Althouse: Everybody's talking about the "Call me Caitlyn" Vanity Fair cover.

June 1, 2015

Everybody's talking about the "Call me Caitlyn" Vanity Fair cover.

Bruce Jenner, photographed by Annie Leibovitz.

74 comments:

Blue Ox said...: I thought all the Kardashian ladies spelled their first names with a "K".; 6/1/15, 1:43 PM
Fernandinande said...: Isn't it rude to stare at funny-looking mentally ill people?

But it reminded me of
"The stories deal with things utterly repugnant to much of the country, especially the South and West, the blue collar, the military, and much of the Mid-West: racial lawlessness, glorification of every sexual weirdity anyone can imagine, hostility to Christianity (but not to Judaism or Islam), phony charges of rape, compulsory Ritalin-ingestion, grotesque affirmative action in the hiring of cops and firemen, attacks on academic standards, little boys dragged from school in handcuffs for drawing a soldier, the anti-gun crusade, the truffle-hound search for “stereotypes” and discrimination, and the denigration of masculinity and every aspect of white European culture."; 6/1/15, 1:45 PM
Bay Area Guy said...: Look at me!!! (But please don't judge)

Here's some advice:

If you are 65, and have $100 Million in the bank, and have good health, and have nice sons and daughters, and have had a fair degree of fame and accomplishment, that's good!

If you get bored, and need some excitement, there are better options than pretending you're a female!; 6/1/15, 1:47 PM
clint said...: Wow, she looks pretty good for her age.

So, does this mean she has to give back the medals? If she was born a woman in a man's body, wouldn't that make her ineligible to have competed in the Olympics as a man? How does the International Olympic Committee deal with transgender issues?; 6/1/15, 1:49 PM
damikesc said...: Yes, let's humor a crazy person with their delusions.; 6/1/15, 1:50 PM
Scott M said...: "Thus begins a great National Contest to see who can best pretend that None of This Is In Any Way Strange."

Ace of Spades; 6/1/15, 1:51 PM
Tank said...: @clint

No, he was and is a man.

He can call himself whatever he wants, but it won't change his biology.

Anti-science.; 6/1/15, 1:52 PM
RAH said...: Great lets glorify and confused and mentally ill person. Anyone confused about their gender is by definition mentally unsound.; 6/1/15, 1:52 PM
madAsHell said...: He's no longer a lesbian trapped in a man's body.

He's taking the dick out of decathlon.; 6/1/15, 1:53 PM
damikesc said...: I should "self-define" as invisible and walk around women's locker rooms.; 6/1/15, 1:56 PM
Birches said...: Wow, she looks pretty good for her age.

It's called photoshop.

One of my fb acquaintances has decided that he is a woman as well. He practices very selective photosharing, all very touched up to hide acne, terrible skin, bad lighting, the Adam's apple, stringy hair, etc. Sometimes somebody will tag him in a "candid" picture. It gets deleted almost immediately until it can be replaced with a new and improved version. It's really sad, actually. He's convinced himself he looks good, because he only looks at the images that he wants to see.; 6/1/15, 2:00 PM
David Begley said...: This cultural "event" is a litmus test for the two Americas.

Conservatives: This guy is mentally ill.
Liberals: You go girl.

I saw Bruce at the 1976 Drake Relays. He had a slightly different look in thise days. He wore red and blue that day and was in Sports Illustrated. Might even had the cover shot.; 6/1/15, 2:03 PM
jr565 said...: 20% of those undergoing the surgery regret it, and 40% attempt suicide after the surgery.So, hoping Bruce isn't one of the statistics.
Despite going by Caitlyn now, hes' always going to be bruce to me. And I'll always think to myself "Bruce, what have you done?"; 6/1/15, 2:07 PM
Gabriel said...: jr565:20% of those undergoing the surgery regret it, and 40% attempt suicide after the surgery.

Doesn't mean anything without the % of those who regret NOT getting the surgery and the % of those who attempt suicide without having had the surgery.

If those numbers are 40% and 60%, then the surgery would the better option.; 6/1/15, 2:12 PM
Birches said...: 20% of those undergoing the surgery regret it, and 40% attempt suicide after the surgery.So, hoping Bruce isn't one of the statistics.

Heads I win, Tails you lose. Because if he does happen to pull the trigger, society will be accused of not being accepting and tolerant. See Mike Penner.; 6/1/15, 2:16 PM
Amichel said...: Considering the skills of both the photographer and the Photoshop artist, it's telling that he/she still looks grotesque.; 6/1/15, 2:18 PM
Julie C said...: How about, "Call me Crazy" ?

