Rose McGowan is in the news because of a lengthy post on her Facebook page criticizing Caitlyn Jenner. Jenner's recent quote in an interview with BuzzFeed is what set McGowan off.
"The hardest part about being a woman is figuring out what to wear," Jenner said. "It's always that way; I never thought it would come to this. I had really no sense of style."
I'd like to think that most people would read that quote and think nothing of it. I believe it was a light-hearted, humorous remark. It was a joke. Jokes aren't meant to be taken so seriously. Yet, we're living in an age where people get offended very easily. The extreme sensitivity and increasing political correctness has gone too far as far as I'm concerned.
"We are more than deciding what to wear," McGowan wrote.
We are more than the stereotypes foisted upon us by people like you. You're a woman now? Well f***ing learn that we have had a VERY different experience than your life of male privilege. Woman of the year? No, not until you wake up and join the fight. Being a woman comes with a lot of baggage. The weight of unequal history. You'd do well to learn it. You'd do well to wake up.
McGowan doesn't seem to understand equality. Equality is not putting others down because of their privilege. Equality is welcoming all people regardless of gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, etc. By her logic, the only people who are worthy of fighting for women's rights are other women. Well, how does she expect to get anywhere with that kind of mindset? Women need their male allies just like blacks need their white allies and gays need their straight allies. Using someone's privilege as an opportunity to exclude them just because they "don't understand" is only encouraging segregation. That is not going to solve the problems that minorities face.
The fact is, everyone has a fight that they're fighting. For example, Caitlyn Jenner has to hear comments like this left and right. Comments saying she's not a real woman, she shouldn't get involved because of her privilege, she's just an attention-seeking fame whore. Plus, she's got the paparazzi and media on her trail 24/7 passing judgement at every turn. You don't think that's oppression? Look the word up in the dictionary.
Another aspect of this that bothered me were the memes shared by Troy Brown of Ohio. Each meme featured Jenner's quote along with an image of a woman who was beaten, raped, stalked and even worse. These issues do affect a lot of women, but they're not exclusive to women. Men get raped, sexually harassed and beaten as well. Not just at the hands of other men, but women too. Women have a hard time coming forward, but so do men. Men are laughed at and told they're wimps or that they should've enjoyed it. A lot of shelters that house abused women and children don't allow men. I strongly believe that a cisgendered white heterosexual male can also be the victim of discrimination.
Money can buy you a lot of things, but it can't buy you an easy life. Like the old saying goes, money doesn't buy happiness. No matter how much money you have in the bank, we all have our own issues. Nobody should be made to feel like their issues are more important than someone else's. The fact that we have issues is enough.
I'm sick and tired of people putting others down because of their privilege. I'm sick and tired of people bashing Caitlyn Jenner. These people think they're fighting the good fight, but they're no better than the ones oppressing them. The fact that Jenner can't even make a humorous remark without it being blown way out of proportion is the very problem with society today. We're all under the illusion that we're progressing and we're not.
What about Jenner's reality show? Sure, she has the typical superficial moments, but she also has a ton of episodes that deal with real trans issues. Issues such as bullying, suicide, murder, employment discrimination. She's trying her best to help the community and this is what she gets in return. Not to mention the fact that refusing to accept Jenner as female is one of the most misguided statements you can make on this issue. If McGowan thinks Jenner doesn't understand women, she needs to look in the mirror, because it seems like she doesn't understand trans women.
Sorry, Rose. Caitlyn Jenner is a woman whether you like it or not.