anyone in the public eye putting forward opinions and beliefs about a marginalised group is going to come under intense scrutiny. someone putting themselves in that position is going to have every little thing they say picked apart by the people they represent, because they're basically used as a measuring stick for everyone else under that umbrella, which makes us pretty uncomfortable- we can't choose to separate ourselves from things they say, because the rest of society will use that image to form their own ideas about what it is to be, in this case, a transman. i think it has to be pretty difficult to be in that position, especially given that chaz has almost been forced into the spotlight from childhood, which isn't a realistic platform from which to form a relationship with the general transgender community or even society at large. i can't imagine how you relate to everyone when you're in the public eye from such a young age. i think anyone who grows up in that atmosphere will have pretty obtuse ideals.
i neither like nor dislike him- i don't know him personally, and it's hard to comment on someone as a person when all you have are bits and pieces from a media perspective. i feel somewhat sympathetic towards any celebrity trans person... it's awkward enough having to deal with it in private. i've seen some really really nasty comments about him on youtube. no, i'm not particularly comfortable with him being considered the face of our community, but unless i put myself out there and start being vocal enough to try to adjust that current image, in the knowledge that anyone who doesn't like how i think is gonna rip whatever i say to shreds, i don't feel like it's fair of me to dislike him based on those grounds.
