In an effort to build a space for queer people like myself, every Sunday (or when I’m feeling spicy) I’ll be posting interviews, opinion pieces, listicles, reviews, and more focused on the LGBT community from a Latina perspective. Welcome to Queerly Not Straight! Enjoy and leave a comment below if you have a suggestion for what I should cover next.
P.S. I, Lyra Hale, do not give any site permission to copy or repost my work in any form. If you are reading this on any site besides Fangirlish, it has been stolen.
Caitlyn Jenner is so sure that she’s the “good transgender person” of the bunch that she continues to spew come for those in the transgender community. And The New York Post is there to help her with their own transphobic language when it comes to the LGBTQ community.
Let’s catch up real quick.
Basically, Dylan Mulvaney is a transgender influencer who has skyrocketed in popularity in the last year. They have 1.8 million followers on Instagram and 10.8 million followers on TikTok. And they have taken us on their journey of self-discovery as they affirmed who they are in this world. Most recently, they have garnered partnerships with Budlight and Nike. And that has pissed off the Republican transphobic masses to the point where this one guy bought a bunchhhhhh of Budlight and then crushed it with heavy machinery. (Good job after giving Budlight after all that money. 😂)
Moving on.
This is where Caitlyn Jenner comes in. A transgender person herself, she has used her position to play the “good” or “safe” transgender person for the conservative and Republican community. She has advocated denying transgender girls the right to play sports that match their gender identity because “it’s an issue of fairness.” She misgenders trans people by calling them “biological boys.” And she has been accused multiple times of supporting and benefiting from transphobia and calling businesses who have brand partnerships with transgender people as “woke.” This all comes after urging celebrities in 2015 with the following statement: “Trans people deserve something vital. They deserve your respect.”
Now in 2023, she has set her eyes on Mulvaney. Well no. Wait. Jenner has had her eyes on Mulvaney for a while, casually misgendering Mulvaney to the point where they responded on their TikTok. And now in 2023, Jenner seemingly wants to continue being in the news because she keeps on commenting about Mulvaney. This time she’s doing it with The New York Post, which has been called out multiple times for being problematic in the way they cover transgender people. In an exclusive with the Post, Jenner said that Mulvaney was “not good” for the transgender community and that she refuses to speak to Mulvaney because she’s trying to be “the adult in the room” and Mulvaney “is not.”
All I have to say about that is…this is a crock of ridiculous shit that further divides our community. We already have enough people coming at transgender people, wanting to strip their rights and even setting up a tipline to report “suspicious” transgender healthcare practices. (I’m talking about the Missouri AG who is all sad now because it blew up in their face. Boo hoo.) And then we have people within our own community lifting up hateful rhetoric that the Republican Party uses to crush transgender people. Like, I get that you have to make your bag and stay relevant. But it doesn’t have to be at the cost of the sisters and brothers who you share a unique experience with.
Personally, I think supporting legislation, programs, or narratives that actively take away the rights of transgender people while being a transgender person yourself, speaks of issues within the self. For that, I say therapy, counseling, and self-love are in order. But there’s also the fact that some people who are of an older generation are so sure that their way is the only way that they play into the hands of transphobes within the Republican Party. This comes without the comprehension that they smile in your face when you’re helping them and then mock you behind closed doors. Not to mention, if it came down to it, transphobic Republicans would throw the “good transgender” person in with the rest of them if policies get to the point where transgender people completely lost their rights to life, liberty, and happiness.
Then there’s the New York Post. I shouldn’t be surprised that they continue to show their hand. This isn’t the first or second time they have used “transgender” to invoke clicks and viewership. Most recently the Nashville shooting was used by the right to “escalate anti-trans rhetoric” with the Post deadnaming the shooter and having a cover for their paper that read “Transgender killer targets Christian School” with a scared and innocent child in the background to really sell it. There was no mention of a gun. Just apparent fear-mongering that used keywords like “transgender” and “killer” alongside with “Christian.” Basically, a Tic-tac-toe for the Republican community that gets them all extra riled up and thinking, “See! This is what we’re protecting our children from.”
It’s not like guns are the problem. Yeah, sure. Let’s call out the transgender of it all.
Now the Post is continuing its streak of transphobia by calling Mulvaney “a biological male.” *sigh* You do know that most people know what a transgender person is right? Transgender people didn’t just suddenly pop up like daisies. They’ve been here for ages. We don’t need you to “clear that up.” And it’s quite curious that Mulvaney is referred to in such a manner but when Jenner is spoken about, she is spoken with reverence, her multiple achievements and accolades being presented. But Mulvaney? Oh Mulvaney is “a biological male” to the Post and not a transgender influencer, comedian, actor, and activist who uses their platform to connect with other transgender people in hopes of normalizing their experiences.
Together, Caitlyn Jenner and the New York Post are giving desperation with a side of a boomer sitting on their porch and shaking their fists at the sky when the “youths” use their skateboards down the street while yelling, “Those whipper snappers!” It’s also giving “I’m the adult and you should respect your elders” without understanding that yes, respecting your elders is a sign of honoring where you come from, but that it does not mean “the elders” know everything and have the right to trample on other people’s right to dignity and freedom. So when Caitlyn Jenner says that Dylan Mulvaney, who I legitimately have watched like 5 of their TikToks, is “not good” for the LGBTQ movement, I say why don’t you look in the mirror? Reflect. See what you find. And if you do find something, do better.
Queerly Not Straight posts every Sunday with opinion pieces, listicals, reviews, and more focused on the LGBT community (and occasionally about the Latinx community since I am Latinx.)
