Throughout the ages the body has been the target for improvement. Although men have received encouragement in maintaining their bodily appearance, it is women that have been the recipients of the never-ending barrage of fashion and makeup advertisements, body sculpting suggestions, fitness regimes, and diets. Companies, such as the numerous cosmetic corporations, have created a multibillion-dollar industry that encourages people to define their identity by their consumption habits that include buying into the notion of the wrong body trope.[i] Within the last few years, cosmetic companies have broadened their scope to include transgender women. To maintain their feminine appearance, and thus their identity, transgender women become avid cosmetic consumers honing their consumer practices, which in turn encourage identity to be defined by consumption. This paper will examine the connection between consumption and identity for transgender women.
The notion that there is no perfect body and that a woman’s body is flawed and in constant need of improvement is not a new phenomenon. For years the message of appearing attractive and perfectly feminine has influenced how women perceive themselves. Within the last few years the wrong body discourse[ii] has gained momentum and moved from the sphere of heterosexual women to include the transgender population. Evidence is seen in the growing popularity of transgender celebrities like make up artist Manny Mau, reality star Nadia Almada, and Olympian turned reality star Caitlyn Jenner. The desire to change from male to female is closely linked to the need to become authentic and self-determining. “Caitlyn Jenner’s utilization of her physical beauty is a means of showcasing her authentic female self” (6).[iii] Showcasing the authentic female self is directly linked to identity and within current society identity is political. For people within the transgender world, identity politics is a complex issue.
There is a difference between transsexual politics and transgender politics. Transgender politics is informed by the “queer understandings of sexuality and gender” (502)[iv] and strives to “disrupt and abandon categories of ‘woman,’ ‘man,’ and transsexual.’ (502).[v] The goal here is to eliminate any gender oppression.[vi] The focus is on gender identity. Transsexual politics turns its focus to the “human rights of a person,” (502)[vii] including all legal and medical rights.[viii] Interestingly, some celebrities tend to shy away from the political arena and as Caitlyn Jenner and Nadia Almada state their decision to become a transgender woman is personal not political. However, in a postmodern society identity is increasingly defined by consumption. What we consume has become a representation of who we are. When we purchase something, we manifest our identity and we express ourselves through what we purchase. Jenner and Almada’s reasons for reassignment surgery allowed them to finally connect with their true identity and essential selves.[ix] They felt flawed in their skin as men. To right this wrong and connect with their true identity they consumed reconstructive surgery procedures and products that enhance feminine beauty. The notion of the ideal woman must be maintained through a consumerist culture because feminine embodiment is produced through “make-up, clothing, hormonal supplements and surgical interventions, which must be constantly and perpetually maintained” (8).[x] The change from male to female and the continual consumption of beauty products is a political act. The company that sponsored Almada’s reassignment surgery and Vanity Fair’s cover shoot and article about Jenner is a political act. We live in a society where we can buy and express our identity through our consumer habits. We interpret this expression as authentic and real, a reflection of who we are. The companies that sponsored both women have capitalized on their identity and sexual expression. Anything economic is inherently political. Therefore, although Jenner and Almada refer to their actions as non-political they are, in fact, very political. Culture and politics are intricately connected and these inform economics.
Transgender peoples have the right to transsexual politics. They should have the right to exercise their freedom of expression and identity in a safe environment where they have all the same legal and medical rights as any heterosexual person. It is important to remember however, that in a postmodern society like ours identity and authenticity is closely linked to consumerism and therefore capitalism. Our identities have become defined by our consumer habits. While the wrong body discourse is alarming and for some a negative reinforcement of the body, it has worked “to mitigate the potential for trans visibility within the popular domain to disrupt common-sense understandings of personhood as contingent upon identification as discreetly male or female” (12).[xi] Nadia Almada and Caitlyn Jenner are strong, inspirational women that have decided finally to live as their authentic selves. In so doing they challenge the dominant heteronormative discourse. Challenging the dominant discourse is a positive step towards equal rights for all people regardless of sexual orientation, but it is a political move whether they intend it to be or not. Despite the apolitical stance that they have, in our modern society how we choose to express our identity is a political act. Turning into a transgender woman is political. Whether by consumption and identity creation or by protesting, identity is increasingly becoming defined by our consumption habits and corporations understand this by capitalizing on any form of gender expression.
Notes
[i] Michael Lovelock, “Call me Caitlyn: making and making over the ‘authentic’ transgender body in Anglo-American popular culture.” Journal of Gender Studies, 2016: 1-13.
[ii] Ibid., 8.
[iii] Ibid., 6.
[iv] Katrina Roen, “’Either/Or’ and ‘Both/Neither’: Discursive Tensions in Transgender Politics,” Signs, 27, 2 (2001): 501-522.
[v] Ibid., 502.
[vi] Ibid., 502.
[vii] Ibid., 502.
[viii] Ibid., 502.
[ix] Lovelock, “Call me Caitlyn,” 4.
[x] Ibid., 8.
[xi] Ibid., 12.