When former Olympian Bruce Jenner announced he was going to be come a woman, the world seemed to rejoice in her bravery.
They were quick to point out that you now called him a her because he is now a she.
Basically it’s a process that all started with the fact that a man identified with another gender.
Okay I get that. I’m on board with this whole process and I understand it – at least at a very basic level.
Many people the world over were quick to condemn other people who did not allow Bruce Jenner (now Caitlyn Jenner) to be whoever she wanted to be. I think that’s great too. People should have the freedom to be what or whoever they want to be. Right?
But then something very interesting happened. That something interesting was a woman by the name of Rachel Dolezal.
She was born white female but said she identified not with a different gender, but a different race.
People freaked out. Not just a little but in the most insane way. Unlike Caitlyn Jenner, Rachel Dolezal didn’t make millions and millions of dollars with her “change”. She lost her job, is now dead broke and facing insane criticism and bullying from people all over the world.
Apparently it’s okay to change genders, but not a race.
But why?
That is something that has me most curious. So I asked. I didn’t want to offend anybody, I just wanted to know …
Why is it okay for Bruce Jenner to become a women but not okay for Rachel Dolezal to become black?
I got some answers I didn’t understand or where quite honestly offended by.
“You can’t just become black. You have to be born black.”
Okay … but Bruce Jenner wasn’t born a women. He became one. So what’s the difference?
“You can’t understand what’s it like to be black unless you grow up black. We go through things a white person would never understand.”
Okay … so are you saying that women don’t grow up and have to go through things that men don’t or couldn’t possibly ever understand?
Trust me — we do. No matter what you say, there will always be things that a woman goes through that a man just can’t ever understand.
Can a man ever really understand what it’s like to get your first period? Or the painful experience of growing up with boobs? Or the harassment we get by men every single day? Or the the way that we are paid less than men (typically women earn $.76 for every $1 a man earns for doing the exact same job).
Can a man every really understand what it feels like to get pregnant and then lose that child through miscarriage? Can a man understand that 90% of the time when you are talking to a male in any social setting they are staring at your boobs and not listening to a word you say?
Does a man know what it’s like to find out that they can’t travel to certain countries – quite a few of them mind you, yes even in today’s day and age, alone or without covering their body from head to toe? Hell no a man doesn’t because men in our society don’t have those restrictions but women do.
These and many others are all things you can only understand if you were born a female, because only females go through them. Yet it’s still okay for a man to transition into a women. And I’m seriously okay with that. A person should feel free to be whomever they want to be.
So why can’t a white person transition into a black one? What is the difference between gender and racial identity? How is one okay but not the other?
I really really really really really don’t understand it.
Bruce Jenner is in fact now a women (even legally so) and that’s okay. Good for her! That’s her thing. She wanted to become a woman and most of society has accepted her decision to become a women.
So why are those same people condemning Rachel Dolezal for wanting to be known as what she most identifies with?
I think the worst part of all this is, Rachel Dolezal spent years of her life helping black people have a better life. She dedicated hours and hours and hours, day in and out for years helping black people through her job at the NAACP. In fact she was so good at what she did and helped so many that she eventually became the chapter president.
What has Caitlyn Jenner (either since or before the transition) ever done to advance the cause of women’s rights?
I’m sorry but I just don’t get the difference.
I really don’t understand why a man can become a women (or a woman can become a man) but a white person can’t become black?
Explain it to me please because up until now I have yet to find anyone with a valid reasoning.
Is it because black people have to face things growing up like discrimination? Well so do women. Try facing that same discrimination while bleeding our your yin/yang 5 days a month.
So if that’s not the reason, then tell me what is?
I want to know what the difference is that a man can become a women – or a woman can become a man — but a white person can’t become black!
So I invite you to please tell me what you think (in the comments below). Share this post with your friends and family and ask them to tell me what they think too because I really want to know.
Apparently my brain just isn’t capable of understanding the difference. So enlighten me.
Aimless Amy 