Yesterday we reported that Radar Online scored an exclusive interview with Bruce Jenner’s mom, Esther, who confirmed that her son was transitioning. Despite the fact that Esther had only recently learned the news from Bruce, she was absolutely accepting and she gushed about what a great man her son is, and how accomplished he is. It was a joy to read and I’m getting teary now just thinking about it.
Today Radar released part two of their interview with Esther Jenner, and the amount of love, admiration and understanding she shows is incredible. She says she’s going to educate herself about transitioning too. Here are some quotes from Esther that were just released today:
I knew he was special from the time he was a little boy… I was so proud of him from all the way back in high school when he raced for the New England track and field. There was a coach in Wilton, Connecticut, who said ‘’You know what I see in Brucie? I see a decathlete.’
And of course, I didn’t know what a decathlon was. I knew it had to do with track and field. And that went on for eight years after high school and he always reached his goals.
Right now, I am more proud of him for what he’s allowing himself to do…
I have known for a short time [about his transition]… I have got to really educate myself.
I just love him like I always have. … I support him whole-heartedly.
This lady just loves chatting about her son, it’s so nice to read. Meanwhile, as you can see above, Bruce scored the cover of People Magazine! According to People (which contradicts Radar’s reports that Kris isn’t totally on board with Bruce going public), Kris and the Jenner-Kardashian kids and spouses are all accepting of Bruce. Scott Disick took more time to come around, but I guess we would expect that from him. Here’s part of People’s report, with more to come in the upcoming print edition:
When Bruce Jenner was finally ready to tell his children that he is transgender, his revelation was met with less surprise than he may have anticipated.
“Bruce told them everything – where things stood, what his plans were for the future, and what everyone could expect,” a family insider tells PEOPLE of Jenner’s decision to transition and live his life as a female. “Everyone basically knew what was up, but it was still a shock to hear it outlined so explicitly.”
But it didn’t take long for Jenner’s six children – and his ex-wife Kris’s kids Kourtney, Kim, Khloé and Rob Kardashian – to rally around the patriarch of reality-TV’s most famous family.
“They all came all around pretty quickly, but each of them had to process it in their own way,” says the insider. “All they want is for him to be happy.”
For Kim, the process included checking in on how her mother was responding to the news.
“Kim went to Kris and asked her how she felt. They had a very long conversation about it,” says the insider. “Once Kim was satisfied that Kris was emotionally okay, she was able to give Bruce her unconditional support.”
As for the men in the Kardashian women’s lives, the insider says Kourtney’s boyfriend Scott Disick “didn’t react very well” at first, but “is now on board” while Kim’s husband Kanye West seemed to embrace Jenner’s transition immediately.
“He is totally fine with it,” the insider says of West. “He believes in live and let live, and he took it all in stride. He and Kim are just trying to show Bruce love and acceptance – complete acceptance.”
I’m glad that Bruce’s transition is getting press like this, and that it’s mostly positive after the mocking tone that some of the tabloids took. I hope that, as Esther said yesterday, her son’s transition will help pave the way for greater understanding and acceptance of trans people. I also hope that Bruce can provide a public face to the trans movement. As an aside, I’ve been watching the excellent Amazon show Transparent, (for which both Jeffrey Tambor and the show won Golden Globes) and Tambor’s character, Maura, transitions late in life just as Bruce is doing. I know Bruce’s journey isn’t the same, and that we can’t understand completely from a TV show, but I think it will go a long way toward helping increase awareness. (Incidentally, the plot for Transparent was inspired by creator Jill Soloway’s father, who came out as transgender.)
Also, I want to say something about pronouns. If Bruce wants to be referred to as she, we will do that. The People article, presumably approved by Bruce’s people, refers to him using the male pronoun. When Bruce expresses a stance on the matter, we will honor that.
I’m happy for him and wish Bruce a happy and peaceful life.
Live your truth!
Yes. He seems like a sweet, kind person. Good luck to him.
Good for him!
He looks great on the cover.
Yes he looks good.
Sorry but it’s ridiculous, IMO. I can understand Shiloh Jolie-Pitt knowing at 5 years old that she is transgender. But, at 65? It sounds like he just went nuts.
