Transgender advocates in Jacksonville are discussing how Caitlyn Jenner’s national coverage has sparked conversation and promote awareness concerning transgender issues at the local level.
Caitlyn Jenner, formerly Bruce Jenner, posed for the cover of Vanity Fair this month. The cover photo went viral when it was released and was shared all over social media.
During an appearance on WJCT's “First Coast Connect,” a panel of local transgender and gender non-conforming supporters talked about some of the issues faced by the minority group.
The panel included Kaitlin Legg, assistant director of the LGBT Resource Center at UNF, Kristie Overstreet, a licensed sex therapist, Frank Denton, chief editor at Florida Times-Union, and Chevara Orrin, founder of We Are Straight Allies, a local advocacy group.
“I think that as a nation we’re realizing that there’s a whole group of people who are unique and special, who we’re not supporting,” Legg said.
Legg says this Jenner’s public transition is an incredibly powerful moment for the transgender movement.
However both Legg and Orrin say some of the media coverage’s focus can be skewed.
“Unfortunately the media’s fascination and focus on the aesthetics of her transition are really leaving little room for dialogue on the complexity of the transgender lived experience,” Orrin said.
Orrin says there are other issues within the transgender community that need more attention in news coverage.
“One of the very real challenges is the violence that is still faced, particularly for transgender women of color,” Orrin said.
She says it is very challenging for transgender women of color to speak out publicly, when they know it might cost them their lives.
Denton says the media is learning along the way as they cover more stories on transgender people.
“It’s a learning experience for all of us, the American people, but also the media because we are reflective of that. So we’ve had some stumbles,” Denton said.
Denton also says he thinks people are to learning to understand and respect people who are different from them. He says acceptance is happening faster than it used to.
Orrin suggests getting to know a transgender person in order to really understand what they are going through.
“I think the more we get to know one another and share those experiences, that’s how we create change on a local level,” Orrin said.
Orrin and Legg say it is important to transgender people to have a voice in the media so they can speak for themselves.
“We can certainly forward stories on from our friends that are trans, but we can’t share that lived experience in the way that they can,” Legg said.
Overstreet says the process of transition is very lengthy and complicated.
“It’s not what you traditionally hear a lot of times about not fitting in the right body,” Overstreet said. “It’s more not feeling a sense of who you are, that your sense of self does not match who you see when you look into a mirror.”
All members of the panel say that people should seek out others within the transgender community for more information about how they can be supportive.
Listen to the full conversation with the panel on Wednesday’s episode of the “First Coast Connect” podcast on iTunes.
