Is Caitlyn for real?

[Guest CindyLouCovington]

A number of people in the local trans group are frankly concerned about exactly what is going on with Jenner. It has been such a media circus, and now with a new "reality" series about her, some people wonder if the whole thing is a publicity stunt.So far all that Jenner had apparently done that we can be sure of is get a face lift. Hormones, well she says. As far as courage, well celebrities LIVE on publicity, and welcome controversy, so this is not the ordeal it is for most of us. Jenner is loving the publicity, even the nasty remarks.And since the majority of people look to her as a great hero... I just don't know.

[MaryEllen]

Time will tell.

[Carolyn Marie]

Most of us, when asked about our medical treatment, are loath to say too much unless there is a good reason for it. I see no reason why Jenner should be expected to disclose more than any of us would. Yes, she's a celebrity, and celebs thrive on publicity. But why single her out for scrutiny? Why not any or all other celebrities? They all gobble up the attention. Anyone notice how many "likes" Boylan or Cox get on everything they post?

How will it all turn out? As Mary Ellen so wisely said, time will tell. In the meantime, folks should cut Jenner a little slack.

Carolyn Marie

[Guest CindyLouCovington]

Well, she is certainly not reticent to tell EVERYTHING about herself, the question is, how much of it is for effect? The story she tells, about cross dressing from an early age, and so on, certainly fits the typical pattern, but anyone could learn all about that from any number of trans web sites. And the trouble is, most of us certainly have no incentive to POSE as trans, but Caitlyn is different. Not long ago, she was telling people on some interview program to refer to "me" as "him". Why the sudden change? As if it was carefully calculated for maximum effect, which certainly sounds suspicious. And since celebrities do a lot of things for publicity that it is highly doubtful they are sincere about, you never can tell... A lot of phony stunts are totally harmless; this would definitely not be so. If Caitlyn later found some excuse to bail out, it would absolutely not be good for the rest of us. But as you say, all that we can do is wait.

[Guest Naatie]

I hope it will not turn into a vanity show making every transwoman out there portrayed like a bimboo.

Yes, i'm thinking Kardashians but for T's...

[Guest CindyLouCovington]

That is the thing to worry about.

[Charlize]

Was there a moon landing?

Hugs,

Charlize

[Guest Mickey]

Y'all folks really need to lay the heck off of Caitlyn Jenner. Because of who she has been associated with for the last how ever many years it was, she was followed and harassed by the paparazzi to no end. She had _NO_ other choice BUT to transition in the manner that she did. In secret. Over the last 2 years or so. If you look at pics from 2 years ago to the present you can see how she (still being a he at the time, at least in public) changed over time. Watch that interview again and you can tell that she was wearing an extra large shirt in order to do what so many of us have done before when in male mode, to hide her breasts. And speaking of the interview, why was it "call me Bruce, for now"? Because she hadn't yet revealed herself to the world. And being who she is, she had to do _that_ part of her transition in a spectacular manner. Which she did. Now just back up off of Ms. Caitlyn Jenner. Give her a friggin chance to do what she said that she wants to do with her new show. Oh yeah, and if I could make money off my transition, I certainly would. I'm very very glad that I am not in her shoes right now though. How ever nice they may be, or how ever many pair she may have. Still glad I ain't in her shoes. Look at all the backlash she's getting. And even from her own trans sisters and brothers. Shame on y'all.

[Guest Razilee]

I agree, Carla Michelle. "I'm very very glad that I am not in her shoes right now though. How ever nice they may be, or how ever many pair she may have." I have to admit that I do enjoy getting a little attention as Raz, but my threshold is much lower than hers. My sister has rightly said that I'd never be on Springer, but then Caitlyn is aiming higher than that too, I hope. We'll have to wait and see about that too.

Love, Raz

[Guest Opal]

Perhaps it would help to separate out Caitlyn Jenner the individual from Caitlyn Jenner Productions (not sure what it actually called)

Caitlyn the individual :

A lifetime of Gender-related feelings. Because of her circumstances, her feelings had to be buried during most of her life to all, with just a handful of exceptions from the Eighties until a couple of months back.

If I understood correctly, Caitlyn started to transition in the early Eighties, but stopped transition due to concerns over the impact it would have on Caitlyn's (Bruce's) children. Please keep in mind back at that time, there was very little information about transitioning available to most people.

I would guess that Caitlyn had some form of HRT and electrolysis during this time. However, it didn't seem to affect being able to father children later ( again, I am just speculating here).

Move forward numerous years, and Caitlyn is under the microscope being married to a Kardashian, plus being under close scrutiny due to reality TV. Other children are now in the picture, and Caitlyn has to be super stealthy, but in the last two year or so, starts to quietly transition again. Just about the time that Caitlyn decides will work to go public with her transition, there is a car accident with a fatality that she is involved in. This is no doubt weighing heavily on here, even though little is being said about the accident outside of her attorneys

Caitlyn goes public, and is pretty well received, overall. In fact, there was more public attention than expected.

Caitlyn the production company :

Not sure how large the overall staffing is, but would imagine that a sizeable core is still present from the days of the reality show "Living with the Kardashians". Given how large the direct staffing was for Jay Leno's show, and for David Letterman's show, it could be rather substantial in numbers.

With the audience numbers from the Diane Sawyer Interview, the reaction to the Vanity Fair Cover, and the ESPY award, the production company no doubt wants to move ahead as quickly as possible with the cable series, and other revenue generating items while the momentum is there. Please keep in mind that most of the production company has very little knowledge nor experience with TG issues.

So, in my opinion, and only my opinion, I believe that Caitlyn, the individual, is for real, and has spent a lifetime getting to this point. Caitlyn has also made decisions in the past that she felt put her children ahead of herself.

Also, in my opinion, and only my opinion, I believe that the production company, in its quest to survive and to thrive, is entering into some uncharted territory that may benefit Caitlyn, and possibly benefit the TG Community at large. However, I feel there is the potential for some pretty serious unintended consequences.

My apologies in advance if I have offended anyone. Just wanted to add an opinion.

Opal

[Guest]

My sister and I were just saying how well she's handled transitioning as a public figure and how humble she seems (especially compared to the Kardashians [as if I give a dang about reality stars or whatever they are]). She's a woman and that's how it is. She's Caitlin. I'm not worried about it. Besides, it looks like she has inspired people. Has anyone else seen these faux Vanity Fair covers a few transwomen have made for themselves? It's awesome. And I love going to the store and seeing Caitlin's smile on magazine covers. She looks happy. ^^

[Guest CindyLouCovington]

When Jenner had that interview titled"call me Bruce..for now", she WAS revealing herself, in a coy, teasing way designed to milk the maximum publicity out of this.

[Guest Charlotte J.]

Opal, thanks for that analysis... I learned from that, and your opinion seems reasonable and fair.

Rashaad, yes! ArianaD did one of those covers: http://forum.lauras-playground.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=67131#entry610419