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Final Paper

Shaylyn Jaworowski

Final Paper

May 7, 2017

Over the past couple years, the transgender community has been included in the media much more than it has in the past. This has especially boomed when Caitlyn Jenner, formerly known as Bruce Jenner, transitioned in 2015. Bruce Jenner was known as America’s hero and Olympian athlete, winning a gold medal at the 1976 Olympic Games (Pallardy & Augustyn, 2015). Jenner continued his fame back then by becoming a sports commentator, and star of reality TV show, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, after marrying Kris Jenner in 1991. After having a family and happy marriage with Kris Kardashian, the two split and divorced in 2014. Bruce Jenner soon announced the following year in April 2015 that she was transitioning and would further like to be identified as Caitlyn Jenner. Later that year she came out with a reality TV show called, I Am Cait, which documented and showed the world the journey of her transition (Pallardy & Augustyn, 2015).).

This announcement shocked the public and the media and this topic was trending for weeks, even months. Many fans of Bruce Jenner overall did not understand what Caitlyn was trying to communicate to the public or understand what she meant by announcing that she identified as a woman. Wendy Hilton-Morrow and Kathleen Battles describe transgender as a disconnect that people experience between their biological sex and their gender identity. This term has changed quite a bit over the years and is now widely accepted as an umbrella term that covers various identities, which includes individual’s denial of the correlation between their biological sex and gender norms in society (Hilton-Morrow & Battles, 2015). Caitlyn Jenner upon making her announcement participated in a coming out interview with Diane Sawyer. A study was conducted to analyze the media and public’s reactions through twitter. Five different research questions were asked regarding certain trends, hashtags, and retweets that were used during the interview. The first question is “What were the most frequently tweeted (a) words and (b) phrases during the Sawyer/ Jenner interview?” (Miller & Behm-Morawitz, 2016). The results for this question were primarily positive because the five most frequently used words on twitter during the interview were bravo, deserve, loved, brave, and love. This indicates that the media responded with support and admiration towards Caitlyn’s choice regarding her gender identity. Of the next ten words that were most frequently used, two of them were “LOL,” and “Whitegirlproblems.” This indicates a negative response from the public. The second question asked is, “What were the most frequent retweets during the Sawyer/ Jenner interview?” (Miller & Behm-Morawitz, 2016). The results for this question were majority positive, including Oprah Winfrey’s tweet, “All of us deserve the right to be loved for who we are.” And Jennifer Lopez’s tweet, “Once a champion always a champion. #BruceJenner #transgender #beyourself #loveyourself #LoveIsLove.” The third question asks, “What are the characteristics of the most retweeted opinion leaders (e.g., celebrities) during the Sawyer/ Jenner interview?” (Miller & Behm-Morawitz, 2016). The results for this question are linked with the results of question #2. The top fifteen retweets from question #2 were celebrities, and three of the fifteen top retweets were tweets made by actors and singers of the LGBT community, including Laverne Cox, Matt Bomer, and Lance Bass. The fourth question asked in this study is, “What are the dominant themes that emerged from tweets during the Sawyer/Jenner interview?” (Miller & Behm-Morawitz, 2016). The most popular themes determined in the study included bravery, journey to truth, family drama, congratulatory, support, emotional reactions, education & awareness, gender, journalism and the interview, champion, god, politics, negativity, and sexuality. The majority of these themes are positive reactions by the media. The last question of the study asks, “Do themes co-occur in meaningful ways in tweets during the Sawyer/ Jenner interview?” (Miller & Behm-Morawitz, 2016).

Figure 1. Theme co-occurrence (dendrogram) (Miller & Behm-Morawitz, 2016).

