Last Friday, Bruce Jenner discussed his gender transition to Diane Sawyer. The interview was viewed by 17 million people. I applaud Bruce Jenner for being public about his transition because it has sparked much needed conversations surrounding transgender people and issues.
I am a very big supporter of our transgender community because they are often thrown under the bus when it comes to the fight for equality. One of the main reasons is because they are not understood by most of society in a very different way than people who have a different sexual orientation. Let's be very very clear: THERE IS A DIFFFERANCE BETWEEN SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND GENDER IDENTITY!
Sexual Orientation refers to who you are attracted to sexually and can also refer to which gender you are attracted to sexually and for romantic relationships. Gender identity refers to how do you perceive yourself in relationship between masculinity and femininity and how you outwardly present that to the world. Both of these characteristics are not choices. They are innate aspects of yourself. How you outwardly present those to world is up to you. Also both characteristics are fluid and along a spectrum.
I felt that one of the strengths of the interview was that it presented the difference between the two constructs. Jenner stated that he/she, does not identify as gay. Too often people conflate sexual orientation and gender identity. Just because someone is transgender doesn't mean that they are attracted to a different gender than they were initially attracted to. Just because someone identifies as same sex oriented doesn't mean that they have a different gender identity.
Jenner's interview has sparked a much needed discussion. We need to understand our transgender brothers and sisters and see that their humanity is equivalent to ours. We must know their unique situations and respond to them accordingly. Make sure that you address them by their preferred pronouns and don't misgender them. Ask appropriate questions from a place of wanting to better educate yourself and relatability rather than from a place of prying.
My hope is that this opens the door to greater transgender viability on all fronts. We need more transgender people in the media both from the real stories of their experience to the portrayals we see on film and television. Keep the conversation going because that is how we become a better society through understanding our commonalities and or individualities.
Yours Always,
The B.G.M.
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