You know, he's a grown man (er, woman?) and he can do whatever the hell he wants (although I should not have to be subjected to this magazine cover every time I stand in line at the grocery store for the next month) but when people decide that this means its okay to encourage their children to start cross-dressing at age 5 or doing hormone therapy as a tween, I mean, come on. How much more cheerleading are we expected to do?; 6/1/15, 2:23 PM
traditionalguy said...: Female impersonator gets a cover. Big deal. Men can easily play woman parts in plays. it's just the long hair and clothes, not the surgically mutilated parts, that convey the deception.; 6/1/15, 2:27 PM
William said...: I don't think he deserves to be ridiculed. By the same token, he doesn't deserve to be glamorized.......I have true sympathy for those born with scoliosis of the spine. That said, there are some measures of corrective surgery that are worse than the underlying condition. I suppose the decision should be left to the patient, but there is such a thing as a bad decision......I guess it's possible for a man to be born in a woman's body, but I doubt that is the solution. Future generations will look upon this the way we look at frontal lobotomies..; 6/1/15, 2:32 PM
Sloanasaurus said...: The transformation is pretty amazing. At first when I saw the picture, I had no idea it was the new Bruce Jenner. It looked like a cover shot of a magazine model. Now that I know, it looks a little strange. So bias will definitely impact reactions to the photo....

One question to ask though... in Bruce's mind and perhaps Ms. Liebowitz, the womanly ideal is thin and in good shape, and young looking. Why didn't Bruce choose to be an overweight woman with hairy legs. Are overweight women not as feminine?; 6/1/15, 2:36 PM
damikesc said...: You know, he's a grown man (er, woman?) and he can do whatever the hell he wants (although I should not have to be subjected to this magazine cover every time I stand in line at the grocery store for the next month) but when people decide that this means its okay to encourage their children to start cross-dressing at age 5 or doing hormone therapy as a tween, I mean, come on. How much more cheerleading are we expected to do?

Seems odd that this historically exceptionally rare disorder is becoming more and more common.

One would think it's a fad.

That he still wants to date women and isn't going to slice his penis off (honestly, if a psychiatrist signs off on it, they should lose their license) indicates that this is just a pathetic call for attention.

Perhaps spending years amongst emasculating shrews is a bad thing. Lord knows their brother hasn't been doing great for a while now, either.; 6/1/15, 2:39 PM
Henry said...: It would be really cool if John Lithgow could play him in the movie version.; 6/1/15, 2:43 PM
Jane the Actuary said...: OK, so dumb question but: how much of this image is real and the result of surgery, and how much the result of photoshopping?; 6/1/15, 2:47 PM
Darleen said...: photographed by Anne Leibovitz

More like photoshopped by Anne's assistant.

Really, from the pose to hide Jenner's hands & legs (no amount of hormones or surgery will ever hide the male origin) to the photoshop skin-smoothing, colorization, etc.

Fantasy in service of a political agenda and exploitation of Jenner's mental issues.

This will not end well.; 6/1/15, 2:48 PM
Jane the Actuary said...: the boobs? the hips? the (lack of a) bulge?; 6/1/15, 2:49 PM
Etienne said...: I don't think they will sell many issues. I think it's another Kardashian bomb. Next we'll see some black man doing "her" doggie style.; 6/1/15, 2:54 PM
MadisonMan said...: "Everybody" isn't because I'm not. (Except for right now saying I'm not talking about it, which is a way of talking about it. Nuts); 6/1/15, 3:02 PM
Julie C said...: I wonder how well in the ratings his big interview with Diane Sawyer did? I had absolutely no desire to watch.

My kids used to watch KUWTK and from what I saw, Bruce Jenner seemed to be sort of a sad figure. Nice guy, kind of wimpy, mostly ran errands and tried to be a parent to his children while his wife was pushy and scheming.

I don't think this will end well either.; 6/1/15, 3:04 PM
Biff said...: One problem with things psychological is that there often is no clean, binary distinction between health and illness. Is someone necessarily mentally ill if they are convinced that their minds/brains are in a "mis-gendered" body? I honestly don't know, at least not in a way that I feel comfortable applying a conclusion to all such individuals. I have no doubt, however, that such individuals are profoundly unhappy and in pain. If they truly believe that something as drastic as gender reassignment surgery and the associated hormone treatments are their only (or perhaps merely "best") shot at happiness or improved living, it is hard for me to suggest that they be denied the option, much less disrespected for trying to live, as they see it, more authentically. That doesn't mean that reassignment actually will make them happier, but I think they deserve to be taken seriously and not be objects of ridicule.; 6/1/15, 3:10 PM
Sam L. said...: I'm not.; 6/1/15, 3:13 PM
Beach Brutus said...: That pose looks like a "Silence of the Lambs" tuck shot. It's telling that he does not want to lose his penis. Whatever is going on upstairs, downstairs he knows he's a man and wants to stay that way.; 6/1/15, 3:22 PM
Sydney said...: So photoshopped it looks like a painting.; 6/1/15, 3:25 PM
jacksonjay said...: Dress like a woman? Althouse says, "Let him express himself! Leave him alone! It's OK! Who are you to judge?"