This figure indicated the correlation between themes used on Twitter during the Sawyer/ Jenner interview. The line that is attached to the theme is called a leaf, while a clade is the branched connections between leaves. The shorter the leaf, the stronger the correlation between themes and the shorter the leaf, the weaker the correlation between themes (Miller & Behm-Morawitz, 2016). This chart overall shows that were a couple themes that were much more related than others, including congratulatory and support which has the strongest correlation, followed by bravery and journey to truth. This study shows how prevalent Caitlyn’s situation was in the media. Another article by the Washington Post supports this, titled, “Actually, Caitlyn Jenner just broke the Internet.” After Caitlyn Jenner posted her first tweet as Caitlyn, she broke the record for the Guinness World Record for gaining the most followers in the shortest time, beating former President Barack Obama (Izadi, 2015). This record has contributed a huge difference by putting the transgender community in the media spotlight.

An article posted on Daily Mail discusses the transgender community’s reaction to Caitlyn Jenner’s transition. Due to Caitlyn’s fame, she has used her platform to be a public voice of the transgender community. According to the article that explored these reactions, they overall were conflicting reactions both positive and negative. Individuals of the transgender community were asked to express their opinion of Caitlyn Jenner in one word. The results varied from positive responses such as ‘goddess,’ ‘brave,’ to negative responses such as ‘inept,’ and ‘tired’ (Lankston, 2015). Other reactions included just laughter after being asked to voice their opinion, as well as describing Caitlyn as a trendsetter. Overall, the reactions from the transgender community were very controversial. What made it controversial is that some of the reactions looked at Caitlyn as an ally in their community and others looked at her as having an unfair advantage because of her wealth she may misrepresent the community by making her transition look simple or easy to everyone (Lankston, 2015). Many others were unsure and on the fence about how they felt about her transition. Even though the responses from the transgender community were controversial, when being compared to the Sawyer/Jenner interview via Twitter, the responses from the transgender community were much more negative. Many of the transgender community may have a stance that Caitlyn made her transition look so easy, which is a complete misrepresentation of the transgender community. Transitions within the transgender community in real people’s lives (not celebrities), have had a much rockier road than Caitlyn’s. Not everyone who transitions has the support that Caitlyn had. This includes financial support, social support, emotional support, and even the media’s support. Caitlyn’s experience she most definitely did not feel alone and had transitioned in all her glory. Her transition may not have been absolutely perfect, but compared to the transgender community Caitlyn came out in a much safer space due to her financial, social, emotional, and media’s support throughout the entire process. An article from CNN called, “Why Caitlyn Jenner’s transgender experience is Far from the Norm,” shares many tweets from celebrities that point out how Caitlyn’s transition compared to a person in the transgender community’s transition are worlds apart (Grinberg, 2015). This article shares multiple charts with data that represent the transgender community and the disparities that they face. The charts show the significant amounts of transgender women that have turned down a job because of their gender identity, lost their job because of their gender identity, denied a promotion because of their gender identity, hid their gender or transition, delayed transition, stayed in a job that they preferred to leave, changed jobs, and did not seek a promotion or raise. This discrimination in the work place also flows over into housing discrimination including a significant amount of transgender women that were forced to move to a less desirable apartment, were denied access to a shelter, or were even physically assaulted in a shelter. Lastly, transgender women of color were much more likely to report extremely low incomes (Grinberg, 2015). All of this research and results of studies show how different the general populations’ transitions are worlds apart from Caitlyn Jenner’s. Transgender actress Laverne Cox, from “Orange is the New Black,” speaks on Caitlyn Jenner and how her transition is much different from the general populations’, but then provides insight about how she is not fit to represent the transgender community either, she states, “I have always been aware that I can never represent all trans people. No one or two or three trans people can. This is why we need diverse media representations of trans folks to multiply trans narratives in the media and depict our beautiful diversities,” This quote is extremely powerful and insightful in regards to representing the transgender community in the media. Caitlyn and Laverne are from different backgrounds and are both diverse, which is a good start to highlighting the transgender community in the media.

