UNITED STATES—How many people watched that moving interview by Olympian and reality star Bruce Jenner with Diane Sawyer on Friday? Probably all of America, as for weeks it has been speculated that Bruce had been undergoing changes to become a woman.
It may not have been a shock for many Americans to hear Jenner reveal to Sawyer that he indeed identifies himself as a woman and is in the process of taking steps to physically transform his body.
The issue of being transgender is one that lots of Americans have little clue about. It’s when a person biologically appears as one specific sex, but on the inside they identify themselves as another. The interview was so eye-opening for me, and I think all of America because it shed light on the transgender community that many people have little to no clue about at all.
We speculate, we think we know, but truly we have no idea. The candid conversation really educated the country on what it means to be transgender, but also the struggles that those who are transgender encounter on a daily basis. Bruce who is now 65 has been struggling with this since he was eight. I mean eight, can you imagine living your life for nearly 50 plus years, where everyone sees you as a man, but you identify yourself as a woman; its heartbreaking.
The American public can be cruel, especially when they don’t understand things. To hear Bruce candidly discuss his fear of disappointing others, hurting his family and having to deal with possible fallout of his decision to announce who he truly is to the world was beyond moving.
This is a guy who has accomplished unbelievable feats and has been idolized by some as one of the greatest athletes of all time. He was battling an insecurity that was not so easy to overcome, but he reached a point where he could no longer hide; he had to acknowledge his true identity, and that is courageous to say the least.
While plenty are noting the importance of Jenner’s interview because it educates America about what it means to be transgender, I think he did wonders for all the people out there who feel out of place sometimes, they fear that being ‘themselves” can led to scrutiny. Bruce shouted to the world that it’s okay to be YOU; you don’t have to HIDE and put on a face to be someone that you are not. That is the unfortunate side-effect of America. At times we all want to fit in, and we’re willing to be someone that we’re not in order to ‘please’ people, to be accepted by people and to go with the norm.
That is that ongoing problem, we think normalcy is key to everything, but its not. We live in a world where we need to be more accepting of people’s differences. So what if someone isn’t just like us? Who are we to judge them for being different? I love the word different because it screams originality and uniqueness and the importance of NOT trying to be like everyone else.
Many people are highlighting Bruce Jenner for being a hero for talking about his transition to become a woman. He may have saved lives in the process of letting America know what has taken place in his life and the things to come in the near future.
