If you were like most curious Americans on April 24th, you were probably glued to your TV watching Bruce Jenner tell Diane Sawyer everything. To all of you that just know Bruce for being the dad of Kendall and Kylie, or the push over husband on Keeping Up With the Kardashians, it takes more understanding of who Bruce Jenner really is to understand the significance of his interview.
In the 1970’s Bruce was the top Olympic athlete in the world. He was the poster child of “being a man” in America. Put your feelings about his family aside for a moment and just think about how hard that had to be. The world sees you as the ideal man, but you know deep down in your heart that you are a woman.
With transgender teens taking their lives because of how closed minded of a society we live in, the world needed this interview to happen. No one should feel like they are not allowed to be themselves out of fear of violence, hatred, and pure evilness. I cried when Bruce said that the paparazzi harassed him after a surgery and he went back to his home and paced the floor. How is that right? Bruce’s son Brandon with second wife Linda Thompson said that he saw his dad as a hero as kid, and he still does. Bruce is a hero, Laverne Cox, and Carmen Carrera are also heroes. Love doesn’t change. Can you imagine how much you loved someone when they weren’t being who they really were, and when they finally feel free to be themselves imagine how much more your love grows?
Diane Sawyer interviewing Bruce Jenner is a step in the right direction. We have to start welcoming diversity. We have to start respecting each other. If someone is brave enough to tell you who they really are, be kind enough to respect them.