Olympic gold medal decathlete and reality show star formerly known as Bruce Jenner has transitioned to living her life as a woman, Caitlyn Jenner. As I've discussed many times before, anti-gay bigots and homophobes tend to have a hierarchy within the LGBT community, at the top of which are lesbians, and at the bottom of which are transgender people. On the other end of the spectrum are transgender individuals, who are often even more strongly maligned than gay men, anti-gay obsession with male gay sex notwithstanding.
Right wing media wasted no time in going after Caitlin Jenner, ridiculing everything from her physical appearance to her name. Bryan Fischer, Host of Focal Point for the American Family Association, asserted on his program that he will continue to call Caitlyn Jenner "Bruce" and insisted on using male pronouns, adding that Jenner is suffering from "sexual confusion" and prayed that God would "expose the lies of Satan and break their power over his mind...because I don't want Bruce Jenner to go out and kill himself."
On Fox Business, the less-watched and more hyperbolic sister channel to Fox News, anchor Neil Cavuto, who happens to also be a VP and managing editor, mocked Jenner, asking, "What the hell is going on?" while putting on airs that he didn't even want to cover the story. Sidekick Dagen McDowell added to the charade by referring to Jenner using "he," "him" and "his" multiple times, and eventually focusing on Jenner's attire on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine.
I don't often discuss reality show stars and the Kardashians have never been a topic of discussion on The David Pakman Show, but what is a real opportunity to discuss important issues facing the transgender community is unsurprisingly being squandered by right-wing media, instead choosing to ridicule and mock in a way reminiscent of school bullying.
Hopefully, other corporate media outlets will use their platform to discuss acute problems that must be addressed. This includes transgender suicide, the alarming rates of murder against transgender women, and the stigma attached to healthcare for the transgender community. Check out my coverage from earlier today.