Dress like a child? Althouse says, "Grow up! Be a man! Put on some real pants!"; 6/1/15, 3:36 PM
paminwi said...: I agree either Biff.; 6/1/15, 3:50 PM
Steve in Toronto said...: I am waiting for someone to leak the pre-photoshop images.; 6/1/15, 3:59 PM
jr565 said...: Slonasaurus,
One question to ask though... in Bruce's mind and perhaps Ms. Liebowitz, the womanly ideal is thin and in good shape, and young looking. Why didn't Bruce choose to be an overweight woman with hairy legs. Are overweight women not as feminine?

Isnt that the most intersting aspect of all of this? Transgenderism undermines feminisms central premise. That there is no inherent difference between men and women. Gender is a social construct. But if you have a female brain (not agreeing that this is true, jsut what is stated) then gender is nto in fact a social construct. Because all the transgendered look like stereotypical women. They all wear dresses, and makeup and have long hair etc.; 6/1/15, 4:00 PM
Steve in Toronto said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 6/1/15, 4:01 PM
jr565 said...: "That he still wants to date women and isn't going to slice his penis off (honestly, if a psychiatrist signs off on it, they should lose their license) indicates that this is just a pathetic call for attention."
Wait, he still has his penis?; 6/1/15, 4:03 PM
richard mcenroe said...: I wasn't. Still ain't.; 6/1/15, 4:03 PM
clint said...: "Tank said...
@clint

No, he was and is a man.

He can call himself whatever he wants, but it won't change his biology.

Anti-science.

6/1/15, 1:52 PM"

H8r.

Next you're going to tell me that just because I look like a white man I can't self-identify as a black lesbian for affirmative action purposes.

Help! Help! I'm being oppressed!; 6/1/15, 4:16 PM
Anonymous said...: I know a child, now a teenager, who while born male has always identified as female. I buy the reality of being in a body that does not match your inherent identity. That said, I bet so many girls/young women named Caitlyn are going "Nooooooooooooooooo."; 6/1/15, 4:34 PM
heyboom said...: Bruce Jenner was a genuine hero of mine before he slipped into serious mental illness.; 6/1/15, 4:46 PM
Titus said...: This was huge news in my office today. The place was buzzing.

Herstory! Shes a pube too-an invite to speak at the pube convention would be awesome.

Fab!; 6/1/15, 4:51 PM
HT said...: Beach Brutus said...

That pose looks like a "Silence of the Lambs" tuck shot. It's telling that he does not want to lose his penis. Whatever is going on upstairs, downstairs he knows he's a man and wants to stay that way.
6/1/15, 3:22 PM

_________

Ok, so this helps. I was thinking that he kept saying he loves women and is sexually attracted to them. So I was trying to do the math - he loves women, but wants to be a woman, will he then have sex with....women? But as a woman would or a man? It does not seem to resolve the confusion if that ever was the original problem. So he wants to have intercourse with a woman but as a woman with a penis.; 6/1/15, 5:11 PM
Louis said...: I am fascinated by the urge to understand her or people like her as crazy or "mentally ill."

I think believing in gender is like belief in the soul. We each individually mean something so distinct by the words (something dictionaries gesture at) that it is probably hopeless attempting to persuade one another of a fact relating to the concept.

Could I use the word "soul" to describe a personality copied from a brain into a computer? Is gender an aspect of personality? When a computer has invented math to detail all these questions and prove their answers, is it God?; 6/1/15, 5:17 PM
HT said...: I don't want to get too deep on this, Louis. But you gotta bring "society" into it at some point and culture. I look at all these things as concentric circles and they play off each other. I think culture's definition or conception of gender influences the family and the family is who fosters gender through the child's development. The notion of parent child compatibility is huge too.

Signed,
amateur psych; 6/1/15, 5:23 PM
rhhardin said...: Iowahawk

Wheaties might be the Breakfast of Champions, but they never talk about the side effects.; 6/1/15, 5:37 PM
Bay Area Guy said...: Louis wrote: "I think believing in gender is like belief in the soul."

There are many aspects of life that are totally subjective and malleable and unquantifiable -- such as belief in the soul. Great topic to talk about, by the way.

