#CallMeCaitlyn: Why Society Can't Judge Different Types Of Courage

In the world today, we like to claim a lot of different things as universal truths.

We often post on social media our disdain and distaste of the most trivial things, such as the coffee shop barista who didn't get our order right, or a subtweet about an acquaintance.

Surprisingly, we manage to keep it under the 140-character limit.

However, something we have ceased to realize or recognize in others, is everything in this world is relative.

We don't like to see how our words affect others, or how they could hold weight in their lives.

There's no way of knowing the effects we have on others until we realize there is an effect to be had.

A specifically relative term I saw floating around recently was "courage," in relation to Caitlyn Jenner.

Courage, too, is a relative term.

What was courage to David was naivety to Goliath. In the society we live in today, we have the choice to look at the effects it takes on us or test what we can do to it.

We call the latter, "expressing our opinions," and while opinions are often warranted, they aren't always welcome.

While it's near impossible to rake in a large amount of support from the entirety of society, I was overjoyed at the number of people I saw on social media who accepted Caitlyn Jenner as who she truly feels to be.

"Call Me Caitlyn" was sketched across the screens in hashtags and YouTube videos.

Although, in the last week, I've read strong "opinions" that Caitlyn's coming out is an affront to women, society and feminism.

While I do believe there is some truth to the fact that Caitlyn won't know what it's like to endure the struggles women have had to face over centuries, who's to say that fact completely denies her her womanhood?

Isn't it enough that she's being genuine to her true identity and allowing the world this rare glimpse into what could possibly be the reality for countless others? Of course it's not enough.

For society, it is never enough.

Furthermore, to say it's damaging to the idea of feminism is laughable.

Feminism, put simply, is equality and equity across the board of genders. It has very little to do with women's rights, as it does with equal rights.

Moreover, comparing the acts of courage between two things is not only ridiculous, but also not conducive to striving toward equality.

What Caitlyn has done and is doing is, in fact, courageous.

It is courageous because we live in a society that condemns those who live outside the societal norm (and often, to death).

We live in a society that says we can't express who we truly are because it's not what's in tune with what everyone else claims is normal.

Normalcy is, ironically, the ruling factor of a world that wants to be different.

Yet, when differences present themselves, they're pushed aside, shunned and eradicated.

In not acknowledging her pronouns (as Drake Bell so carelessly decided not to do), we are denying Caitlyn her rightly deserved claim to this common journey to normalcy.

She has claimed, herself, that she is "the new normal."

There shouldn't have to be a need to brand it as "new" because it should just be normal, plain and simple.

Do I recognize this article, in it of itself, is an opinion?

Absolutely. Should that diminish the weight it may hold with readers? Absolutely not.

Like everything in this world, everything is how you take it. Everything is relative. Yes, the soldiers who risk their lives every day across the seas are courageous.

Yes, the people fighting for the right to speak their minds are courageous.

So, why can't we say yes to Caitlyn's courage? It's just as valid, just as strong and just as genuine.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of Elite Daily.