Bruce Jenner

[smigon]

What are your thoughts on his going public with his transgender reveal?

I personally think it is a wonderfully courageous thing for him to reveal to the world and to speak openly about it with the media. It saddens me that things like sexuality or being different than the average person get ridiculed because they are misunderstood. How hard it must have been to tell his kids, especially the younger girls, and even the Kardashian girls who think of him as their dad since he has been with Kris for almost their whole lives and loves them as if they were his own.

At this point the family is trying to figure out how to deal with it publicly, but their love and support for him is overwhelming. This will be the time where he really finds out who his real friends are.

My heart goes out to him and I am extremely proud of the steps he is taking to make this an issue for people to learn about and open their minds. Some minds will never be accepting of his decision and that's okay, everyone is allowed an opinion, but at least the facts are getting out there to explore and ask questions about to make your own conclusion on the idea.

It gives new light to my signature line.

Go Team Bruce!

 

[Shiari]

One thing of note... Jenner is a woman, and her chosen pronoun is the female ones. Just a thing to keep in mind when dealing with anyone from the trans community; it's kinda demeaning to call them a pronoun based on genitalia rather than identity. I know you meant nothing of the sort and it was something I had to be taught as well.

 

[Nanci]

I thought Bruce was still referring to himself in the male verbiage, though. That's what he just said in his interview. Not sure why.

But yeah, who cares- a famous person, a world-famous athlete going public, and very openly, with his decision, and an in-depth look at what it took to get there and how it affected him and his family, that can only do good for other people struggling with the same thing.

 

[Shiari]

Ah, if Jenner is still fine with the male pronoun, that's different. I haven't read too much up on it as I don't tend to follow celebrity/athlete stories much. I *am* glad however that it is getting such publicity because the more the world can see that trans men and women are not oogity boogity scary monsters the better off everyone will be.

 

[smigon]

One thing of note... Jenner is a woman, and her chosen pronoun is the female ones. Just a thing to keep in mind when dealing with anyone from the trans community; it's kinda demeaning to call them a pronoun based on genitalia rather than identity. I know you meant nothing of the sort and it was something I had to be taught as well.

I thought Bruce was still referring to himself in the male verbiage, though. That's what he just said in his interview. Not sure why.

He said he is still a man and everyone should call him "Bruce" or "Dad". She WILL be a female when he is comfortable with the situation, and ready to be a female that is complete in his mind, whether he has a total sex change or not. He is now working into it with the surgical procedures so far, and feels great about where he is now but is planning on making the sex change soon.

"She" still doesn't have a name, I think when he decides on a name that will be the apex of his happiness regardless of any surgical procedures he has or hasn't had yet.

 

[tsst]

Never been a fan of 'look at me' reality TV. As such I don't know a whole lot about the situation.

As far as his/her decision about his/her life. In my libertarian opinion it's his/her decision and neither the gov nor society has a say. If it makes him/her happy that's all that matters.

 

[Ravenessa]

One of my good friend is transgender.. She has been lucky though, her family supported her trough it all. She has had the surgery and everything.. Had no problems educating me when I was nosey on how everything was done (I have no shame).

But I have to say she really was born a woman on the inside, she is such a girly girl.. Not in a mean way (she actually loves when I say it, makes her giggle) but it's all about cooking, cleaning, babies, children, baking galore.. she's super cute..

I for one thinks that if there's anything reality tv that should be out there this is sorta it. People need to stop panicking and realizing that mother nature mess up at times.. We now have the means to fix it.

 

[smigon]

As far as his/her decision about his/her life. In my libertarian opinion it's his/her decision and neither the gov nor society has a say. If it makes him/her happy that's all that matters.

AMEN! I agree that it is no one's business but his and those he chooses to tell, but I admire him coming out to the large masses that do watch these shows, I wanted to watch this one because I watched Diane Sawyer's piece a few weeks ago.

I think it is really important for their family to be seen and heard as he makes his transition, and to show all the love and support they have given him. It creates a platform for others who are too afraid to tell their own stories and live as freely and happily as they wish and shows the families of the LGBT community that it is okay to have questions and that the person they love may be changing on the outside but inside they are still the same loving person they have known for years. The lines of communication are so important.

Because of the Kardashian's fame this gives him the perfect spotlight to send his message. Whether or not anyone is a fan of the show is irrelevant, it is the story that made me tune in. The fact that America's "man's man" is becoming a woman will make people stop and think and see the love and support his family is giving him.

Hopefully this will be the beginning of a new chapter, 30 years after the idea of homosexuality was beginning to sink in and be more widely accepted that it IS something real, and that it isn't a choice. I applaud him for his candor and grace with which he is sharing his story with us and letting viewers know it IS okay to not be "average" and there are groups and books and literature to assist people going through what Bruce is going through. He has the very fortunate life to share this with people who love and support him, I hope this shows others with closed minds just to open their eyes and peek into a different world and see how wonderful those who are different than they are can be.

Sorry for the rant, it is something I truly believe in and this story makes me happy. No one deserves to spend their life hiding behind a facade that makes them miserable.

 

[IrishInIsengard]

Never been a fan of 'look at me' reality TV. As such I don't know a whole lot about the situation.

As far as his/her decision about his/her life. In my libertarian opinion it's his/her decision and neither the gov nor society has a say. If it makes him/her happy that's all that matters.

I agree completely as long as laws, governments, and businesses allow all these people equal and complete access to any services, rights, etc as everybody else.

 

[compasslogic]

I like this thread. Some of the other images and such that I have seen around this site had led me to believe that this community tended to swing more the other way; the way that isn't usually very accepting of these kinds of things. I'm really happy to see such great comments here that are so accepting of trans people!

On this same topic, I was excited to see that Laverne Cox got named this year as one of Time Magazine's most influencial 100 people She is such an awesome person and is basically the source of all of my knowledge about trans stuff as I don't know anyone in this situation personally. She's a great source of info for anyone wanting to know more about it

 

[tsst]

I agree completely as long as laws, governments, and businesses allow all these people equal and complete access to any services, rights, etc as everybody else.

Yep as long as everyone's rights are protected.

 

[ArvadaLanee]

I was probably the last person on earth to hear of the Kardashians, and to this day, I have no idea what these people do, where they came from, or why they are famous. I lived a long time without a television, and even though I have one now, I don't follow celebrity gossip. I first heard of Bruce Jenner, and his gender change on a morning radio show, and I thought it was a joke. At the time, I thought that was awful, because I had a close friend who was born a man, but always felt like a woman, and I knew how much my friend struggled. Three years ago, my friend hung himself. Now that I realize it is not some sick joke, my hope is that a public figure, wanting to speak out, and share a message of hope, will be a good thing. The suicide rate among transgender people is astounding, and should be unacceptable to our society. We need to have support for those who need it, and I think anything that brings this need to light has to be good. As far as I know, this is probably the only good thing to come out the Kardashian fame. I could be wrong, as I don't follow any of them, but I have never heard anything else good about them. I wish Bruce the best of luck, as I would any person going through this change.