eye, and making a fool of himself. “I’ve learned my lessons; to see how I handled myself in the ‘Big Brother’ house was amazing.”
While DePuy has been sober for 14 and a half years and has a strong spiritual foundation, in the Big Brother house, he often felt like he couldn’t communicate what he was feeling.
“As a queer person, a person of color, a drag queen, I have to be very careful about how I move. I don’t have the luxury or privilege to just act a certain way or say a certain thing. I have to be very careful; I’m representing me. But who I am is a Latino, a person of recovery, a drag queen, a queer person in the community. I know that there’s a lot of pressure that comes with that. I felt it was safer for me to sit there and just breathe than try to do anything crazy.”
He continued: “I couldn’t speak to the personal attack that was happening in the house, because in my mind I was like, ‘no, this is a game, and I have to play it, put that aside.’”
Not only can viewers watch the episodes, but they can also watch the live feeds of what’s happening. Seeing the fans’ social media posts from people who had watched the episodes and the live feeds also contributed to DePuy realizing that his feelings of discomfort were valid.
“To know that I wasn’t delusional in those moments, that others could see what was happening, has been a lot to take in. Fans and friends let me know the comments made went beyond the game…I’m like, ‘Oh, so my instincts were correct.”
One of the most poignant moments on the live feeds occurred when DePuy was crying, alone in his room, and said how he missed his gay community.
“I really missed my friends. I missed my queer community. We’re so colorful. We’re so loud. We’re so vibrant. We speak off the cuff, and we’re very truthful and honest with how we speak, and it’s fun. We have fun lingo.”
DePuy had to censor his expressions in the house. “Because I can say one thing, but it can mean something different to straight people than it does with my queer brothers and sisters. So, there was a sense of code-switching that I had to do. I had to even put aside some of my queerness in a way sometimes to fit in.”
DePuy was thrilled to be the very first drag queen to ever be cast on the show.
“I’m honored to have been chosen. There’s a million drag queens out there, and to know that I was a contender to come in the house and not even be in drag was like a wow for me. I’m over here in Hollywood, running around these streets with a wig and heels just to make a dollar to survive, and I have to rely on drag to do that. And then to be offered this opportunity and be given the privilege to say, ‘hey, you don’t have to put on the wig for you to be valuable here,’ is just insane to me.”
Prior to his shows, DePuy has been hustling for 15 years, flipping burgers and doing drag at night.
“That has been my life these past since I was 17. So it’s been a long journey; the opportunity to do this out of drag is a very big blessing. I’m honored and grateful to be the representation of my community.”
If you missed Jason on “Big Brother: Unlocked,” the episode can be seen on CBS.com. He will be back on the show for the finale.
a&e features
Rainbows in Revolt on a mission to make LGBTQ artists’ voices heard
Rainbows in Revolt on a mission to make LGBTQ artists’ voices heard
Last month’s Pride celebration in D.C. was so fun. Walking around my first Capital Pride with a $15 lemonade I was loving the madness and the color. Artists and small businesses battling banks you’ve never heard of collecting your personal information so you can spin a wheel to snag free merch. Great music blaring, people actually smiling and enjoying themselves, the “Great” American State Fair could never!
The Monument Stage was on Pennsylvania Avenue, directly in front of the National Gallery of Art and I can’t think of a better venue to see live music. How does someone get on the lineup for Pride? How do we accelerate the visibility of the most talented voices in our community to perform in places like this?
There is certainly not a talent gap, but there is a visibility gap. Chappell Roan went from playing for two people in a parking lot to owning the main stage at Coachella in one year. Whether it is shadowbanning or bias in AI, algorithms have been shown to suppress queer artists. In a digital age, how can queer people break through and show the world how talented they are?
Allison and Matt of Rainbows in Revolt are on a mission to make openly LGBTQ+ artists’ voices heard. Their goal is to find “musicians whose queerness is central to their identity as an artist,” and accelerate them to a place where they can actually reach fans.
