By God put gold medal Olympian Bruce Jenner on this earth to deal with transgender issues, she said in an interview with Diane Sawyer on ABC’s program “20/20” Friday.
After the interview, Bruce Jenner gained my respect for the bravery and honesty it took to talk about such a personal issue. As a reality TV star, Jenner is criticized by society because her entire life is broadcasted for the public to see.
“Yes, I am a woman,” Jenner said. “That female side is part of me. It’s who I am. I identify as female, and that’s very hard for Bruce Jenner to say.”
The transgender community tends to go unrecognized in society, but according to the Williams Institute at UCLA’s School of Law, there are 700,000 transgender people in the United States.
Although there are other transgender celebrities, Jenner has an enormous fan base, from when she was an Olympian to those who know her in “Keeping up with the Kardashians,” a reality television show. Having a big name celebrity like Bruce Jenner talk about her experiences dealing with her gender orientation could really change the public perspective on transgender people since she is such an influential person.
By speaking out and going through with a sex change in the public eye, Jenner will show people that it is okay to have a different gender identity than the physical gender of birth. Society will see the transgender community in a different perspective by listening to Jenner’s story.
Almost 17 million people watched Jenner’s interview and learned that transgender people are born with a different gender identity than what their actual gender at birth was, according to USA Today. This idea is crucial in understanding that transgender people have no control over their gender identity and is one of the first steps in helping the transgender community to gain acceptance in society.
Jenner said that during times of confusion she considered suicide, and now she is hoping to help the many other transgender people who are having similar thoughts by speaking publicly. In a more accepting society, less trans people would be ostracized to the point of contemplating suicide.
There has been a lot of speculation in the media about Jenner and her gender for the past few months, but according to Jenner, this is something that she has dealt with her whole life.
The television star brought up several important transgender issues that the public is often confused about.
For example, Jenner clarified in the interview that she isn’t gay and still considers herself a heterosexual. “Sexuality is who turns you on,” Jenner said. “But gender identity has to do with your soul.”
“What I’m doing is going to do some good. And we’re going to change the world,” Jenner said.
