To the editor:
Sarah Wright published an article recently on “The Masculinity Campaign.” Most of it is constructive to a broader conversation about masculinity, and I appreciate that. We need more focus on healthy masculinity, including the artistic and healing archetypes that Sarah presents. So too do we need more examples of men supporting women pursuing roles that we have coded male for centuries.
That said, there is one paragraph that is painfully destructive to this conversation due to its (likely unintentional) misogyny:
Masculinity is neither monolithic nor unchangeable. Take Christopher Reeve or Bruce Jenner, for instance. Both were known for physical strength and professional achievement in their respective fields. That a tragic accident forever altered Reeve’s life while a gender transition did the same for Jenner proves that masculinity is always changing.
Hear me out. I don’t like Caitlyn Jenner. Even without following her closely, I am all too aware of a general “leopards ate MY face?” philosophy wafting from her general direction. That does not mean she does not deserve the humanity of her own, real, chosen name: Caitlyn. Even though she had opportunities granted to her specifically because she could act like a man, that is all that ever was: an act.
This is a woman of immense wealth and influence. All that wealth and influence did not keep her from detransitioning in the 1980s. All that gain from trying to force herself into the role of a man did not stop her from finally pursuing her truth again around 2008. I remember that: I was working at a job (deep in my own closet) whose dubious perks included tabloid magazines. Every one of her wardrobe updates and every smidgen of makeup was cataloged with all the classic sneering interest that we as a society give any woman trying to talk about her career—cisgender or otherwise.
As a man of transgender experience, I can’t help but recoil at Caitlyn’s gender transition being compared to a tragic accident, not to mention under a deadname of all things. Have you ever had someone in your life who just refused to get your name right? Maybe it’s Carl, but they keep calling you Brad no matter how many times you correct them. Now imagine you’re Carl, but this person keeps calling you Beth. It’s dehumanizing.
I can’t speak for Caitlyn, but I can speak to my own journey. Much of the transition-related tragedy in my life is related to my experiences of being mistaken for a woman. This led to a myriad of painful decisions that prevented me from being present in my own life. Tragedy is in the things I sacrificed because I couldn’t see a path forward from the deception my body presented. Transition alleviated rather than exacerbated the tragedy.
Caitlyn was never a man. She has reported struggling with gender dysphoria since childhood, long before the term “gender dysphoria” was even in common usage. Her “masculinity” did not change; it is our knowledge of what was always there that has.
Masculinity is neither monolithic nor unchangeable. Let’s continue this conversation and stick to actual men as examples.
Ephraim Alexander Schwartz
Pittsfield
NOTE: Ephraim Schwartz is a director of the Berkshire Stonewall Community Coalition; however, he writes the above as a private citizen.
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