Justice

The Absurd Criticism of Caitlyn Jenner's 'Woman of the Year' Award

October 29th 2015

Caitlyn Jenner was crowned as one of Glamour magazine’s “Women of the Year” earlier this morning. Jenner is honored alongside other notable women who made an impact in 2015: actress Reese Witherspoon, entrepreneur Elizabeth Holmes, American Ballet Theater principal dancer Misty Copeland, Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards, the U.S. women's soccer team, survivors of the Charleston shooting, and Victoria Beckham former "Posh Spice.”

But though she is in good company within the pages of the magazine, many on social media were not pleased with her selection. When the internet caught wind of Caitlyn’s historic win, feeds flooded with a variety of arguments against Glamour’s decision.

Some cited Jenner’s car accident from February, others accused her of being a bad mother, but the most common contention claimed that Jenner did not deserve the title since she has not “been a woman” for a calendar year.

These arguments fall flat because ice is still water even though you can’t get it from a tap. Or in other words, though the world could not see Caitlyn Jenner as a woman until her heavily discussed Vanity Fair cover this year, that does not mean she has only been a woman since her physical transformation. And regardless of physical transformation, this is about how the individual self-identifies.

GLAAD's guide on transgender identity affirms this: 

"But not all transgender people can or will take those steps (medical operations), and it's important to know that being transgender is not dependent upon medical procedures."

Sexual transition is much more than cosmetics and operations. In her "20/20" interview with Diane Sawyer, which took place before the physical transition, Jenner states, “My whole life has been getting me ready for this. It’s not just the last few years."

GLAAD's guide on transgender identity affirms this: 

"But not all transgender people can or will take those steps, and it's important to know that being transgender is not dependent upon medical procedures. "

Regardless of the backlash to Caitlyn’s “Woman of the Year” award, in true Jenner fashion Caitlyn walked away with the top prize.

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