The only time queer events seem to be in the spotlight is June, but this should be year round, according to Allison and Matt. Rainbows in Revolt wants to act as a “nucleus” for different sub-communities, finding common ground in the universal language of music.
Matt and Allison founded Rainbows as a way to make cheaper, higher quality merchandise for queer artists. While Rainbows has already pledged 20% of their profits to the LGBTQ+ community, with 10% to Whitman-Walker Health and 10% to LGBTQ+ organizations in need, this is just the beginning of the work that they do.
Rainbows “does the dirty work” that artists normally struggle to do on their own with limited resources. Interviews, artist profiles, social promotion, playlist discovery, radio outreach, and merch-funded support. This work is normally expensive, time consuming, and requires lots of different skills. Musicians don’t want to be editing clips to post online. Standup comedians don’t want to make graphics for their tour dates. They want to write more. They want to focus on their craft.
In addition to helping artists find their audience, Rainbows has built other digital tools to help queer people connect, including an interactive Safe Space Map for most major cities. It is hard to know which places are truly safe and supportive just from a simple Google search. Attitudes and actions change, and there should be a simple way for queer people to find other places that align with them. The Safe Spaces Maps are all up to date, and are tagged and filterable. Instead of relying on forums and word of mouth, Rainbows has created a centralized way to find authentic community quickly.
I had a chance to talk with Allison and Matt at Pride where Lily Erin, one of their signature artists, was performing on the Monument stage. Lily Erin is a folk singer who is familiar and forging her own path. Her bittersweet sound echoes through Acadia, and her garb mirrors the New England athletes I grew up with. Gorp Core meets streetwear. A graphic tee, hiking shorts, and creamsicle Jordans.
Her debut single, “Bus Stop,” tells a sad story about unconditional love, and the conditions that still seem to come with it. Graduating into lockdown, Erin needed a new way to connect with herself and others. Lily made “Bus Stop” without an intention to share it, but doing so was a liberation. People have been responding to her honesty around queer-ness, family, and the “ghosts which haunt us” even in the daytime.
Rainbows in Revolt has helped Lily Erin go from bars and backyards to The Monument Stage at Pride. This is a meteoric rise, and a testament to both Erin’s talent and the work of Rainbows to promote her. “A little encouragement goes a long way with early artists,” and by “planting a seed” Rainbows is already seeing their artist garden grow. Community is power, and Erin is a perfect example of how effective simple modern techniques of promotion can be.
A next step for Rainbows is putting on shows themselves. On Oct. 3, Rainbows in Revolt will host an Evening with Ray Boltz at the National City Christian Church. Boltz grew up in the Catholic Church and for many years was the soundtrack to many services, youth camps, and church groups. He was celebrated by millions until he came out in 2008. Allison remembers her community “never playing his music again.”
Rainbows in Revolt is helping him to return to the church, and proving that identity does not need to be exclusive. We live in a complicated world with complicated lines being drawn. Boltz proves that these lines don’t exist, and will be breaking down barriers to bring together communities. To Allison, “a trans woman standing next to a straight white man in church is a powerful teacher.”
The Safe Space maps bridge all types of spaces, and one of the unlikely ones is, perhaps, churches. Matt said that “BYU has only nine safe spaces around their campus and seven of them are churches.” Not all churches are anti-gay, and many times they are the only place for people to find community.
Rainbows in Revolt is just getting started bridging gaps and building community.
NYC lawmakers seek to repeal bathhouse ban
Black Educated Lesbians: A movement rooted in community
Hegseth uses transphobic slur while campaigning for Iowa congressman
What ‘Queer Eye for the Straight Guy’ can still teach us
I respect AOC, even though I often disagree with her
‘Maddie’s Secret’ defies campy expectations
PHOTOS: Nellie’s Drag Brunch
Remembering Barbara ‘Boo’ Price, a pioneering force in women’s music
White House targets gender-affirming care funding, states fight back