But, there are also objective, concrete realities. You must concede that the Left, on many issues, has very much tried to change objective, concrete realities into subjective beliefs.

Up until recently, there were two objective, concrete realities: (1) you were a man or woman and (2) you married an adult from the opposite sex.

It wasn't a matter of "believing in gender" it was simply a matter of observing the real world and living in it.

Obviously, this had a negative impact on gays and transgender folks, because they were excluded from this equation, perhaps harshly, perhaps wrongfully.

But, nonetheless, that was how things worked for 99% of us, and, in many minds, how it should work.

Bruce Jenner thinks it's valiant and noble, at age 65, to fight the concrete and make it malleable. To me, a better use of his time and talents would be volunteering at a homeless shelter. I think his "fight" is not noble, but rather a self-destructive, narcissistic exercise -- that only a bored celebrity with $100 Million in the bank and a lot of free time could embark upon.

The rest of us live in the real world, with real flaws, real obstacles, but still strive for truth and beauty based on what is --and we don't have the luxury of pursuing theoretical pipe dreams. Frankly, I'd rather throw the football around in the park, with my kids.; 6/1/15, 5:48 PM
Titus said...: I so love her new tits-so fluffy.; 6/1/15, 5:54 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: jacksonjay said...
"Dress like a woman? Althouse says, "Let him express himself! Leave him alone! It's OK! Who are you to judge?"

Dress like a child? Althouse says, "Grow up! Be a man! Put on some real pants!""

6/1/15, 3:36 PM; 6/1/15, 6:04 PM
Bad Lieutenant said...: There can't be more than a few thousand serious transsexuals in the United States, Mary. Shoot half of them and the other half will never be heard from again.; 6/1/15, 6:17 PM
Roadkill711 said...: Kinky. Lola-like kinky that is.; 6/1/15, 6:22 PM
Bay Area Guy said...: "Sometimes it's good not to accept reality... to rewrite the book."

Agreed. But comparing the dreams of space exploration with the gender re-assignment of a rich, 65-year old bored celebrity ... is kind of a stretch.; 6/1/15, 6:23 PM
Mark said...: Call me Caitlyn

No.; 6/1/15, 6:26 PM
Louis said...: It wasn't a matter of "believing in gender" it was simply a matter of observing the real world and living in it.

The sun "rises" and "sets" but it doesn't, not really. Really the Earth is moving around it. Its a theoretical distinction so maybe we shouldn't upset people by correcting them or trying to change the langauage that has been used as long as we remember. The importance is purely theoretical right up until the point that it isn't. A healthy society should be able to leave room to have theoretical work done and the implications tested out freely.

The need for Caitlyn to do the world good by standing up and speaking is made apparent everywhere; people want to describe the trans-gendered as crazy, they want to batter them, they want to rape them, they want to assault them to drive them from public spaces.

On the concrete vs malleable. What do you mean by concretely male? Dick? The Y chromosome? A profile in the brain structure? A combination of these things or something else?; 6/1/15, 6:30 PM
Titus said...: He looks like Jessica Lange; 6/1/15, 6:31 PM
Birkel said...: Isn't he wearing shorts?; 6/1/15, 6:32 PM
Titus said...: She has a million twitter followers in 4 hours-new guiness world record.; 6/1/15, 6:35 PM
Birkel said...: Is it ok for Bruce Jenner's female persona to wear shorts?

Will Althouse woman-splain the rules, please?; 6/1/15, 6:37 PM
Bad Lieutenant said...: Why is all that any good, Louis? Why isn't it better for you to crawl back in your holes? We've been experimenting, the experiment is a failure, time to wash out the Petri dishes.; 6/1/15, 6:44 PM
Bay Area Guy said...: Louis: "The sun "rises" and "sets" but it doesn't, not really. Really the Earth is moving around it."

That is true. And, if you enjoy ruminating about such theoretical constructs, while strolling thru Central Park, after Midnight, the mugger you face might concretely bring you back to the real world.; 6/1/15, 6:59 PM
n.n said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 6/1/15, 7:02 PM
Louis said...: Mob rule except when the mob changes its mind too rapidly. In that event, the liberals have won at degrading our culture. Got it.; 6/1/15, 7:06 PM
n.n said...: The Age of Progressive Confusion has found its poster-It. However, it, not "It", is notoriously selective. Why not normalize all psychopathies? Where's the pride?; 6/1/15, 7:09 PM
Drago said...: "Well I'm not dumb but I can't understand
why she walks like a women but pole vaults like a man..."

All puns intended.

