The unreality of reality

That's some fancy ride.  A Lamborghini that runs more than $400,000.  It's being delivered to the Malibu home of Caitlyn Jenner for filming a scene for her "reality" television series, "I Am Cait."  And it is a perfect example of why the labeling of such programming as "reality TV" is more than just misleading.  It's false.

That's Dave Hester, one of the stars of the reality series "Storage Wars" on the A&E network.  He sued for wrongful termination after he was fired from the show, for complaining that the producers were "salting" the storage lockers with valuable items.  In essence they were faking it.  The suit was settled and Hester is back yelling "yuuup" constantly.  Hester also claimed that the show's producers paid for some plastic surgery for another cast member, Brandi Passante.  Now that's definitely not reality.

But my real problem with reality TV at the moment is "I Am Cait."  Hey, I've been a fan of Bruce Jenner until the day he announced he wanted to be known as Caitlyn.  I became a fan of Caitlyn on that day.  What she's doing to publicly deal with her transition and being a transgendered woman is brave.  It just doesn't present the reality of the overwhelming majority of transgendered people.

The Williams Institute at UCLA's School of Law did a review of a 2012 Gallup Poll and estimates that 0.3% of the U. S. Population identify as transgendered.  Based on the current U. S. population estimates that would mean that there are nearly 1 million transgendered residents of this country.

Most of them will never venture out into public or attempt to transition.  Those that do, don't have the resources for the finest in facial feminization surgery.  They can't pay stylists to make them gorgeous.  Some find success in the entertainment industry but most are just regular folk.  Working to pay the bills, and the added ones that come with being transgendered.  Doctors, hormone prescriptions and the like.  What they are experiencing is nothing like what Caitlyn Jenner is doing.  Then again, they don't have that added burden of doing it for an audience of millions.

I admire Ms Jenner's courage.  But calling her TV show a "reality" program seems to ring hollow.  Especially if they are faking stuff with rental of cars and the like.