How Caitlyn Jenner’s anti-trans comments are affecting LGBTQ community and her gubernatorial bid

Caitlyn Jenner at Web Summit 2017 in Lisbon. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Web Summit via Sportsfile (CC BY 2.0).

Caitlyn Jenner, reality TV star and California gubernatorial hopeful, said over the weekend that she was against trans girls competing in girls’ sports. She suggested support for a growing Republican movement to pass laws prohibiting trans athletes from girls sports. 

“This is a political move,” says Dawn Ennis, managing editor at Outsports. “She has turned this political campaign now into a complete disaster. … She's running on a platform that doesn't even exist in California. California is not going to roll back rights for transgender people. She's appealing directly to those GOP donors in hopes of either a cash grab or attention or both.”

Ennis says unlike other California celebrity-turned-politicians such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jenner hasn’t been politically active. She’s only voted in the last nine of the last 26 elections.