Bruce Jenner ‘Yes, I am a Woman’ – His Incredible Interview On ABC

Bruce Jenner sat down with Diane Sawyer and it was authentic, honest, heartbreaking, yet triumphant.

photo via http://www.etonline.com/news/163339_bruce_jenner_emotional_new_diane_sawyer_promo/
photo?courtesy of etonline.com

He started off very emotional. It seemed almost overhwelming. He said how tough this has been for him and that he had been thinking about this moment (revealing his true self) since forever.

He says he has always been confused about his gender identity. He liked to use the phrase that he has?the “soul” of a woman. He prefers this?rather than?simply saying he was “born in the wrong body.” Bruce says that he first tried on a dress when he was 8 or 9 and didn’t know what it meant exactly, but knew that it made him feel good.

Much speculation has occurred since rumors started swirling, mostly within the past couple of years. People have been wanting to know if he actually is transgender, if he’s transitionining, and what he prefers to be called. Bruce cleared a lot of this up,??saying:

“Yes, I am a woman. For all intents and purposes.”

Even while looking back at photos of his glory days as an Olympic champion, he says, “that is me. That is her.” But he also said that as of that interview, people should still use male pronouns when talking about him.

Bruce was very candid about his personal life, relationships, and family.

He told his first two wives about dressing as a woman, but never really got into it fully. Both of his marriages ended in divorce, but his ex wives offered statements of support to “20/20.” When discussing his personal life and relationships, Bruce made it clear that he was attracted to women. He, and Diane, helped to show the difference between?sexual identity and gender identity; explaining how these are not the same thing. Bruce reiterated that while he knew he had the soul of a woman, he was still always attracted to women. I found this clarification of gender vs. sexuality to be helpful and necessary.

Bruce did admit that he didn’t believe he had been as fair to his wives as he should have been. He talked about Kris Jenner, perhaps his most famous ex.

He said that she has had a tough time with the news of him transitioning, but that he thinks she is a good person and they had a good life together. When asked for a statement by ABC, Kris had no comment.

Bruce’s?kids from his first two marriages appeared on this segment and interview. They all were supportive. Bruce said he told his 3rd oldest son Brandon first about his life and feelings. Brandon said while this hasn’t been “necessarily easy” that he feels like he has received an “upgraded version” of his dad. Brody Jenner, one of Bruce’s most popular kids since his role on the MTV hit show “The Hills,” was also supportive. He said that when his dad came out,?“it finally makes sense.”

Everyone undoubtedy wanted to hear about how his most famous kids – the Kardashians and his children with Kris Jenner – handled the news.

Kim, Khloe, Kourtney, and Rob Kardashian are not biologically Bruce’s, but that doesn’t matter. They are still his kids and that was clear. He said he told Kim first and that she had caught him wearing women’s clothing. She didn’t really make a big deal out of it. But after news of him getting his adam’s apple shaved down, she asked again and he opened up more to her. They didn’t really talk about it for awhile because Kim just thought she shouldn’t bring it up.

He says Kendall and Kylie, his youngest kids, caught him via camera on their computers in their room (he was “stealing” clothes). He said he finally told all of the Kardashians and Kendall and Kylie together and they all cried. He believes they cried mostly because they just didn’t want anyone to “hurt their dad.” Bruce added that it has been the hardest on Khloe since she has suffered so much loss. She took the loss of her father, Robert Kardashian, the hardest. She also has experienced a horrible breakup with former husband Lamar Odom and so he understands how this has been tough?for her.

One of the MOST incredible?moments came when he described Kim. He talks about what made Kim come around and be so accepting. He tells a story of what her husband, Kanye West,?told her regarding Bruce’s story. Kanye said:

“I can be married to the most beautiful woman in the world and I am. I can have the most beautiful daughter and I have that. But I have nothing if I can’t be me.?

This was an amazing message from a guy that often gets hounded by the media and the public. Bruce says Kim is now, by far, the most accepting of his children.

Quick facts: Bruce has been on hormones since the 1980s but stopped taking them for awhile. He is now on them. He started with cosmetic surgery and says sexual reassignment surgery may be down the line but he is not rushing anything. He just wants modest things like being able to “wear nail polish long enough it chips off.”

Bruce has clearly had a hard time with all of this and got emotional quite a bit. He says he has always felt lonely and is not very social. But it seems like he is coming into his own and truly accepting and loving who he is and that is what we should all strive for. Why do this at his ripe age? Bruce says that his family is mostly all grown up and financially stable so he could finally be his true self.

On The “Keeping Up With The Kardashians” franchise, Bruce became passionate when confronted by the idea that he is doing this for publicity. He says that this has been hard for him and that with this news, “we are going to change the world for the good.”

Also related to the television franchise, Bruce mentions how he actually “had the story.” He was the one who had something that could have helped people. And I think Bruce is helping people now. His honesty, the good and bad, will inspire people around the world to be themselves.

Bruce’s story is certainly fascinating. His life was the societal ideal of what the macho man is. As an elite athlete, he embodied the hopes of men across a nation. We knew Bruce before this transition, and now we will know him after. To do this as such a public figure takes a huge amount of courage. ABC highlighted the plight of trans people, showing viral videos of trans women getting beat up in public places. They also talked about the tragic high rates of suicide for trans people, discussing two NC teens, Blake Brockington and Ash Haffner, who both took ?their lives within months of each other. Interestingly, Bruce said he is a Republican and that he would go to Republican leaders on this issue, hoping they would be receptive. I am a skeptic but I certainly hope he is right.

To end his interview with Diane, he said that if he were doing the interview, he would ask himself if he was going to be okay. And he says yes and that he thinks he will be. He says,

“I am not saying goodbye to me, because I?have always been me.”

Instead, he notes:

“I am saying goodbye to people’s perception of me.”

And his mission statement:

“To provide understanding and tolerance.”

Well done Bruce. Well done.
 

 

I was born on January 13, 1990. I was born and raised in Charlotte, NC. I moved up north and attended the University of CT from 2008 to 2012. I currently also work at a law firm in Uptown Charlotte and have been helping with this organization entitled the National Independent Voter Coalition. My interests include: Politics (obviously), Basketball (playing and watching) and watching almost any sport, movies, reading, the law, human rights, entertainment, mostly Angelina Jolie and Beyonce. I am fun, caring, passionate, intelligent, and unique!