Ever since Caitlyn Jenner debuted on the cover of Vanity Fair back in June, the response from fans and the transgender community has been overwhelmingly positive.
Sure she’s met with plenty of haters, and the occasional critic who takes issue with Caitlyn’s insensitive comments toward disadvantaged trans people, but never before has she encountered something quite like this:
You may have seen that ad in your Facebook or Twitter feed today.
It was paid for by Sixt Rent-a-Car ("the leading car rental company in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Israel," according to the company’s Wikipedia page), and we can’t imagine how anyone thought it was a good idea.
Obviously, the ad is making light of Caitlyn’s transition by referring to it as a "crossover" and comparing it to an Audi Q5.
We’ll give these guys the benefit of the doubt and assume that it was all meant in good fun.
Even so, comparing the difficulties faced by transgender people to a freakin’ car you can rent for $49 a day is wildly insensitive and just plain dumb.
On I Am Cait Season1 Episode 2, Caitlyn was educated about the crippling poverty and sky-high suicide rates that plague the trans community. Perhaps someone should send a DVD of the episode to the morons in the Sixt marketing department.
And maybe those dolts should take a page from Avis’ ad campaign and try harder…to not be douchebags.