Overall, the reactions of the media and transgender community on Caitlyn Jenner’s transition can conclude that her transition in the media has been very controversial, but primarily positive. The negative responses can even be turned into a more positive outlook for moving forward. The Twitter study that took place during the Diane Sawyer and Caitlyn Jenner interview was overall positive and supported by the media. The reactions from the transgender community were very mixed and many were very unsure or on the fence. This source definitely had more negative reactions than the media during the Sawyer/Jenner interview. It cannot be concluded why this may be, but it may be primarily due to Caitlyn’s wealth and the potential doubt that she may misrepresent the transgender community. Laverne Cox turned the negative reactions discussed in the CNN interview into a positive outlook. The transgender community does not think that Caitlyn will appropriately represent the transgender community. This was turned into a positive outlook by Cox, suggesting that more diverse populations of the transgender community must be represented in the media in order to support all individuals within the transgender community, because they all have their own experience and journeys during their transitions and not one experience is the same among any individuals that are a part of the transgender community. This entire experience and Caitlyn’s entire journey that has been highlighted in the media could absolutely overall be used as a tool to positively represent the struggles and needs of the transgender community, raising awareness and education to the public through Caitlyn’s platform. Caitlyn has already taken steps to do so in order to help make transitions easier for individuals within the transgender community. Caitlyn Jenner advocates resources for the transgender community on her personal website, including suicide prevention, equality advocates, legal help, health youth and family support, scholarship, and employment training. These resources that Caitlyn has shared on her website are a step in the right direction for not necessarily being a representation of the transgender community, but an advocate and resource for the transgender community.

References

Dailymail.com, C. L. (2015, August 12). 'Inept... Privileged... Goddess': Transgender people reveal how they REALLY feel about Caitlyn Jenner in brutally-honest video.

Grinberg, E. (2015, July 15). What it's like to be transgender and not Caitlyn Jenner.

Hilton-Morrow, W., & Battles, K. (2015). Sexual Identities and the Media.

Izadi, E. (2015, June 1). Actually, Caitlyn Jenner just broke the Internet.

Miller, B., & Behm-Morawitz, E. (2016, December 15). International Journal of Transgenderism.

Pallardy, R., & Augustyn, A. (2015, April 27). Caitlyn Jenner.

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shaylynbrooke-blog · 8 years ago

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Cultural Event Report

Shaylyn Jaworowski

Cultural Event Report

April 26, 2017

The event that I chose to attend was Gay BINGO on Saturday, April 22 at the Gershman Y in center city Philadelphia. This event was hosted by AIDS Fund Philly with the goal of raising money for individuals who are HIV positive as well as local organizations that provide services. The money raised helps these individuals in emergency financial situations. Gay BINGO is held once a month in the auditorium at the Gershman Y. The structure of this event is very laid back and is hosted by drag queens who open the event with an entertaining performance. The participants were very diverse as well, including straight and gay couples and single individuals all coming together for this great cause. The fun twist on this event involved activities such as couples charades that consisted of a straight couple, gay couple, lesbian couple, and a “Will and Grace” couple. This activity was very entertaining and engaged all members of the audience. This event on the AIDS Fund’s website describes Gay BINGO as irreverent, fabulous, campy, and wildly popular.

In Jack Babuscio’s article, “Camp and the Gay Sensibility,” ‘camp’ is a term that describes elements in a person, situation, or activity which express, or are created by, a gay sensibility. Gay sensibility is defined as a creative energy that reflects a consciousness that is different from the mainstream; a heightened awareness of certain human complications of feeling that spring from the fact of social oppression (Babuscio, 2004). The four features of camp discussed in this article include irony, aestheticism, theatricality, and humor. Some of these features of camp were definitely portrayed at Gay BINGO. The drag queens opened the event with a theatrical performance in congruence with their theme of the night. During the games they walked around the audience selling special games in different outfit or costume changes every couple of games played. Another feature of camp that was definitely portrayed throughout the event was humor. Each game was sponsored by different agencies that support Gay BINGO and supported the cause and hosted a game for advertisement. One of the sponsors was Philly AIDS Thrift store in South Philadelphia, whose all proceeds actually all go to the AIDS Fund as well. It was interesting and inspiring to see these different agencies getting involved in the community for a great cause. When these agencies were on stage the host and the agency representative usually made conversation, jokes, and comic relief between announcing the bingo numbers. The host and the agency representatives were also very engaged with the audience and made jokes with them as well. Many of the jokes were immature and inappropriate, but this audience and area were as if they were a safe space for any kind of open humor.

