At the San Francisco Cosmetic Surgery and Laser Center, Dr.Usha Rajagopal and staff encourage patients who are transitioning into their gender identity to share it with family and friends. Bruce Jenner, Olympian and world class athlete decided to share the story of his transition with Diane Sawyer and the world on a special episode of 20/20.
Sawyer questions Bruce about his motives, could this be a publicity stunt? Bruce laughs, and tells Diane that he has been living with this his whole life. Bruce actually postponed the announcement of his transition because of the wildly recognized television series, Keeping up with the Kardashians.
In the United States, more than 700,000 people identify with being transgender. The term Gender Dysphoria is defined as individuals who familiarize with opposite gender roles than the ones given at birth. This can be managed by counseling, hormones, and undergoing surgery.
Bruce Jenner told Sawyer that he has identified with being female all his life. In earlier years, he found an outlet in trying on women’s clothes, cross dressing. At the time Jenner did not understand why he was doing it, all he knew is that wearing women’s clothes made him feel good. In the 1980s, Jenner also took the hormone estrogen and underwent cosmetic facial surgeries. Although not all transgender individuals undergo surgery or take hormones, Jenner states that “it took the edge off”, he became more comfortable familiarizing with his gender identity.
Although Jenner familiarized with being transgender, he was still and has always been attracted to women. Jenner explains that gender identity is who you identify with most inside, it is completely different from gender sexuality; he has always been heterosexual.
After the divorce with his second wife, he spent some time alone in his house in Malibu and took time to understand himself with professional counseling. After he met wife Kris Kardashian, Bruce spent another eight years back in the public eye living with his secret. Jenner tells Sawyer that for 65 years, he’s been living with Gender Dysphoria and it has never gone away.
Unfortunately, transgender self harm does occur – not because trans individuals are mentally unstable, but because society has not learned to accept and understand trans individuals. Bruce hopes that sharing his story will give others the courage to live in their true identity. Gender Dysphoria usually resonates during adolescence, and parents should be aware and supportive of their children. Diagnostic criteria in identifying trans children include the desire to be the opposite gender, cross dressing, fantasy play, and the dislike of ones anatomy. Parents, care givers and family members should help their children understand what gender identity means and be able to embrace their true self in society.
Sawyer asks Bruce how he felt about telling his children of his transition, he responds that he did not want to hurt them. Bruce stated that whether it’s he or her, Dad will always be there for them. All of Bruce’s children, including his step children are very supportive of their dad and his decision to transition into becoming Her. Stepdaughter, Kim Kardashian states that her husband, Kanye West told her that being true to ones self is everything in life. Since then, Kim has been the most supportive of Bruce’s transition and states, “Girl, you gotta rock it baby”.
We admire Her and Her courage to show the world who she is.