California Republican gubernatorial candidate Caitlyn Jenner shared a transphobic, misogynistic meme—borrowed from Donald Trump, Jr.—mocking Asst. Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine.
Jenner—a transgender woman—shared the transphobic, misogynistic meme on her Instagram story. The meme mocked the appearance of Dr. Levine who is also a trans woman.
Judging a woman's validity, especially a transgender woman, on her level of physical attractiveness is a common form of transphobia and misogyny. While that bigotry is expected from Trump Jr., people were disheartened Jenner decided to endorse and promote it.
Dr. Levine—as the assistant Secretary Of Health in President Joe Biden's administration—is the highest ranking openly trans person in the history of federal government. Her accomplishments as a doctor and public health official were reduced to whether she's "pretty."
Trump Jr.'s original post made fun of her appearance by comparing an extremely unflattering photo of Levine speaking, labeled as a "liberal girl," to a professional photoshoot image of Jenner, labeled as a "conservative girl."
Trump Jr. captioned the meme:
@donaldjtrumpjr/Instagram
Wow.pic.twitter.com/cSjAJRc3hR— Julia Ioffe (@Julia Ioffe) 1621271245
Absolutely uncalled for. But as long he brought it up...Dr. Levine is much smarter than Jenner. She did fantastic things for Pennsylvania during the pandemic. I absolutely love her.— @beerslinger (@@beerslinger) 1621282261
While Trump fans like Tomi Lahren cosigned on his transphobic, misogynistic Instagram post, many others hurled homophobic slurs at Jr. and transphobia at both Jenner and Dr. Levine.
Many conservatives used the post to misgender both women and question Jr.'s masculinity for calling them women at all.
Then Jenner reposted it as an Instagram story.
@caitlynjenner/Instagram
This lead to a different kind of backlash.
Caitlyn Jenner proves yet again that she is a vile, repugnant hypocrite by mocking Dr. Rachel Levine.\n\nCaitlyn you should be ashamed of yourself for judging the looks of other trans women. You are an entitled, privileged wannabe who lacks authenticity & an IQ.\n#SayNoToJenner— Plastic Martyr (@Plastic Martyr) 1621381352
Rachel Levine graduated from Harvard College & the Tulane University School of Medicine and completed a residency in pediatrics and fellowship in adolescent medicine at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in Manhattan\n\nCaitlyn Jenner was an athlete who has no business run for officehttps://twitter.com/livefreeordavid/status/1394348325139324933\u00a0\u2026— lavender town for necromancy (@lavender town for necromancy) 1621344374
Fellow trans woman Alexandra Billings—an actress, singer, teacher and activist—posted a lengthy response.
She wrote:
"Dear [Caitlyn Jenner]"
"Reposting [Donald Trump Jr.'s] pic says volumes about both your self hatred and your blatant transphobia."
"I know this rage. I lived with it for years and it is still a cacophony of voices that haunt me."
"But I am not running for a public office and I am not a self proclaimed 'role model'."
You can see Billings' response here:
Billings added:
"...your search for admiration and public approval is just as transparent as your egocentric, pseudo-Republican, rich, White, privileged lifestyle you flaunt, pretending to be some sort of everyday citizen caring about everyday events."
"With your private airplane hanger full of lies and your million dollar shoes, you have as much in common with us, as we do with you. It isn't your Transness people are bothered by, it's your behavior as a human, Caitlyn..."
"You're dangerous and not only do you not know it, even if you knew it, you wouldn't believe it. Because no one really exists in your world, but you."
Billings included an appeal to Jenner's humanity.
"If there's a small piece of you that remembers what human frailty feels like, I appeal to that."
"Think of others. Think of the Trans youth who believe you to be some sort of super human."
"Your example is warped."
Many others also had harsh rebukes for Jenner.
Caitlyn Jenner doesn't care about the trans community. She just cares about herself and it sickens me. She's in a position where she can help younger trans people yet shows no interest in doing so. I wish I was in her position so I could help folks understand people like us.— \u2e38\u2727\u264a \ud835\udd7d\ud835\udd86\ud835\udd89\ud835\udd8e\ud835\udd88\ud835\udd86\ud835\udd91 \ud835\udd77\ud835\udd8e\ud835\udd87\ud835\udd8a\ud835\udd97\ud835\udd86\ud835\udd91 \u264f\u2727\u2e38 (@\u2e38\u2727\u264a \ud835\udd7d\ud835\udd86\ud835\udd89\ud835\udd8e\ud835\udd88\ud835\udd86\ud835\udd91 \ud835\udd77\ud835\udd8e\ud835\udd87\ud835\udd8a\ud835\udd97\ud835\udd86\ud835\udd91 \u264f\u2727\u2e38) 1621382086
She also continues to create the false narrative that her experience as a trans woman is THE trans experience which is extremely harmful to vulnerable populations, especially Black trans women.— David (Taylor\u2019s Version) (@David (Taylor\u2019s Version)) 1621274005
Caitlyn Jenner holding up misogynistic patriarchal values? I for one am shocked https://twitter.com/livefreeordavid/status/1394348325139324933\u00a0\u2026— Jedward Stan Account (@Jedward Stan Account) 1621341717
Could you imagine being this awful after going through what she has gone through??https://twitter.com/livefreeordavid/status/1394348325139324933\u00a0\u2026— Katie \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 (@Katie \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08) 1621329733
Many tagged Jenner in their responses.
@Caitlyn_Jenner, trash.https://twitter.com/livefreeordavid/status/1394348325139324933\u00a0\u2026— Marc Legarreta (@Marc Legarreta) 1621307911
@Caitlyn_Jenner you\u2019re trash.https://twitter.com/livefreeordavid/status/1394348325139324933\u00a0\u2026— Melissa (@Melissa) 1621298393
Oh you are going to HELL... @Caitlyn_Jennerhttps://twitter.com/livefreeordavid/status/1394348325139324933\u00a0\u2026— rrrubencito \u2601\ufe0f (@rrrubencito \u2601\ufe0f) 1621294996
This is just absolutely vile. She has no shame.https://twitter.com/livefreeordavid/status/1394348325139324933\u00a0\u2026— zac mighty (@zac mighty) 1621294005
This is so upsetting. I remember during her E show she had a lot of amazing Trans women trying to influence her to change her views and be more cognizant of the fact her experience is not common and to learn from others especially Trans POC. Clearly she hasn\u2019t taken that advise— F.R.E.D. (@F.R.E.D.) 1621291421
Many pointed out Jenner had millions of dollars at her disposal to aid with her transition. Many transgender people struggle with housing and employment discrimination, making the cosmetic surgeries used by Jenner as out of their reach as a stroll on the moon.
Being out of touch has been a constant complaint about Jenner.
Jenner will be running against several other GOP candidates in an attempt to beat Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom in the upcoming recall election in California.
But her behavior made her unfit for office in the eyes of many California voters. A recent poll had Jenner at just 6%.