Caitlyn Jenner, one of the most famous trans women in the world, has embraced her womanhood in the most public way possible. She even had a reality series for a while there.
But one thing that we have not seen her do, really do, since coming out is … dating.
Dating at her age, as a celebrity, with children, is always complicated. More so when you’re trans.
That has reportedly now changed.
According to reports, Caitlyn Jenner is now dating Sophia Hutchins, a 21-year-old trans woman.
For a long time, Caitlyn has been openly leery of dating.
Like a lot of minorities, Caitlyn Jenner is very focused upon respectability politics — she wants to look and act a certain way that she feels is more dignified.
(That’s true of all of us, up to a point, but celebrities who are also minorities feel a powerful added pressure to represent their entire demographic)
Cait is also a parent with adult children, so she is also concerned with how her children will feel if she begins dating just a couple of years after coming out to the world and transitioning.
We all likely remember the scene on I Am Cait when Caitlyn refused to dance with a man when she and the other women were taking dancing classes.
She confessed that she knew that dancing with a man on camera, even just for fun, would immediately make headlines and she didn’t want her children to see it.
Which speaks of a woman who, despite being out and proud, still has some internalized issues with who she is. It’s sad.
Still, she’s overcoming a lot of hurdles as she truly embraces who she is.
In fact, just a few days ago, Caitlyn Jenner fulfilled her fantasy of walking on the beach as her authentic self.
She’d told a therapist, decades ago when she was still deep in the closet, that it was her dream.
Well, speaking of living as her authentic self and of her trip to Cabo San Lucas (where the aforementioned beach was located), Caitlyn Jenner did not spend her tropical trip alone.
She was accompanied by Sophia Hutchins.
In the captions of one Instagram photo, Sophia describes herself as “Blonde. $ kinny. Rich. And a little bit of a b–ch.”
So she sounds fun!
Sophia used her school newspaper at Pepperdine University to reveal that she was transitioning.
Sophia had identified as a woman from a young age, coming out to her peers at 15.
But, as a college student, she cited Caitlyn Jenner as a source of inspiration, her story giving her the courage to transition.
Now, as for why people believe that they are dating … well, for starters, they’ve been hanging out a lot.
And that’s even evident, just from social media.
For example, Sophia has been sharing a lot of photos of Caitlyn’s dog, Bertha.
Some of Sophia’s photos were almost certainly taken in Caitlyn’s house.
Also, they both snapped photos from Caitlyn Jenner’s hotel room balcony in Cabo.
Caitlyn’s photo, of the scenery, also included Sophia’s legs.
The two women were spotted at the airport, returning together.
So, these two are definitely friends, which is no surprise. Obviously, Caitlyn would be happy to make a trans friend who has a similar background to her own (rich) and is happy to associate with her.
(Not all trans women like Caitlyn Jenner so much)
We can infer from social media friendship seems to have gotten really cozy in a relatively short amount of time.
All of this was enough for RadarOnline to come forward and report that the two are dating.
But … are they?
Well, a representative for Caitlyn told Gossip Cop that Caitlyn Jenner is currently single and not dating anyone.
The trouble with taking representative at their word is that, you know, sometimes celebrities don’t want a story or relationship getting out.
But if they wanted it to be a secret, well, Caitlyn could have avoided having Sophia’s legs in her photo of the sunset.
It could be that the two are dating, but Caitlyn doesn’t want it to go public yet.
It could be that the two are not dating but that Caitlyn doesn’t mind if people assume that they are, as being seen as having a hot blonde 21-year-old girlfriend would be cool.
And they might not be dating at all.
Honestly, Sophia might be straight. Just because someone’s gender isn’t as it was assumed at her birth doesn’t mean that her sexual orientation is up for grabs.
Honestly, we’ve always felt that Caitlyn Jenner has some internalized issues that she needs to work through before she dates anyone. If she and Sophia are dating, that’s great news for Caitlyn’s personal development. Good for both of them, really.
But … it’s too soon to report that they’re definitely dating. Friends can just be friends and hang out, folks.
