Supp Post #6 - Bruce Jenner's Transformation

So last Wednesday, my friend got tickets to The Ellen Show taping and we saw Jill Soloway as one of Ellen’s guests. Soloway is the creator of Amazon Prime’s original series, Transparent—a story that revolves a Los Angeles family and their lives following the discovery of the person they knew as their father is transgender. In the interview, Soloway points out that Transparent was inspired by her story, when her own father came out as transgender.

Ellen mentions Bruce Jenner in the interview and I find that quite an interesting comparison because in the era when fictional television shows featuring and starring transgender characters have won mainstream acclaim (i.e. Orange is the New Black, Transparent), it is a rare to have a real-life person (who is also commonly associated with being an Olympic champion)—or a reality star, for that matter—to come out and transition living his life as a woman before the media’s eye. And because Jenner is part of the Kardashian clan, his story has become quite “the talk” in the tabloids.

Jenner has not publicly spoken about his plans; but he is scheduled to speak to ABC’s Diane Sawyer later this month for a two-hour special about him:

The headlines about Jenner have become more frequent since the celebrity gossip magazine In Touch Weekly earlier this year superimposed Jenner’s face onto the body of a female actress and added makeup. The magazine also included Jenner’s “sex change rumors” in a list of “celebrity scandals of 2014” that included Donald Sterling’s racist rant and the Bill Cosby rape allegations.

Such coverage is harmful in a truly profound way. As a transgender advocate said, “The message it sends, especially if you don’t know anyone else who is trans, is that you are a joke and you are a freak show.” Because he is under the public’s eye, Jenner would be gaining two different kinds of attention in the media and it could go down either roads: the harassment route or the supportive route. With such a brave transition to make, I hope Jenner has all the support he needs.