For months now, all eyes have been on Bruce Jenner, the famous patriarch of the superstar Kardashian family, as rumors were all but barely confirmed that he was transitioning into a woman. Now, all questions and assumptions have finally been confirmed as Jenner confirmed on ABC News’ “20/20” last night he indeed sees himself as a woman.
Jenner opened up to “20/20” host Diane Sawyer. When asked if he was a woman, he replied “yes.”
“I’m me. I’m a person. This is who I am. I’m not stuck in anybody’s body. My brain is much more female than male,” Jenner said. “For all intents and purposes, I am a woman. People look at me differently. They see you as this macho male, but my heart and my soul and everything that I do in life it is part of me, that female side is part of me. That’s who I am. I was not genetically born that way… As of now I have all the male parts and all that kind of stuff so in a lot of ways we’re different, but we still identify as female. And that’s very hard for Bruce Jenner today. Why? I don’t want to disappoint people.”
During the interview, Jenner referred to himself with male pronouns, but sometimes referred to himself as “Bruce” and “her.” Jenner explained that he knew was born in the wrong body when he was around 8 or 9, when he would sneak into his mother’s and sisters’ closets to wear their dresses.
“I marked the closet, so when I put it back I could put it all back, everything back in the exact same spot, so I wouldn’t get caught,” Jenner said.
“And, at the time, I didn’t know why I was doing it besides it just made me feel good,” he added.
Jenner explained that after seeking out a therapist in the late 80s to deal with his depression over his crumbling life, he begin taking hormones and getting plastic surgery to alter his face and remove body hair. Jenner said he also regularly walked around in public as a woman, saying by then his breasts were a “solid 36B.”
Jenner was also asked if he’s gay. He explained that he is attracted to women and that he is heterosexual.
“No, I’m not gay. I am, as far as I know, I’m heterosexual. I’ve never been with a guy. I’ve always been married, raising kids,” said Jenner, adding that the difference between gender and sexuality is “apples and oranges.”
Jenner also discussed his family’s reaction to him coming out and said that Kylie, Kendall, Kourtney and Kim are supportive of him, with Kim being the most supportive. But he said that Khloe is having difficulty letting go of the idea of her father as she once knew him. Kris Jenner tweeted her support for her ex-husband last night as well.
While talking about why he decided to come out, Jenner explained that he felt that finally sharing his story with the world would do some good to change it.
“We’re going to change the world,” he said. “I really firmly believe that we’re going to make a difference in the world.”
And that’s certainly what Jenner has done now, likely in ways that he can’t even imagine. We’re happy that Jenner is finally living his truth and sharing it with the world and we hope his bravery helps other transgender people live their lives freely and openly. We also hope that those who aren’t transgender find empathy, understanding and compassion for the trans community.
