Bruce Jenner Has a Privilege in Telling His Truth

4 minute read
Ideas
Mara Keisling is the founding executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality and regularly appears on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News and other media outlets.

I watched ABC tonight, when, during an interview with Diane Sawyer, Bruce Jenner came out as a transgender woman. Like Jenner, I transitioned a little bit later in life. I’m grateful for the support I’ve had and wish the same for Jenner and his family. (He told Sawyer he would use masculine pronouns for the time being, so I’ll respect his wish here as well.)

I sympathize greatly with Bruce’s experience, but I also recognize the huge privilege that comes with being able to share your story with Diane Sawyer on national television. Many people early in their transition have been hurt or ignored by those who they believed were on their side. Most of us transition with little fanfare or recognition at all — but each of our stories are important.

Acknowledging transgender people’s existence — as Jenner has helped do for the millions of viewers in last night’s interview — is just not enough. Acknowledging Jenner’s path really requires understanding the journey of countless transgender Americans who live equally as bravely as Jenner does. The truth is that each of us who makes the choice to reveal who we are reaps a huge personal benefit, but also makes a remarkable sacrifice. This is no less true for Jenner.

For some of us, coming out means losing our job — a fact evidenced by an unemployment rate twice that of the general public.

For some of us, coming out means facing near certain economic depression — a fact evidenced by 15% of transgender people living on an income under $10,000.

For some of us, coming out means risking violence or death — a fact evidenced by the murders of 7 transgender people this year.

For some of us, being denied our transition — being denied our true selves — contributes to the mental health crisis facing transgender people: 41% of transgender adults have attempted suicide.

For all of us, coming out as transgender means coming into a society that is increasingly trying to criminalize us for using a restroom or playing a school sport. This year, numerous anti-transgender bills have been introduced in state legislatures nationwide. This is the reality of the America that welcomes Jenner and every transgender person who chooses to declare themselves with pride.

There are surely certain ways in which Jenner’s path has been tough. In the past few months, mere speculation of his transition brought out the uglier side of journalism. Tabloid sensationalism like InTouch Weekly’s photoshopped magazine cover of Jenner made a mockery of gender transition. As I told the Advocate, that anyone is still trying to shock people by using transgender people is disappointing and sad.

The media’s obsession with transgender people (as well as the Kardashians) turned Jenner’s personal experience into a shameful public spectacle. But, Jenner’s coming out reminds us that trans people are everywhere. We’re people working in your neighborhoods, teaching your children, building your technology, and entertaining you on tv. We’re artists, actors and Olympians.

Still, a new Human Rights Campaign poll showed that only 22% of likely voters reported knowing or working with a transgender person, up 5% from a similar poll in 2014. But of those people who know someone who is transgender, the vast majority supports them.

Findings from a joint GLAAD and Harris Poll this year paints an even more distressing picture: 59% of non-LGBT Americans say they would be uncomfortable if they learned their child was dating a transgender person, and 40% of straight, non-transgender parents said they would be uncomfortable with their child playing in the home of a transgender parent.

Indeed, it may be a member of the Kardashian family tree who can help improve these numbers. The growth in public understanding of transgender people is important to acknowledge, yet on balance, the public as a whole must move beyond acknowledgement and toward acceptance. The platforms of the Bruce Jenners and Laverne Coxes of the world help a lot with that. But we can’t ever forget that it is also the everyday acts of trans Americans talking to their families, their children, and their co-workers that is moving public acceptance forward.

I welcome Bruce Jenner into our family. I hope the people watching are really paying attention to the courage that Jenner and all transgender people are showing when they declare their intention to live deliberately and authentically in a society that isn’t always friendly or safe, but which is improving all the time.

See The Life of Caitlyn Jenner

1976 Olympic Games. Montreal, Canada. Men's Decathlon. USA's gold medal winner Bruce Jenner.
At the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Bruce Jenner won the gold medal in the decathlon, setting the world record at 8,616 points.Getty Images
Bruce Jenner celebrates during his record setting performance in the decathlon in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.
Jenner became a national hero following his Olympic win and was later inducted into the Olympic Hall of Fame in 1986.Tony Duffy—Getty Images
NBC Sportscaster - Bruce Jenner
Jenner became an NBC Sportscaster in the late 1970s following his Olympic performance in Montreal.NBC/Getty Images
Bruce Jenner and Linda Thompson
Jenner married actress Linda Thompson, above, on Jan. 5, 1981, following his divorce with Chrystie Crownover.Getty Images
Nancy Reagan With Celebrities
Jenner was diagnosed with dyslexia as a child. In October of 1985, he received the Outstanding Learning Disabled Achiever Award from then-First Lady Nancy Reagan alongside stars such as Cher and Tom Cruise.Getty Images
Bruce Jenner
Jenner was a successful race car driver in the 1980s, though in a 2013 interview he said, "I was a lot more badass runner than I was a driver.”Ann Clifford—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Bruce And Kris
In 1991, Jenner married Kris Jenner, previously Kris Kardashian, just one month after she finalized her divorce from Robert Kardashian. The two had dated for only five months.Maureen Donaldson—Getty Images
Kardashian Jenner Family Portrait
Their marriage merged two already large families, evident here in this 1991 portrait.Donaldson Collection/Getty Images
Bruce Jenner
After his sports career, Jenner, seen here at a celebrity golf event in 1993, had a number of small acting jobs and television appearances.Stephen Dunn—Getty Images
"Cinderella" Release on Video
The family poses at an event in 1995, the year Jenner and Kris welcomed the first of their two children together, Kendall Jenner.Ron Galella—WireImage
Former US gold medal decathlete Bruce Jenner (C),
Kylie Jenner was born two years later in 1997. The girls can be seen here on the red carpet in 2000, long before they covered magazines and appeared on TIME's Most Influential Teens list.Scott Nelson—AFP/Getty Images
E! Entertainment Television's 2005 Summer Splash Event - Arrivals
Jenner, seen here in 2005, would re-enter the spotlight thanks to Keeping Up With the Kardashians, which first premiered in 2007.Steve Granitz—WireImage
Bruce Jenner
Jenner spoofed his reality-star fame with a commercial for Tropicana Juicy Rewards in 2010.AP
The Tonight Show With Jay Leno
Jenner and Kris, here at The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in 2011, announced their separation in 2013. She filed for divorce the following year.Kevin Winter—Getty Images
Bruce Jenner On "Extra"
Jenner poses with a box of Wheaties in 2012. He appeared on the front of the box first in 1977 after his Olympic gold-medal win, then in 2012 when Wheaties rolled out a retro series.Noel Vasquez—Getty Images
Brandon And Leah Album Release Party For "Cronies"
Jenner appears with two of his sons, TV personality Brody Jenner and musician Brandon Jenner, who records with his wife as Brandon & Leah, at an April 2013 release party.Chelsea Lauren—WireImage
Celebrity Sightings In Los Angeles - October 20, 2014
Jenner walks with step-daughter Kim Kardashian in October of 2014 — about five months after rapper Kanye West became his son-in-law.Bauer-Griffin—GC Images
Bruce Jenner Vanity Fair Caitlyn transgender
Caitlyn Jenner, formerly Bruce Jenner, appeared as a woman for the first time on the cover of Vanity Fair's June 2015 issue, photographed by Annie Leibovitz.Annie Leibovitz—Vanity Fair
The 2Caitlyn Jenner 2015 Espys Arther Ashe Award015 ESPYS - Show
Caitlyn Jenner accepts the Arthur Ashe Courage Award onstage during The 2015 ESPYS at Microsoft Theater on July 15, 2015 in Los Angeles.Kevin Winter—Getty Images

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