What a shame he got so far in life without being able to live the way he wanted. It’s good that his family is apparently on-board, but man…can’t imagine the horrors of having to mimic the day-to-day as a happily married husband and father, all the while feeling he had to suppress his true nature. Wonder if any whiff of this ever came up before but was tamped down because of the expected negative effect it would have on the K brand (especially back when they were at their height of popularity) and that stupid show of theirs. Maybe I’m just projecting, but I also wonder if there is any resentment toward the K’s who obviously put profit above anything else, even above his own happiness and living the way he chooses (kinda like when a boy-bander can’t come out because all the little teenies can no longer crush on him). But good for him.
He may well have been happily married and happily being a parent even while unhappy with his gender. He may have always known his gender didn’t fit his identity or this may have been something he realised later in life, either way it does not necessarily mea he was unhappy with his family. He stayed married to Kris for a long time when he could easily have divorced, he had done that before after all. Just because someone is transitioning doesn’t mean they were unhappy with *everything* in their life
Even though I hate the Katdashians, I sincerely hope this paves the way for better understanding of those dealing with transitioning. It takes an incredible amount of courage, which is even greater when you are in the public eye. Much support to Bruce and his family during this time and I hope his decision is met with the utmost amount of respect and understanding. Btw, Esther for mom of the year!!!
I wish him the best. He will always have my compassion and understanding out of the whole Kardashian/Jenner clan.
Not sure I completely buy the people article, at least the part of Scott and Kanye. It feels to much like the fake drama of the show. That being said I can see Scott being thrown and KAYNE being so self involved to not care.
I still feel like we should hear it from Bruce first not insiders. This is his/her story to tell. Not PMK.
I feel like Kanye said “Bruce who?”
Right!! Scott probably thinks of Bruce as family and ya if dad transitions to a woman, it’s going to throw you. Scotts reaction is more realistic. No matter how accepting you are, it may take some time.
Exactly! Not convinced yet til we hear it straight from Bruce. Notice this People story is all told from “an insider.” Bahhh!
I guess we are in the minority. I feel Bruce is transitioning from insecurity and control, and he thinks more plastic surgery will restore his self esteem. I’m really not getting female vibes from him, a bit “feminine”, but I guess I know many males who “adorn”. I totally support finding the inner person, and as a parent I educate my children that we are all on some spectrum of what it is to be “feminine” or “masculine”. When applicable, I tell stories about kids I knew who were bullied because of gender issues and how we have a better world now, Thank God.
Oddly I had a dream about his man because I wish him all support and liberation, whatever that is for him.
Love seeing his mom speaking out about her son, obviously pre-approved to do so. Since Kris ostracized her from the family for years, it’s nice to see her back in his life more. The article is all about the Kardashians as usual. Bruce has children of his own, six. But it’s Kim in the article being quoted. And only Kim, Khloe, Kourtney and Rob are mentioned by name, his stepchildren. Bruce’s real children just get relegated to a number. LOL How ironic and predictable. Even Scott Disick and Kanye, husbands of two Kardashians, are mentioned. Aw, the Kardashians, making it all about them in that excerpt.
Bruce had dyslexia when he was young and struggled. When he found sports and what he was really good at, he said he latched on to it for dear life. His drive and determination to go the Olympics and win is an inspiring story. I loved reading how he put a photo of him from the trials and put it on the wall left of center and would use it to motivate him every day that he would win the Olympics and the next photo of him on the field would be center His life was literally training eight hours a day every day and his competitiveness took him all the way.
^^THIS
Cest la vie
He’s brave about coming out so publicly. I can only imagine the inner turmoil he suffered with for so long and having to go through this under the public’s scrutiny is even more difficult. All my best to him, I hope this is the happiness he truly needs.
+1000
I’m so proud of him. He’s a good person but he’s surrounded by people who didn’t seem to take his opinion into account (at least on the show). There was an interview with the 2012 American decathletes and they were talking about meeting Bruce and how he would get so excited to talk about decathlon since he is never able to talk about it with his family.
Will there be a new name and preferred pronouns announcement? I’m looking forward to the first interview. I just find it interesting that a preferred identification hasn’t been announced yet.
I’m assuming it’s because he’s still in the process of transitioning. He’s not ready to present himself as a woman yet.