Thank you Laslo.; 6/1/15, 7:53 PM
wildswan said...: JR565: "all the transgendered look like stereotypical women"

Yeah, I also notice that Bruce has become a sterotypical woman - and a stereotype of a previous era. That hair! - how much time and money does it take to be that out of date? And her dress doesn't fit. She'd be ripped to pieces if she was a real woman and appeared on the cover of Vogue like that. It's more like someone wearing a sheet after an operation than an exciting dress. It just shows how little men really see about what women wear.; 6/1/15, 7:57 PM
ken in tx said...: He's a Katoy. Katoys are an accepted part of Thai culture. People in Thailand are familiar with them and put up with them. However, no one there thinks they are women--not even the Katoys.; 6/1/15, 8:57 PM
ken in tx said...: They are also called Lady-boys.; 6/1/15, 8:59 PM
Anonymous said...: Louis: I am fascinated by the urge to understand her or people like her as crazy or "mentally ill."

No, you're not, Louie. You're not the least bit curious about why anybody regards this behavior as pathological, and you have not the slightest interest in the actual etiology, personal or cultural, of the condition on display here. The only thing you're "fascinated" by here is your own babble.

tsflea: I know a child, now a teenager, who while born male has always identified as female. I buy the reality of being in a body that does not match your inherent identity.

Yes, there are people with various disorders in development who are going to have a sexual identity that doesn't match their body. Is that what we're seeing here? Or is something else going on?

Biff: If they truly believe that something as drastic as gender reassignment surgery and the associated hormone treatments are their only (or perhaps merely "best") shot at happiness or improved living, it is hard for me to suggest that they be denied the option, much less disrespected for trying to live, as they see it, more authentically. That doesn't mean that reassignment actually will make them happier, but I think they deserve to be taken seriously and not be objects of ridicule.

That depends, Biff. Are they effeminate guys or butch dames? Yep, anyone can sympathize with problems that arise from that. (But ethical medical professionals don't have any obligation to provide anything people want, just because they want it, if the evidence for its efficacy in treating the problem isn't there.)

Or are they big hairy aggressive "women" who oddly feel the need to express their "femininity" by wanting to have sex with women (their lesbians! uh huh...) or to expose themselves in teen girls' locker rooms? Hoo yeah, they got problems, but they don't elicit much sympathy in me.

And we should definitely ridicule the hell out of the gobsmackingly gullible people running around here who believe anything that anybody about themselves must be taken at face value, no matter how contrary to observation. Sheesh, guys, sexually ambiguous people, very masculinized females or feminized males, are not that rare. Surely you have observed their behavior. Is that what you see going on with Bruce Jenner, or a lot of the other "trannies" who are now being shoved in our faces by this culture's freak show enablers?

An objective observer might, just might, consider the hypothesis that what we have here are just some really, really, psychologically messed up people who have latched on to a faddish "explanation" for their unhappiness? Nah, that never happens, does it?; 6/1/15, 9:18 PM
Anonymous said...: ken in tx: He's a Katoy.

No, he's not. You point out one obvious difference yourself:

Katoys are an accepted part of Thai culture. People in Thailand are familiar with them and put up with them. However, no one there thinks they are women--not even the Katoys.

Exactly.

They are also called Lady-boys.

And lady-boys look and act like ladies, no? Not big muscular square-jawed galumphing lesbian Jethros.; 6/1/15, 9:26 PM
Louis said...: Why Louie? Is my name so powerful it is to be denied?; 6/2/15, 6:32 AM
Birkel said...: Louis is confused by auto-correct.
Life is confusing for some people.; 6/2/15, 11:46 AM
damikesc said...: And we should definitely ridicule the hell out of the gobsmackingly gullible people running around here who believe anything that anybody about themselves must be taken at face value, no matter how contrary to observation. Sheesh, guys, sexually ambiguous people, very masculinized females or feminized males, are not that rare. Surely you have observed their behavior. Is that what you see going on with Bruce Jenner, or a lot of the other "trannies" who are now being shoved in our faces by this culture's freak show enablers?

Let's keep in mind the only change he plans on doing is how he dresses. He still intends to date women.

Perhaps decades of marriage to an emasculating shrew caused him issues. I don't notice any real attempt to figure out WHY he wants to do it --- he just wants to and, dammit, people have to support him.

Because...reasons.; 6/2/15, 11:54 AM
Annie said...: Suicide is even higher in those trans people who mutilate themselves through surgery.

Unfortunately the LGBTXYZs silence those people who transition back after recognizing their illness for what it is and seek treatment for it. That is quite cruel. Those are the people that must have a voice especially now that people are catering to a child's confusion.; 6/2/15, 12:07 PM