If You Doubt the Power of Caitlyn Jenner, Look No Further
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At ATTN:, we've caught some flack for frequently covering Caitlyn Jenner. Almost every time we post about Caitlyn or her new show "I am Cait," someone inevitably comments: "ATTN:, are you f**king kidding me? What's with the celebrity garbage?" or "ATTN:, why don't you cover some real issues that matter as opposed to this Kardashian nonsense?" Many commenters do not even bother to word their dissent as nicely as the two examples above, but I won't digress.
So let us explain why we frequently cover Caitlyn Jenner: this one chart sums it up.
Dadaviz - dadaviz.com
As you can see from this data visualization from Jody Sieradzki at Dadaviz, Google searches for "what is transgender?" have spiked dramatically since Caitlyn's primetime interview with Diane Sawyer in April (during which she identified as Bruce) as well as since her Vanity Fair cover, which was released in June. Simply put, people are interested in Caitlyn, and more importantly, Caitlyn makes people more likely to be interested in (or learn about) the issues and struggles facing the trans community. This is a good thing, because at ATTN:, we want to promote trans awareness as well as enhance the quality of life for the overall LGBT community.
So while Caitlyn probably got you to click, you'll hopefully leave with knowledge like this:
- 41 percent of transgender people say they have attempted suicide, compared to 1.6 percent of the general population.
- 25 percent of transgender people have reported losing a job because they did not conform to gender norms.
- Transgender people live in poverty at 4 times the national average.
- 19 percent of transgender people report lacking any form of health insurance, including Medicaid.
If you want to learn more about the trans community, please watch and share these videos: