opinion | Go Bake Yourself

Does Caitlyn Jenner Deserve An Award?

Well, I think from the title of this post, you can tell that I am still not all that keen on writing about food, even though I have been eating more than my fair share of calories *exam time guilt* – without reason may I add, considering I am barely studying.

But no, the real reason I have decided to post up today, randomly, out of the blue, is because there is a very hot and controversial topic floating around the media these days. I’m probably a little late, it was hotter last week, but I still want to give my two cents worth.

I don’t follow the Kardashians. Or should I say ‘keep up’ with them. Beyond the fashion that they wear (which is, admittedly, quite excellent, especially Kendall), I don’t care about their whozits and whatzits galore. I don’t go around glorifying them like half the population (amazingly), but nor do I go around hating on them and posting comments like ‘ugh, why are they even famous?’, though sometimes, it is a valid question. I believe I am apathetic towards them.

But I also don’t live under a social rock. And like most of the world, I saw the transformation of Bruce Jenner into Caitlyn Jenner (deliberately not a ‘K’) and the Vanity Fair spread about it. The hype is there, you type Caitlyn into google, and Jenner is the first option. You type ‘Vanity Fair’ and Caitlyn Jenner will inevitably follow.

Can I just say, I think what Caitlyn did was brave. Can you imagine waking up everyday, in a body which makes you feel so uncomfortable? Can you imagine having the longings of a woman’s life, while trapped in a confusing maze of male testosterone (or vice versa)? And in saying that, being unable to even discuss it with your friends because, not to be stereotypical but relying on statistics, men often do not talk about feelings like this without fear of, for example, physical retribution?

And she grew up in a time where these kinds of feelings were unacceptable a lot of the time. That is NOT what was unacceptable. What WAS unacceptable that such people were outcasted for expressing their feelings, or had to repress them for fear of societal rejection because people were too blind to see it was biological. It happens people, sometimes humans are born with the mind of a female trapped in a male, or the other way around. Accept it and move on.

And don’t even begin to bring religion into this as an argument against it. Although if I keep going on this track, it will bring up a whole other can of worms, and I don’t want to upset anyone.

So overall, it must have indeed been very difficult for Caitlyn. And I am very glad that Vanity Fair did such a spread because it raises awareness and acceptance of these people for a larger audience, so no, I’m not against people giving it attention at all. Vanity Fair has such an extensive following all over the world, and for them to promote this was a fantastic way of bringing to light the need to accept people for who they are (although you would think we were modern enough to do that anyway… but obviously not.)

And I do admit. Having such a high profile family, as Caitlyn Jenner has, surrounded by fame-seeking people, it must have been a little bit more difficult to brave the world viewing and judging your transformation. I remember, I was flicking through some random websites one day, and I saw a spread on ”Bruce Jenner Breast Implants.’ I mean, each step of your journey, taken by the media and publicised to the rest of the world, despite the private nature of it. Must have been a little harder to do.

But here comes the real question – Was it so brave that she deserved the ESPY Courage Award? No.

No. No. No.

Considering I have just celebrated her sex-change, as you have read, you may be a little surprised at my adamance against her award. But don’t be, because I am about to explain why I don’t think she deserved this prize.

What Caitlyn did was a remarkably moving step to become comfortable in her own person, while in the eyes of gossip mongers everywhere. But there are so. many. people, who, despite not having such a high calibre profile, battle their own societal demons to also make this massive personal change.

They are all heroes in their own right, for conquering their issues in gender identity so why specifically recognise Jenner, who already was getting so much more attention from the Hollywood world to progress the idea of acceptance?

This award could have gone to so many other people, whose courage has not only been personal, but helped the world and made a difference. The biggest example, of course, was 19 year old basketball star, Lauren Hill. Passed away now unfortunately, (rest in peace.), Hill was diagnosed with brain cancer but continued playing. She was a shining example of hoping for the best, even raising $1 million for cancer research before her death.

Snoop Dog (I’m sure you all have heard of this rapper, his name is pretty distinctive) wrote a controversial tweet or Insta-post on how he was angry at a ‘science project’ getting the award, when there were other more deserving people. That’s rude too, Caitlyn or any sex-change recipient is not some ‘science project’, that was just crass. But he is a prominent example of the backlash that is facing Jenner and the ESPN at the moment.