I don’t understand what this must be like, but living the truest form of one’s own self is the only way to live. I also don’t understanding waking up in the morning and being able to see without glasses 🙂
Can we all start using the preferred name and pronoun now?
Edit: i missed the last paragraph.
Do we know what that might be?
I’m waiting for that too and it’s making me very nervous to talk about this on tumblr because of that because you are considered the devil if you don’t know every single person in the universe’s preferred pronouns or born with the knowledge to be politically correct on all matters.
He hasn’t said that he has a preferred name or pronoun. What if he still wants to go by Bruce?
That’s his call
I’ve always disliked the Kardashians but I always enjoyed (& felt kinda bad) for Bruce. What little I’ve seen of their show, he was always pretty entertaining & normal – compared to the rest of them anyways. I wish him the best – this couldn’t have been an easy decision for him.
Eh, I’ve never seen their show but I don’t know that aside from his courage now in transitioning, we should be heaping praise on him either. It’s hard to imagine a father standing down to the ongoing sexed-up antics of his daughters, and whenever they (the younger ones) are criticized for being too young or too stupid to be doing whatever they’re doing, the blame is almost always heaped solely on Kris. Them’s his kids too!
I’m just glad that in her own way, the mother is supportive. She seems to have reacted about the same as my grandfather did towards my cousin transitioning from female to male. He (grandpa) still uses his birth name and female pronouns, but he acknowledged that he knows that isn’t what my cousin prefers, he just cant bring himself to not use them. Baby steps. At the end of the day I do believe the mother just wants her child happy, same with my grandfather.
You’re assuming that he has asked his mother to do otherwise when that just as easily might not be the case. For many people, a new name and pronoun are the first changes they make, not everyone.
If Kris is upset about it its only because she’s dissatisfied with the amount of money SHE is getting for anything relating to it. Bottom line.
Bingo.
Yep. The rumors have been around since before they were married and never stopped, she knew the score. If Kris is upset about anything its not getting a big enough piece of the pie.
I can’t stand Kris ,but I feel for her a little bit. She might feel humiliated and betrayed by someone she was married to for 20 years. That said ,this isn’t about her or Kim even though they will try to make it about them. It’s about Bruce.
I kind of feel for her too! Imagine that.
Sympathy for the devil.
im thinking she is ok with whatever he wants to do as long as she makes money and he isn’t fat.
God this is going to sound like me defending Kris which is not really my intent…..BUT……I think if my husband came out as trans and decided to live life as a woman, it would be a little rough on me at first. Kris seems as vapid as her girls (apples and trees) and I’m sure she is thinking that is a reflection on her desirability as a woman or some such nonsense. I can cut her slack for taking some time with it. In the end, she doesn’t have to be OK with it. She just needs to accept it and not talk bad about it to her kids.
ET’s Kevin Fraziers said her name will be Catherine or Katherine.He is not sure if it’s with a C or K.
Oh God, please don’t let it be with a K.
If it is with a K I will lose my mind and believe that this is all just an orchestrate plot point for the show.
+ 1
ET said he was going to be “Kaitlin”.
His mother is so amazing! She said such lovely things-I wish all parents were like Esther. As for Bruce, he is helping himself to be happy and live his way, but he is also helping so many others who are in his situation. I hope anyone who is struggling with this can look at Bruce and not feel afraid to do what they want.
If this is true, I hope Bruce is happy with his life. Bruce should be known as the gold medal Olympic athlete, not just PMK husband on KUWTK. He should be proud to do this in front of the world. I’ll believe it when he says it himself
I’m happy for him, he seems like a good person.
I was surprised, though, at the horribly ignorant comments I was reading in People last week when the story came out. Vitriol and disgust far outnumbered comments that were understanding–I’m talking 80/20, from a mainstream website.
That’s disappointing but not surprising. I avoid most comment sections for just this reason.
I was surprised at the comments too. That was like reading the comment section at youtube. They say some really racist,sexist and homophobic things too.
On this subject (and a few others) staying away from almost ALL comment boards is good for your sanity and mood. Celebitchy is one of the very few places that I read the comments because of the strong views, of not just the site but clearly the readers as well, that racism, misogyny, homophobia and transphobia are totally unacceptable.
