Posted By Charlie Deitch on Thu, Jun 4, 2015 at 1:02 PM

click to enlarge A screen capture of the Post-Gazette's Caitlyn Jenner Op-Ed.

Theis getting pounded on social media this morning for a backward-thinking, close-minded, inappropriately breezy Op-Ed piece on Caitlyn Jenner by conservative-blowhard-columnist Jack Kelly.Wait, it wasn’t Jack Kelly? That makes it even more alarming. Well that, and the fact that the paper was just honored earlier this year as a nominee for a media award from GLAAD (the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) for a series called, "An Identity to Call Their Own," which featured the personal stories of six transgender individuals.The editorial, written by Jennifer Graham, aassociate editor since January (according to her LinkedIn profile) appears under the headline, “ Jennifer Graham: Caitlyn Jenner is still a mister.” The piece starts out talking about how Jenner’s transformation from Olympic athlete Bruce to female celebrity, trans-activist andcover model Caitlyn, will force Republicans — of which Jenner is a member — to address the issue of gender identity.Needless to say, that’s not the way it went. The piece constantly referred to Jenner with masculine pronouns (he, him, his), and because the paper insists on using needless courtesy titles in its copy, it referred to her as Mr. Jenner.In case you didn’t catch it, yes, Graham used references to the “good ol' days” of carnival freak shows to refer to Ms. Jenner, or as Graham so sensitively calls her: “Brucette.” Brucette?!? Really? Why not just call her “fruity,” “fairy,” “queer” or “fag?” I’ll tell you why. Because you know those words are hateful, disgusting and inappropriate. So you try and be cute and clever with "Brucette." Guess what? It’s just as disgusting, maybe more so.And, for the record, Ms. Graham, I don’t think anyone should be ridiculed for making a mistake of gender. But we’re not talking about a mistake. We’re talking about you advocating the rest of the world willfully ignoring someone’s personal identity because referring to Caitlyn Jenner as a woman bothers you in some way. Here’s a news flash: It’s not about you. And perhaps you would be best served by taking a look at our own Em DeMarco’s excellent comics journalism piece about how to make sure you're using the correct gender pronouns.I just can't bring myself to understand why people continue to think it's their place to have an opinion over someone else's body and identity. Yes, Caitlyn Jenner is a public figure and you have a right to pay attention to her or not. But her identity and her body are none of your fucking business, and that's a concept that people can't seem to bring themselves to understand.Our staff writer Alex Zimmerman just talked to Michael Silverman, executive director of the New York-based Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, who says of all the responses to Jenner: "I haven't seen anything like this.""The editorial was ignorant, disrespectful, mean-spirited and offensive," Silverman says. "This kind of commentary contributes to putting transgender people in harm's way. All this editorial does is criticize her in a mean-spirited and largely juvenile way. The vast majority of opinions have been extraordinarily favorable. This piece is in the minority."Graham goes on:Well, that makes perfect sense. Because throughout history parents have always been understanding of the gender conflicts and sexual identities of their children. There’s never been a 15-year-old tossed out on the streets by parents because they were transgender, bisexual or homosexual.This piece represents the worst kind of thinking on this subject. Also, it seems to come completely out of left field for the one daily newspaper in town that isn’t the. It’s really sad and disheartening. And I’m not the only one enraged by this. You must read this great response from journalist and transgender woman Parker Molloy in which she writes:“What value has your hateful screed added to the world? And this isn’t just about Caitlyn Jenner. This is about all the transgender people (particularly transgender women of color) who are murdered, lose their jobs, are denied health care, etc. because of who they are (and it’s not a 'lifestyle choice.' I assure you that I would be dead had I not come to terms with myself.)”Also, it goes without saying that the Twittersphere is beyond pissed, and I do not believe this will be the last time that thehears about this. Nor should it be.