I get that Jenner can now stand proud amongst her peers in the sporting arena. She can stand proud as a woman in Hollywood.

But that is not a reason to give her prestigious award for courage in my opinion.

Do you agree, dear readers? If not, why?

The Tragedy of A320.

I was going to post a review today but, instead, this is a ~~small~~ post to express and send out my heartfelt condolences to all the families whose loved ones were tragically murdered in the Germanwings flight, two of whom amongst the many, were our own Australian citizens. I say the word murdered, and though it is a strong word to use, I personally believe that it is the correct one.

In case you have not heard, it was the co-pilot of this fated flight who very deliberately, flew the plane into the French Alps. Someone with one of the most trusted positions in the world decided that the lives of 150 people did not matter and used his skills to turn the plane onto a destructive path.

Initially when I heard of this tragedy, I assumed it was an accident. Is that not the logical conclusion to go to? I didn’t think terrorists, I didn’t think hijack, I thought awful, awful accident. But now, I am beginning to wonder if I should of thought of humans first, because it seems these days, so many tragedies are caused by our own kind, and the concept of ‘bad luck’ is fast becoming a myth.

We are becoming too intelligent to fall victim to accidents and too cruel to not create our own disasters.

I am angry. The level of ire I am feeling as I type is almost inexplicable, and there have been so many unhappy events in the past year alone, that I don’t know why this one has strung me up. Maybe it is because of the helplessness. The inability to act. The pilot locked out of the cockpit, the passengers in bewilderment. Like being in a car without a break.

All because of one awful, selfish creature that I can’t even call a ‘man’ right now.

Now, people may judge me. This co-pilot had a history of depression, psychological problems. He was cleared to fly, his sight, his hearing, his physicality in perfect working condition (how I wish it hadn’t been). And doing psychology, am I not supposed to feel a level of sympathy with one who always was, or became again, mentally unstable?

No. No I do not.
I feel no sympathy for someone, whose insanity is so far gone, their actions cause the death of over 100 innocent lives.

The police remain unsure of his motives, was he suicidal, psychotic? Was he angry at the world, angry at a particular few, but needed to release it? Personally, I find it difficult to believe he was suicidal. I don’t know if that is what authorities will rule or rule out, but a suicidal man often does his deed alone. It is a heinous idea that someone so unhappy with his life would also take the lives of others. All out of spite for how his own existence turned out.

Reading over a few articles, there have been suggestions that despite being physically at a high standard, his depressive tendencies were a constant factor in his life. It has also been suggested that he was struggling with personal relation issues. Relationship issues? Really? The basis of this deliberate, voluntary murder was your personal relationship problems resurfacing your depression? How I hope that is media gossip because I can’t stomach the idea of someone becoming so deranged over an issue as such. It makes me angrier.

Regardless of his motives, regardless of suggestions of mental instability, I don’t care. This was a conscious voluntary act of murder in my eyes. And I know, it is not all black and white, but right now, in my mind, it is pretty clear.

To all the families of the victims, there is nothing I can write, nothing no one can say to make it alright. But we can send our support, our condolences to each and every one of you. I won’t say it will be easier to live with it, that all you need is time, but we all know that isn’t true. So again, all I can say is that I am very, very sorry, on behalf of myself and my readers (I hope) and that we send our love.

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In terms of aviation, the rules are changing instantly. A two pilot cockpit rule has been established. A stronger, thorough, more in-depth standard of mental health examination is being erected, as I type, and tapped away into aviation administration. But honestly, did you not think of this before?

Paraphrasing John Gadzinski, a Navy pilot of 29 years experience (who has never had a mental aviation examination) ‘If you ask a mentally ill patient if he has any mental disabilities, he will say no.’ Are you going to tick off his physical and let him get on pilot controls? It is not enough to ask on a medical form ”write down your history of mental illness’. How many people are going to admit to it in the first place, denial being one of the worst traits of human nature.

I may be a little pessimistic here but why does it seem to usually take a tragedy for humans to pursue intelligent change?