Not Caitlyn Jenner Taking an Anti-Trans Stance…

You know New York Magazine’s approval matrix? Well, imagine that except you’ve got “Hate Her!”/“Love Her!” going left to right on the X axis and “Broke as Shit!”/“Guillotina!” going bottom to top on the Y axis. If I were to fill out said approval matrix with every public figure I can think of, I truly think Caitlyn Jenner would be the only one perched up there on the top left corner, just sucking shit and killing people with her Cadillac 4×4, all by her lonesome. Like, I don’t think she’s the wealthiest person in America or even quite the worst, exactly, but even fascist, capitalist demons like Donald Trump and Elon Musk have fans! Who does Caitlyn have in her corner? Kylie? Kendall? That Sophia lady whose whole deal I’m still not clear on? Tell me! Who!

This is all to say that I don’t understand who Jenner thinks is going to vote for her in California’s gubernatorial recall election, to be held sometime later this year. I know that electoral politics aren’t just a popularity contest, but also they kind of are? And she’s a trans woman with the most disgustingly self-serving, personal wealth-preserving, white-lady-at-the-country-club Republican politics I can think of—a combination that would, by its very nature, alienate any conceivable base she might think to appeal to. Like, take this recent unplanned interview with TMZ. The outlet caught up with California’s would-be next governor in a parking lot somewhere in Malibu and asked her what she thinks about the dozens of states that have introduced (and passed!) legislation banning trans kids from participating in school sports.

“This is a question of fairness,” Jenner said, regurgitating a typical right-wing defense of codified transmisogyny that, for the record, has no basis in reality. (As West Virginia governor Jim Justice recently demonstrated in an interview with MSNBC anchor Stephanie Ruhle, the lawmakers and anti-trans advocates propelling these transphobic bills into existence usually can’t actually name any examples of this purported unfairness when pressed.) “That’s why I oppose biological boys who are trans competing in girls’ sports in school. It just isn’t fair, and we have to protect girls’ sports in our schools.”

Anyone who supports trans rights? Wouldn’t vote for that! Anyone who opposes trans rights? Also wouldn’t vote for that! At least not when it’s coming out of her mouth, what with her being a “biological boy” in their eyes and all. Did I mention that this is apparently the first actual political stance that Jenner has taken since launching her campaign to replace current governor Gavin Newsom? Prior to this, all she was doing was soliciting donations and selling merch, as journalist Katelyn Burns pointed out for Vox. Maybe she should just stick to that and, I don’t know, go see a therapist to work through all this self-loathing before she weaponizes it against anyone else.