Social media exploded today with Vanity Fair’s release of its Caitlyn Jenner cover spread, with “Caitlyn Jenner” dominating the top spot in Twitter’s trending topics throughout the day. Praise for Jenner’s bravery in “introducing” herself reached as high as the White House, which retweeted this post by Valerie Jarrett.
Nice to meet you, @Caitlyn_Jenner. The brave choice to live as your authentic self is a powerful example to so many. https://t.co/Hbh3atbUOy
— Valerie Jarrett (@vj44) June 1, 2015
Morehouse College professor and CNN mainstay Marc Lamont Hill managed to put a damper on the party atmosphere with a pair of tweets taking issue with just what it was some were celebrating. Jenner’s bravery? Fine. But calling her “pretty”? That’s just reinforcing our socially ingrained “cis/Eurocentric narratives about womanhood.”
Between the Vanity Fair spread and "she's so pretty" convos, we've smuggled in the same old cis/Eurocentric narratives about womanhood.
— Marc Lamont Hill (@marclamonthill) June 1, 2015
If we only celebrate and welcome Caitlyn Jenner bc she conforms to tradition cis/and European standards of beauty, we are making a mistake.
— Marc Lamont Hill (@marclamonthill) June 1, 2015
Considering every fashion magazine’s extensive reliance on Photoshop, standards of beauty of all races are strictly enforced. Others chose to make the Vanity Fair cover a class issue.
@marclamonthill so true. Money bought that beauty – plain and simple. It's not that way for less advantaged trans ppl.
— Miss Anne (@GardenerMiss) June 1, 2015
https://twitter.com/ericstamps/status/605529535589711872
And then there are those trans people who do represent non-Eurocentric standards of beauty.
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@GabrielPaul_M @Jewles @marclamonthill Laverne Cox is a great example of not having white privilege & acknowledged non-Euro Centric beauty
— Trill Since tha 90's (@intreeg_me) June 2, 2015
@intreeg_me @Jewles @marclamonthill I love me some Laverne! I hope WE can continue to affirm TransLives of color to let stand n their truth!
— Gabriel Paul (@GabrielPaul_M) June 2, 2015
So what exactly is Hill’s point? Are we blaming someone here?
@marclamonthill She chose to do the spread. Sorry, we cis folks don't get to tell trans people how to present themselves to the world.
— Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce or GTFO (@Jewles) June 1, 2015
@marclamonthill I wouldn't tell a black person how they should position themselves for equality.
— Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce or GTFO (@Jewles) June 1, 2015
@Jewles My critique isn't of HER, it's of US.
— Marc Lamont Hill (@marclamonthill) June 1, 2015
@marclamonthill Why specifically say the Vanity Fair spread is the problem then?
— Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce or GTFO (@Jewles) June 1, 2015
@marclamonthill Sorry, I just feel like cis people have to take the bench on this. Not our struggle, not our place.
— Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce or GTFO (@Jewles) June 1, 2015
@GabrielPaul_M @marclamonthill He's NOT affirming her voice. He's making her decision about HIS agenda. It doesn't work that way.
— Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce or GTFO (@Jewles) June 1, 2015
@Jewles @marclamonthill is accurate on the pervasiveness of a Eurocentrism in validating narratives in all stories of oppression.
— Gabriel Paul (@GabrielPaul_M) June 1, 2015
@Jewles @marclamonthill Well I believe he said "we've" and laters refers to "us". The critique is laid at our cis-portrays of TransLives
— Gabriel Paul (@GabrielPaul_M) June 2, 2015
@GabrielPaul_M @marclamonthill I've not seen anyone say her transition is only laudable because she's a pretty white woman.
— Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce or GTFO (@Jewles) June 2, 2015
@GabrielPaul_M @marclamonthill So either I know good people or I'm just an idiot.
— Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce or GTFO (@Jewles) June 2, 2015
It’s anecdotal evidence to be sure, but most reactions to the cover we’ve seen have mirrored that of YouTube star Tyler Oakley posted above; the Vanity Fair cover is just the start of a broader conversation.
@GabrielPaul_M @marclamonthill MY critique is of him insisting on creating negativity where there was none previously.
— Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce or GTFO (@Jewles) June 2, 2015
@Jewles @GabrielPaul_M But that's not what I'm saying. My critique is not of Caitlyn AT ALL. Not even a little bit.
— Marc Lamont Hill (@marclamonthill) June 2, 2015
Well, Caitlyn must have had some approval over the way she appeared, Eurocentric as it may be.
@Jewles @GabrielPaul_M I'm critiquing how we only accept certain Trans lives. The ones that fit hegemonic notions of femininity.
— Marc Lamont Hill (@marclamonthill) June 2, 2015
@Jewles @GabrielPaul_M I'm challenging US to do better.
— Marc Lamont Hill (@marclamonthill) June 2, 2015
@marclamonthill I'm just not interested in seeing cis folks try to tell trans people what to do, which is what your first tweets suggested
— Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce or GTFO (@Jewles) June 2, 2015
@marclamonthill I also think that we can still celebrate that even marginal acceptance of any public trans figures is a big deal
— Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce or GTFO (@Jewles) June 2, 2015
@Jewles Agreed. It's a big deal. But I want to do my part, as an ally, to push the conversation forward.
— Marc Lamont Hill (@marclamonthill) June 2, 2015
@Jewles My first tweet was telling the rest of the world what to do, not trans folk.
— Marc Lamont Hill (@marclamonthill) June 2, 2015
Telling the rest of the world what to do? Business as usual, then.
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