Caitlyn Jenner was on Ellen last Tuesday and like most, I tuned in to show my support but also I was eager to see my two favorite women which are personal inspirations to me and as I’m sure countless many other viewers. Caitlin went on to talk about her previous stance on gay marriage. While it’s not a secret that Jenner is a Republican as she did acknowledge this in a previous interview with Diane Sawyer, Caitlyn went on to say she was against it at first (pause *blinks*) stating and I quote
“I am a traditionalist, I’m older than most people in the audience, and I kind of like tradition and it’s always been a man and a woman, and I’m thinking, ‘I don’t quite get it.’ But as time has gone on, I don’t ever want to stand in front of anybody’s happiness. You know? That’s not my job. If that word ‘marriage’ is really, really that important to you, I can go with it.”
Now watching the interview I felt a huge comfortableness mixed with disappointment and I can’t really explain why. So I open the discussion floor up to you guys, how does it make you feel? While she’s not saying she’s against gay marriage she’s not exactly responding how I would want someone I look up to and support so much. Maybe it’s my fault for creating her to be this superhero with perfect views and always a full 100 percent support of all gay issues because at the end of the day she did not ask to be anyone’s role model and I accept that. However, I can’t shake my unwavering disappointment I felt after hearing her say her views on same-sex marriage.
I feel let down. I understand that she did not choose to be a role model and that her views are not supposed to be a perfect reflection of what I think. Should all unofficial spokespeople or role models have the back of a community that has welcomed her with open arms? Because that’s what the queer community has done, we fully supported her and her decisions and will defend her tooth and nail. As a member of the queer community, it hurts me to see that someone I look up to isn’t fully 100% when supporting an issue that is so close to us. I leave the discussion open to you all: what do you think of her statement, and do you agree that she is under no obligation to be fully supportive and understanding of issues that are so prominent in a community that she is now part of?