Moe Meyer’s article, “Reclaiming the Disclosure of Camp,” discusses the ‘queer’ label and how it has evolved over the years. Meyer describes queer as “a concept of self performative, improvisational, discontinuous, and processually constituted by repetitive and stylized acts” (Meyers, 2004). This description of queer also describes some of the tone and activity that was portrayed throughout the event. This was the host’s tone and style to keep an upbeat, fun, and engaging experience.

As this event was very laid back, funny, lighthearted, and inappropriately silly, it was also very serious at times. The host and other performers were very passionate about the cause of this event and had the audience take a pledge to continue to participate in Gay BINGO until there is a cure for HIV/AIDS and to put an end to this awful epidemic in our world today. The host and other performers were very grateful for the large turn out in the audience and that really showed throughout the event how the performers and host treated the guests. Their passion was inspiring and contagious because many of the guests in the audience participated in many of the regular cues during the Gay BINGO game, such as certain actions, reactions, and dances when certain numbers were called throughout the games. This showed that many of these guests were regular goers to Gay BINGO. Many of these regulars dressed in costume for the theme and went all out supporting that month’s theme. It was a very welcoming community of all individuals no matter one’s sexuality, gender, race, etc. The host and performers made everyone in the audience feel as though that was where they belonged and that every individual was a meaningful and valuable participant. Overall, I think that this community’s passion to raise money and awareness and education for the AIDS Fund and help those who are in need who are HIV positive is an incredible thing. This is most definitely a positive and engaging way to put communities like this in the media and in events that are benefitting those individuals in need in the most fun and entertaining way.

References

Babuscio, Jack. (2004). “Camp and the Gay Sensibility” in Queer cinema: The film reader, pp. 121-136

Meyer, Moe. (2004). “Reclaiming the Discourse of Camp” in Queer cinema: The film reader, pp. 137-150.

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shaylynbrooke-blog · 8 years ago

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Final Paper Draft

Shaylyn Jaworowski

Final Paper Draft

April 19, 2017

Figure 1. Theme co-occurrence (dendrogram) (Miller & Behm-Morawitz, 2016).

Overall, the reactions of the media and transgender community on Caitlyn Jenner’s transition can conclude that her transition in the media has been very controversial, but primarily positive. The Twitter study that took place during the Diane Sawyer and Caitlyn Jenner interview was overall positive and supported by the media. The reactions from the transgender community were very mixed and many were very unsure or on the fence. This source definitely had more negative reactions than the media during the Sawyer/Jenner interview. It cannot be concluded why this may be, but it may be primarily due to Caitlyn’s wealth and the potential doubt that she may misrepresent the transgender community. This entire experience and Caitlyn’s entire journey that has been highlighted in the media could absolutely overall be used as a tool to positively represent the struggles and needs of the transgender community, raising awareness and education to the public through Caitlyn’s platform.

References

Dailymail.com, C. L. (2015, August 12). 'Inept... Privileged... Goddess': Transgender people reveal how they REALLY feel about Caitlyn Jenner in brutally-honest video.

Hilton-Morrow, W., & Battles, K. (2015). Sexual Identities and the Media.

Izadi, E. (2015, June 1). Actually, Caitlyn Jenner just broke the Internet.

Miller, B., & Behm-Morawitz, E. (2016, December 15). International Journal of Transgenderism.

Pallardy, R., & Augustyn, A. (2015, April 27). Caitlyn Jenner.

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shaylynbrooke-blog · 8 years ago

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Digital Essay #2

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shaylynbrooke-blog · 8 years ago

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Digital Essay #1

Shaylyn Jaworowski

LGBT Representation

2/7/2017

The Watermelon Woman

The story of The Watermelon Woman is told by Cheryl, a young black woman who works in a video store in Philadelphia. Cheryl decides to take part in a project of investigation on a black actress from the 1930s/40s. She takes interest in this actress due to the fact that she was known as “The Watermelon Woman,” opposed to her real name. Cheryl and her friend Tamara, who she works in the video store with reveal their sexual identity early on in the film while discussing their plans for the night. Their relationship is clearly close as they are able to joke with one another about their personal lives and each other’s love lives.

