The biggest sports and entertainment story in the continent this week was the transformation of 1977 Gold Medal athlete Bruce Jenner. Now going by Caitlyn, Jenner has been in the spotlight her whole life since capturing the world's attention in Montreal over 3 decades ago. Hollywood and the rest of the world has been following Caitlyn ever since she announced that she was going to transition from a man into a woman. Because of her very public family situation with the Kardashians and the revolving door of reality TV shows featuring her and her family, most people thought that this was a publicity stunt aimed at getting even more attention and landing another TV deal. I myself was a little cautious because of the negative attention that the family has been getting over the year. Not only that, I was also a little nervous about the reaction of fans and keyboard warriors possibly crucifying the very brave woman for what she was about to undertake. All of that speculation on whether Jenner was serious about the transition and if the operation was going to go well, and what the general reaction was going to be was silenced when the Vanity Fair issue featuring the new Caitlyn Jenner was released mere days ago.
There was an overwhelming amount of support for the gold medalist as she looked like a seasoned model posing for the popular magazine. Fans and celebrities alike took to social media to express their admiration for Jenner's bravery and for her outstanding look that was accomplished. One celebrity, Jessica Lange, responded to those who thought the two now looked alike by stating, " It's Wonderful" (cbsnews.com), that they comparision is being made. The positive reactions that have flooded the internet over the past while, are in stark contrast to the reaction that Jenner would have got even 5 or 10 years ago.
The acceptance of Caitlyn brings in a new era of tolerance that the world sorely needed. The transgendered community has been fighting for their right and fighting to be treated equally by the general society. Jenner's transformation is the newest and brightest beacon for that fight. Unfortunately you cannot have a fight without oposition. Despite all the positive reaction towards Caitlyn, there has also been some backlash about the Vanity Fair issue as well. There is a renown pastor in the Arkansas U.S that has called her "No longer America's athletic hero" (New York Daily News), and JR Smith of the Cleveland Cavaliers labelled her a "Science Project" (USAtoday.com). It's acts like this that makes one wonder how far society has actually gone.
Caitlyn Jenner is a hero to the transgendered community and is still a hero in the eyes of the sports world. No matter what anyone does, they can never get their accomplishments stripped from them, especially when that action is just becoming who you are inside.
My name is Smoke Stark, and this has been Smoke's Rant. Live long and prosper Caitlyn Jenner.