Caitlyn Jenner may be one of the biggest faces of the transgender community, but that doesn’t mean she’s always been the most informed when it comes to understanding her own community. And in her latest interview she explains that she’s painfully aware of her shortcomings as a trans leader, but hopes to become the leader the community wants her to be.
In her latest cover feature for The Advocate, Jenner said she’s no good, right now, at being the face of her community.
“The media has kind of labeled me as the spokesperson for the trans community,” she said. “That is not the case. I am only a spokesperson for my own journey. After that, I know nothing. Am I learning a lot? Absolutely. I’m just trying to do my best, that’s all.”
Jenner also spoke about the recent backlash she endured after she implied that trans women need to work harder to present themselves as more feminine, something she said makes her more choosey about her words.
“It does take a little bit more work if you do go out. You’ve got to at least look good, at least the best you can,” she said. “But there’s more to life and womanhood than just that. And those are things I’m learning; I’m trying to read up on it. I’m trying to understand it because it’s all new to me.”
“There’s more to being a woman than hair and makeup. So recently, I’ve been trying to study up on it,” she said.
Jenner revealed that she’s currently reading How to Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran and that it’s helped her understand the experiences she’s missed having transitioned at a late age.
“What I realized, when going through this book, is how my experience is so different than what a normal woman’s would be growing up — that’s obvious. The second chapter was about having your period. OK? I will never deal with that. So there is so much in life that I need to learn about who I am and be authentic with myself. But I never want to assume that this whole thing called womanhood, that I could ever experience all of that. I will be able to live authentically as female, but I’ve missed so much,” she said.
But that’s not all that Jenner discussed. Read what she had to say about her groundbreaking reality show, “I Am Cait,” after the cut.
