If you don't have the time to watch the video, essentially Chelsea Manning (the trans political prisoner) claims that Caitlyn Jenner is a "grinch" who stole and sold out the trans movement. How do you think Jenner has either positively or negatively affected trans lib.
The image that Caitlyn portrays is problematic for more reasons than one; however, she has not stolen the trans movement. In order for someone to steal a movement, they would have to be an active voice at minimum. Caitlyn is not an active voice in activism. She certainly doesn't have to be; that is not a jab at her. She simply does not advocate and speak on these issues consistently. I believe that she has even said herself that she has no interest in becoming very politically or socially involved in general. Caitlyn has, however, absorbed quite a bit of attention, but that comes with being a minority. Issues of racism have been in the media for generations now; however, a large portion of the western majority will still brush over the voices of millions of people of color to highlight the opinion of the one privileged non-white celebrity who says "My life isn't that bad. Oppression is a thing of the past." Those individuals are absolutely ignorant, but spending all day wasting energy on policing them is pointless. There will never be a time in which there aren't any problematic minorities. It is much more productive to challenge those of the majority who choose to cherry-pick the voices of minorities, ignore the research, and remain blissfully ignorant rather than spending our time continue to call out the same person for the same nonsense.
On one hand, she's not the best role model. I don't really buy into her views, I have my doubts about how much good she's doing for the community. But at the same time, she shouldn't be expected to be a spokeswoman or a role model just because she's transgender. Let the woman live her life.
I think that sometimes people forget that Caitlyn Jenner is a human, not some super informed trans goddess. She makes mistakes, which is to be expected. She's still learning, and I think people are extremely harsh on her. It's undeniable that her coming out has skyrocketed trans awareness in the United States, which is a good thing.
Jenner is getting bashed for more reasons than she really deserves. A lot of the criticism is derived from interviews where she hasn't necessarily answered clearly enough to avoid controversy - like her comments about a "man in the dress" that she had to explain later (and that explanation showed she had no ill will in mind, just expressed insecurities of most trans people I guess, on how to pass). However... her comments about same sex marriage, lack of explicit support (just that "if the word marriage is so important to you" kind of statements). Supporting the political party that's explicitly against trans people. Her attitude towards homosexuality, reinforcing double standards... What bothers me the most is not Caitlyn Jenner herself (although I'd prefer if she was more informed and inclusive of others, not so out of touch with real issues) - it's how the media all started to elevate her and forget completely of other trans activists/celebrities, that frankly did much better job of being role models. Like, she got all these awards for... coming out? Yeah... she raised awareness, but so did others. I'm not saying she did nothing, but at the same time it's like she's suddenly a trans hero, pioneer, role model and the no1 representative... which feels fake, especially when I look at others that didn't get that much of a spotlight despite being famous and better as role models/representatives. However... ...which is true, but simply put, it's more about her being famous and high profile rather than her personal achievements as a trans activist. And all in all, it's great she's out there, for all of us. Well, not much for those in Europe or even further away from the US (culturally), but still, a good thing.
I've always been a big fan of Grinches, personally. Just last year, my mate and I traveled to Grinchistan, and they were lovely people. I think we need to end this prejudice against Grinches.