Quick Takes (v10): America's De-transitioning

Quick Takes

Have you seen this one yet, about Caitlyn Jenner?

She's thrilled she has raised awareness about how transgender people have long been discriminated against but I think there's a chance she'll de-transition in the next couple years. I don't think it would surprise anybody in her inner circle. It has been much harder than she anticipated. My heart goes out to her and I know her true friends will be there to support her on whatever path she chooses.

Now, right off the bat I want to say that this post really isn't about Caitlyn.

She has a right to live her life how she chooses, and if that in fact entails de-transitioning back into Bruce, so be it.  I can't begin to imagine the journey she's been on, particularly playing it out on the world's stage. I get that doing it that way was her choice, but I don't know if, at the end of the day, curling up in a fancy house on a bed of dollars is going to provide any real comfort. Or maybe it does, I don't know.

And speaking of real comfort, here's the real reason for this post:  the quote above comes from a new book titled Kardashian Dynasty: The Controversial Rise of America's First Family.

I kid you not.

The book, a biography of the K-Klan, was written by Canadian investigative journalist Ian Halperin, who apparently had a best seller with a book about Michael Jackson, and a movie as well; he's also written about supermodels, the death Kurt Cobain, Brangelina, and the Governator, Arnold Schwarzenegger.  But this post isn't about Halperin, either.

It's about us.

It's about the possibility, regardless of how remote, that anyone other than Halperin's editor or publisher or whoever dreamed up the book title,  could possibly consider the Kardashians to be America's First Family.

Seriously? America's First Family is the Kardashians?  Dear lord.

This post is about us.

It's not about reality TV shows such as the Real Housewives of Anywhere, an oxymoron if there ever was one, and of kourse, it's not about Keeping Up with the Kardashians and Kocktails with Khloe and Kiss Me I'm Kylie and Kickball with Kendall and Kavorting at KMart with Kourtney and K'Mon, Be My $23K-a-month Boyfriend starring Kris, and all the rest.

It's not about the millions and millions and millions and millions of Instagram followers hanging on every word these reality stars don't speak. It's not even about people the billions we spend on plastic surgery trying to look like the people we see on these TV shows.

It's about an altered state of reality, where we lose sight of 'real' people and 'real' issues and 'real' problems and 'real' successes.

It's about celebrity, and Celebrity Apprentice, which brought us a celebrity candidate for Leader of the Free World.

It's about us.