For some time now, it’s been reported in the news that Caitlyn Jenner, who is arguably the most famous transgender woman in the world, had finally undergone a gender confirmation surgery. During a recent interview, Jenner finally confirmed that she has indeed undergone the surgery but she also shared why it’s offensive and intrusive for people to ask her or any other trans person about undergoing the surgery.
This weekend, Jenner appeared on “20/20” with Diane Sawyer and spoke about her new memoir, The Secrets of My Life, in which she opens up with fans about her gender confirmation surgery and how it was a bigger deal to other people than it was to her.
“I do mention in the book everything I did,” Jenner told Sawyer. “But I wasn’t less of a woman the day before I had the surgery than I was the day after I had the surgery, because that did not define who I am as a human being.”
Despite sharing her surgery story with fans and supporters in the book, she explained to Sawyer that her moment of transparency is not an open invitation for people to come up to her and ask her about her genitalia. In fact, she explained that asking any trans person about their genitalia is inappropriate.
“That doesn’t mean in the future that I have to talk about it, that I’m going to dwell. The media may but I’m not going to dwell on that subject,” she said. “And I would make a suggestion to all people out there — don’t ask the question. It’s not an appropriate question to ask any trans person.”
On the surface, we do understand the general population’s curiosity or fascination with the transition process from a surgical standpoint. But it’s also common sense to know that asking anyone of any gender or sexuality about their genitalia, especially when you don’t know them, is just not a good idea.