I believe that Cheryl’s interest in the watermelon woman comes from her own personal evaluation of herself as a young black lesbian female. I feel that Cheryl’s understanding of her own self, being a minority, that she takes interest in the degradation of “The Watermelon Woman,” another minority years ago. Cheryl interviews random people off the streets of Philadelphia asking them if they had ever heard of the Watermelon Woman. Almost all subjects answered with a no. No one could identify who she was. The only person Cheryl could find that was familiar with the Watermelon Woman was her mother who recalled seeing this woman in clubs and bars downtown when she was younger. However, her mother never knew that this actress was referred to as the Watermelon Woman.

After talking to another elderly woman, she finds out much more about the Watermelon Woman. She finds out that she was a performed who longed for fame, and that she was also lesbian. I think that Cheryl finding out about the Watermelons sexuality drove her interest even more because she was able to relate, being another young black lesbian woman.

As time goes on, Cheryl meets Diana, a young white woman who she develops feelings for after running into multiple times. Their first direct conversation was when Diana found out that Cheryl and Tamara were ordering movies off her account. Unfortunately, Cheryl’s friend Tamara doesn’t approve of Diana. She doesn’t think that Cheryl and Diana go well together because they are different races. She even accuses Cheryl of wanting to be white, discrediting Cheryl’s self-confidence. She also accuses Diana of wanting to be black. Tamara also slams Diana for working at a non profit agency helping young poor kids that happen to be black. Tamara shows so much frustration and hate when reviewing Cheryl and Diana’s relationship that I think, stem from her own insecurities.

In investigating the Watermelon Woman more, a video clip is shown of a Camile Paglia being interviewed by Cheryl who talks about the symbolism of a watermelon and the negative connotations that come of it through it being a stereotype of the black race. Here, Cheryl finds out that the Watermelon’s real name was Fae Richards. Camile expresses shock and denial when she is told that the Watermelon was lesbian and she goes on to talk about how unusual and rare interracial relationships were further back in time, let alone lesbian relationships. Not only was Cheryl black and lesbian, making her a minority in two ways, but she dated a woman of a different race which was rare in her time about 30 years ago. The stereotypes that came with an interracial relationship were for the most part negative, along with the stereotypes that came with identifying as a lesbian black woman. I think that Cheryl’s personal analysis of her own relationship drove her passion for learning about the Fae Richard’s relationships to find comfort in her and Diana’s fling that was so negatively fixated on by Tamara.

Finally, Cheryl finds multiple pictures of Fae Richards in an anthropology center. One of the pictures has a note on the back that Cheryl makes sure to record and find who the note was addressed to. Soon after this Cheryl finds an older woman who claimed she knew Fae, yet talked negatively about her. This woman made it clear that she was in extreme denial about Fae due to her discrimination of lesbians, and possibly the black race as well. This frustrated Cheryl and their meeting ended abruptly. After this Cheryl reaches out to June, who was Fae’s partner. Unfortunately, Cheryl never got to meet June due to her hospitalization but she was left with a note that made things clear to Cheryl on who Fae truly was.

I feel that Cheryl circumvented her own insecurities through breaking the case of the Watermelon Woman. Cheryl learned so much through investigating Fae Richards, all the while being caught in a confusing relationship that her bestfriend drove her to become insecure about. I think that Cheryl’s acceptance of stereotypes that applied to her came from her looking deeper into Fae Richards and her very similar past. Cheryl saw Fae as her parallel whether she realized it at first or not. Cheryl came to view Fae’s past as a symbol of hope, history, and confidence.

References

The Watermelon Woman [Video file]. (1997). Place of publication not identified: Publisher not identified.

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