Bruce Jenner's Argumentative Essay

Over the weekend, my family and I went to a restaurant in downtown Cincinnati called The Senate. A few months ago they had gotten a great deal of backlash when they promoted a taco/sausage menu item they named the Bruce Jenner 2.0. Being back at the restaurant brought up a discussion of it which led to a debate from my mother on trans bodies. She does not discriminate against trans people but believes that there is no trans identity, you either identify as male or female and whichever you choose is your choice but if you switch, you should do so to the full extent involving surgery. She was extremely adamant that Caitlyn Jenner should not call herself a woman if she was choosing to keep her penis but modify all other parts of her body and identity. She is adamant that Caitlyn is still a man because she is choosing to be a woman and yet not complete gender reassignment surgery.

Her opinion is a perfect example of the social discourse in our culture that promotes a binary view of gender in which trans identities are rejected entirely in the view that there are only men and woman. She grew up in the 1970s and 19080s when the idea that trans would complete gender reassignment surgery was common. Years later, she does not fully grasp the idea that the decision to have or not have sex reassignment surgery is an individual choice and that there are many other options that transgenders can choose such as