I’m happy for her then. I honestly thought this whole thing was a nasty transphobic joke but if it’s real well, more power to her.
I wonder if this means Bruce is also attracted to males? I know not necessarily. I’m just curious bcuz that part is never mentioned.
I’m sure that question will piss someone off, not trying to offend. Just wondered.
It’s natural to wonder. Sexual attraction and gender identification has infinite combinations. Bruce could still identify as female and be attracted to females only, just as cis-women can; you’re right that he’s not necessarily attracted to men. I’m sure when and if Bruce wants to reveal that, he will (or someone will reveal it anyway).
It’s a valid question. I have a feeling he was really attracted to women in his life and that wasn’t fake but will maybe identify as lesbian now. I never got the feeling his feelings for Kris were fake. They were madly in love back in the day.
But we’ll soon find out how he feels, because I’m sure that will be addressed in an interview with Diane and in his docu-series.
I am not transgender, and I don’t personally know anyone who is. I can only speak from my own experience, and that is that I have been lucky enough to have been born with a physical state of gender that I am comfortable in.
I don’t exactly love the name I was given at birth, but I don’t hate it either. I could not imagine changing it. I changed my last name when I got married and that was weird enough for me. But changing my first name would probably knock me for a loop. It’s one part of my identity, and I guess to me, it’s a big part of it.
I’ve always thought of gender and names as exclusive to each other. Changing one’s gender is different than changing one’s name, and vice versa. Why can’t a person physically transition from a male to a female and retain the male name?
I understand that physical gender correction is complex and that I don’t understand what it must be like to be uncomfortable in the body/gender you have, and all the complexities it takes to get to the point of realizing you need to undergo the physical transformation, and then the complex emotional state one must experience when going through the process, in addition to the reactions of those around that person. It’s mind-blowing. Just look at that horribly long sentence I typed, just to vaguely describe it.
Name change, however, is not as complex, obviously. But it does reassign what you are called, all day, every day. I would like to think that I am identified day-to-day more by my name than by my gender. Maybe I’m naïve.
But anyway, for those of you who are transgender, or who know and love someone who is, or who are educated on the matter – do some/any transgender people retain their pre-transition name? I understand that choosing a new name could be akin to claiming or owning the gender in which you feel you belong, but then I also see the other side of it, where a name is a name, gender be damned.
Am I making sense? I also hope I don’t seem insensitive or morbidly curious. It’s not gawking, on my part. It’s more like, if it was me, I wouldn’t want to feel like I had to change my girly name even if I felt that I was a man and transitioned to a man. Of course, like I said, I cannot possibly understand, as I have not been in this position.
I said this below, but I do have a friend who uses both names and both genders interchangeably. I don’t know how common that is.
I know a F to M transgendered person who kept their original name … but it was Kim, which is gender neutral anyway. That said, I once heard of a F to M trans whose birth name was Justin (not Justine!) and they still decided to change their name. Even though Justin is traditionally a masculine name, and they recognised that it made passing as male during transition much, much easier, in their head Justin was still a girl’s name, and they wanted something male. It’s a symbolic step I think … important to some, not important to others.
Also, name is obviously important to you, but it’s not like that for everyone. I have different nick-names in different social circles, (plus a couple of internet usernames) and I’m used to answering to any and all of them. I don’t really have the one name I get called each and every day, and it’s not something I’d even realised until I read your comment. I think you might be the outlier being so attached to your name. Most people seem to find it fairly easy to get used to a new one. I know a couple of people with very foreign names who go by an an Anglo name because it’s easier than getting English speakers to pronounce their true name correctly. And there’s one guy at work I keep accidentally calling Peter instead of his real name – Sam. No idea why, but I keep doing it. After the 3rd or 4th time he just gave up correcting me and started answering to it. (Now I’ve just got to train the rest of the staff to know who “Peter” is.)
I got chills reading this and can’t wait to hear from him. I’m really happy for him, this must be so exciting but also frightening for many different reasons, mostly being on reality tv and being seen as such a “manly man” all these years, I can’t imagine how hard it was to hide his feelings, and how much courage this took, good for him. I hope he truly has the support from family and friends.
