ABC’s Bruce Jenner interview
The American TV audience got a lesson in the difference between gender identity and sexual orientation Friday night, courtesy of Bruce Jenner and ABC. By including educational interviews with professionals and with other trans people–current and historic– and providing definitions of terms, ABC performed a service while also providing a titillating night of TV with a reality TV star.
In that sense, it was a confusing production. The celebrity angle complicates everything.
On the plus side, if you listened carefully, there was much more to it than the Jenner scoop and Kardashian connection.
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“For all intents and purposes, I am a woman,” Jenner said at the outset. He dismissed the notion that his transition might be a publicity stunt, acknowledged having been treated as a joke in the past and said he hopes to change awareness in the future.
“We’re going to make a difference in the world,” he told Diane Sawyer at the start of the two-hours. This is his last TV interview as “Bruce.” Going forward, Sawyer said, he will be “her.”
“You understand people are baffled, confounded…” Sawyer said, squirming in her seat, throwing her arms up, nearly acting out the collective bafflement, as she asked Bruce Jenner questions about his gender, sexuality and transition.
Jenner explained the difference between gender and sex, more or less patiently, for a nation only now coming to terms with the concept of the transgender population.
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Grasping tissues, Jenner told Sawyer, “I’ve been thinking about this day forever…how do I tell my story…” He took note of the irony off the top: “Me, of all people, Bruce Jenner!” he said. He’s always been very confused about his gender identity, he said. Through allegory, he described himself as having the soul of a woman. “I’m not stuck in anybody’s body, I’m just a human being.”
Ponytail released, Jenner explained he has “all the male parts” and the soul of a woman. “That is hard for Bruce Jenner to say,” he added, referring to himself in the third person. It’s clearly an ongoing meshing of selves. Roll the 1976 superhero decathalon tape. “That is me, that is her.”
Sawyer managed to ask the questions average viewers might ask. Fair to say the pair covered Jenner’s childhood, marriages, hormone treatments and surgeries, faith, kids, parents. “I had bigger issues than cross-dressing,” Jenner said. Relying on a rather nervous-seeming humor, he acknowledged the lie he lived during the nearly eight-year run of the Kardashians reality show. Editing built the suspense but Sawyer kept the big reveal off camera after touring Jenner’s closet and giving the audience a peek at the a slinky black dress, saying only that “she looked great” in it when the two had a private dinner.
Again, the celebrity gets in the way. Is he a good model for others struggling with the issue? Jenner denied being any kind of spokesperson for the community. Throughout, he equivocated, expressed the “part” of himself that is a woman and generally sounded “stuck in the middle” and “confused.” What was missing from the interview: a definitive new name for “her,” a decision regarding sexual reassignment surgery. Jenner clearly remains a work in progress.
The progress will be televised: beyond more Sawyer bits on ABC, Jenner will star in his own docuseries for E! chronicling his life as a transgender woman, the network announced Friday. The eight-hour series starting in July will tell Bruce’s intimate story and will join him as he seeks out his “new normal.” Again, rather than a clear declaration of what’s happening, the premise is to follow Jenner into “uncharted waters.”
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On Friday GLAAD released a statement applauding the interview: “Today, millions of people learned that someone they know is transgender,” said GLAAD President & CEO Sarah Kate Ellis. “By sharing this story, Bruce Jenner has shined a light on what it means to be transgender and live authentically in the face of unimaginable public scrutiny. Though Jenner’s journey is one that is deeply personal, it is also one that will impact and inspire countless people around the world.”
GLAAD also released afor reporters covering the subject, regarding pronouns and such. “DO refer to Bruce Jenner’s female identity as his gender identity, not his sexual orientation.”
