It's been less than a week since Caitlyn Jenner revealed herself to the world on the front cover of a major American magazine. In the days that have followed, support for Jenner and the trans community has rung out from all corners of the world — and of course, the Internet.
The conversation about the cover continues to evolve. Members of the trans community — including high-profile ones like Laverne Cox — are issuing a reminder that not every beautiful trans woman looks like Jenner.
Roommates Jenn Dolari and Crystal Frasier were inspired to launch the hashtag #MyVanityFairCover after seeing Caitlyn's coming out. The pair created a tumblr to collect the "covers" of trans women across the world. Its mission? To showcase trans faces that don't necessarily adhere to traditional beauty ideals or cisnormative standards.
"This is a trans pride blog made to showcase the wonderful variety that exists within the transgender community above and beyond what we're shown in the mainstream media," they wrote on the blog."Ever since Vanity Fair announced their Caitlyn Jenner’s cover story, many trans people have voiced their concerns that the world only seems to embrace us if we’re wealthy enough or lucky enough to adhere to white, cisnormative beauty standards."
"I’ve felt frustrated and useless and overwhelmed by opinions on transgender women and how we’re 'supposed' to look if we want to be taken seriously," the writer added.
"But not all of us adhere to those standards. Not all of us want to. Not all of us can. Some of us do, but only out of fear. Some of us do but we aren’t sure why. And whether we fit those standards or not, we’re beautiful, and we all deserve to feel beautiful, and be acknowledged by the world. Admiration and praise for trans women shouldn’t only come if we fit a narrow definition of beauty. As a good friend of mine said Monday 'Where’s my Vanity Fair cover?'"
Original iterations of Caitlyn Jenner's newly-iconic cover came pouring in through social media under the #MyVanityFairCover hashtag . "Call me Crystal," reads the first post. What follows is a dynamic portrait of the trans community and members proudly revealing themselves. And, it's beautiful, from every angle.