Dear Editor,
As I watched the powerful, yet emotional speech given by famed transgender Caitlyn Jenner, on accepting the ESPYS Arthur Ashe Award for Courage, I couldn't help but think about how people use the paltform they have to influence public opinion.
The award honours the year's top athletes and moments, and the large audience, which gave a standing ovation to Jenner, both before and after her speech, included successful hockey players, football players, basketballers, amongst others. Jenner's words resonated as she spoke about the countless lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people who have been murdered or committed suicide to relentless threats, bullying and fear. Jenner urged her audience, who are also role models to others by virtue of their athletic success, to become more responsible with their actions and how they treat people. She went on to vow "to do whatever I can to reshape the landscape of how transgender people are viewed and treated".
The award honours the year's top athletes and moments, and the large audience, which gave a standing ovation to Jenner, both before and after her speech, included successful hockey players, football players, basketballers, amongst others. Jenner's words resonated as she spoke about the countless lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people who have been murdered or committed suicide to relentless threats, bullying and fear. Jenner urged her audience, who are also role models to others by virtue of their athletic success, to become more responsible with their actions and how they treat people. She went on to vow "to do whatever I can to reshape the landscape of how transgender people are viewed and treated".
One part of the speech that stood out was where Jenner spoke about being a quarterback on the football team, and being tough enough as a person and an athlete to withstand all the name-calling and hurtful things now being said about her transitioning. She reminded her large audience, however, that although she is tough enough to handle it, there are many others who aren't. I applaud Caitlyn for using her platform, unlike others, for something positive, to encourage acceptance, while attempting to educate from her own experience.
Gender dysphoria is not some psychotic illness as Gleaner columnist Daniel Thwaites mischievously claimed in a recent article, otherwise medical doctors would not support or participate in transitioning. As I listened to the speech, I did not see or hear a mentally ill person speaking to an audience of powerful men and women, who applauded repeatedly and gave standing ovation after ovation to endorse this moving and powerful message beamed across the globe and carried by the major news networks.
In closing Jenner added: "For the people out there wondering what this is all about, whether it's about courage, or controversy, or publicity -- it's about what happens from here. It's not about one person, it's not just about me, it's about all of us accepting each other...We're all different, that's not a bad thing!" At some point, we too as Jamaicans need to learn to be less judgemental and leave other people alone to live their own lives without fear or prejudice or laws dictating what they can or cannot do intimately in their private spaces with consent. Thank you, Caitlyn Jenner!
Pete Delisser
pdelisser1988@yahoo.com
Caitlyn Jenner's powerful ESPYS speech
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As I watched the powerful, yet emotional speech given by famed transgender Caitlyn Jenner, on accepting the ESPYS Arthur Ashe Award for Courage, I couldn't help but think about how people use the paltform they have to influence public opinion.
The award honours the year's top athletes and moments, and the large audience, which gave a standing ovation to Jenner, both before and after her speech, included successful hockey players, football players, basketballers, amongst others. Jenner's words resonated as she spoke about the countless lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people who have been murdered or committed suicide to relentless threats, bullying and fear. Jenner urged her audience, who are also role models to others by virtue of their athletic success, to become more responsible with their actions and how they treat people. She went on to vow "to do whatever I can to reshape the landscape of how transgender people are viewed and treated".
The award honours the year's top athletes and moments, and the large audience, which gave a standing ovation to Jenner, both before and after her speech, included successful hockey players, football players, basketballers, amongst others. Jenner's words resonated as she spoke about the countless lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people who have been murdered or committed suicide to relentless threats, bullying and fear. Jenner urged her audience, who are also role models to others by virtue of their athletic success, to become more responsible with their actions and how they treat people. She went on to vow "to do whatever I can to reshape the landscape of how transgender people are viewed and treated".
One part of the speech that stood out was where Jenner spoke about being a quarterback on the football team, and being tough enough as a person and an athlete to withstand all the name-calling and hurtful things now being said about her transitioning. She reminded her large audience, however, that although she is tough enough to handle it, there are many others who aren't. I applaud Caitlyn for using her platform, unlike others, for something positive, to encourage acceptance, while attempting to educate from her own experience.
Gender dysphoria is not some psychotic illness as Gleaner columnist Daniel Thwaites mischievously claimed in a recent article, otherwise medical doctors would not support or participate in transitioning. As I listened to the speech, I did not see or hear a mentally ill person speaking to an audience of powerful men and women, who applauded repeatedly and gave standing ovation after ovation to endorse this moving and powerful message beamed across the globe and carried by the major news networks.
In closing Jenner added: "For the people out there wondering what this is all about, whether it's about courage, or controversy, or publicity -- it's about what happens from here. It's not about one person, it's not just about me, it's about all of us accepting each other...We're all different, that's not a bad thing!" At some point, we too as Jamaicans need to learn to be less judgemental and leave other people alone to live their own lives without fear or prejudice or laws dictating what they can or cannot do intimately in their private spaces with consent. Thank you, Caitlyn Jenner!
Pete Delisser
pdelisser1988@yahoo.com
Caitlyn Jenner's powerful ESPYS speech
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