I have two transgender friends, one trans-male and one trans-female. The trans-male uses his male name and male pronoun exclusively, and the trans-female uses both pronouns interchangeably and both names too. I think that might be an unusual choice, but it’s hers. My daughter has a few friends who identify as non-binary or genderqueer and want to use the “they” pronoun, which hurts my ears a little when used as a singular pronoun, but I do what they wish. (These kids are in 8th grade, and I think some at least are still figuring out their identities, but I’m glad they have a supportive peer group which lets them experiment).
I’m sure eventually we will hear how Bruce wants to identify. I admire him so much for taking this step publicly at last. How terrible to live such a public life and know that one is not being true to oneself.
Thanks Amy. This is insightful. And yeah, “they” would be hard! I wish we had a generic pronoun that was singular.
We could use “one”, but that sounds a lot like the Queen of England! Some people have come up with alternate pronouns like the German “Sie”, but nothing seems to have caught on yet.
see this article that addresses the pronoun issue in depth as well.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/08/education/edlife/a-university-recognizes-a-third-gender-neutral.html?_r=0
Thanks dawnchild. Very interesting and good to see that happening!
By the way, we live in a small town in a very red state in the Bible Belt.
Wow! I’m so glad to hear of the support those kids are receiving! I live in a red state too, and the younger people are more supportive for certain. Even those kids whose parents are not.
I have hopes for the younger generations!
I really wish we could “adopt” some of the more gender neutral pronouns into the English language. We’ve got plenty of other borrowed words, why not something that would make grammar easier on all of us AND give non-binary folks a leg up?
I am in the minority opinion on this but I admire the family for being so supportive of one another. Out of everything they’ve done or been through it seems that they really are there for each other & support each other no matter what.
Good luck Bruce. Be happy!
This seems so bizarrely unexpected. Not his transitioning, that is, but the fact that it feels like it came out of nowhere with no hint of it coming just in the last few months. That man kept his sh*t tight for it to have avoided leaking back when he was still with Chris. Very savvy guy. I’m happy for him.
I feel like the K clan is growing on me lately. Even if they are stroppy famewhores, they have been remarkably good at being tolerant and accepting of trans issues, whether it was Kim K. commenting on Leelah Acorn or discussing their father’s transition. We’ve set the decency bar a little lower, now, eh? If the Kardashians can be classy about the matter, why couldn’t anyone else?
Do you think that the diamond earrings he sported were an early sign that something was up. I remember in one segment Kris mocked his earrings. This was before the “shaved trachea” and other goings on.
Possibly. Might have been a rebellion against the restrictions his stated gender was putting on him. Either way, I think getting away Chris was one of the best things that ever happened to him. That woman is incredibly selfish.
First off, major props to a Bruce. Live your truth!
I want to hear about those rumors, that his ex wife before kris knew etc.
I find it interesting that Kim’s life/rumor are quite similar to her mothers..a hubby that wants someone else, but the ladies stay for $$ and fame.
What was Marlo Thomas’ book? Free to be. You and me.
I am going to say something unpopular, but totally honest. I don’t understand this. I want to understand it. I don’t have any “hate” about it – I just don’t get it. I don’t understand how a man – now in his 60’s – finally after decades of chasing skirts, being married, fathering LOTS of children, suddenly decides he wants to be a woman. I had heard rumors in the past that he was a cross-dresser. But to me – and again, I apologize if I sound ignorant (I don’t mean to) – but I can’t help but wonder how much of this was influenced but the bevy of vacuous (almost drag-queen looking women) that he was surrounded with in that Kardashian clan. I can’t quite figure out if this is Bruce’s true spirit coming out or if all those years of “KUWTK” simply broke his spirit. Either way, I hope he finds peace and happiness. That’s really all that counts.
I know some people who are saying, why wait so long? Probably because he was scared! It’s not something that has been widely accepted for very long, so especially as a public person he had to fear mocking and backlash (for the record, I’m against it religiously but totally support someones right to do it if it makes them happy, and I’m happy to use the pronoun that makes them comfortable. Love and let live is what God wants, right?).
And I know a couple people saying he’s doing it for publicity. Dude. No. No one would do something so drastic for publicity. It’s like those people saying high school boys will pretend to be transgender so they could use the girl’s bathroom. The simple amount of ass kicking and ostracizing they would (sadly!) get would outweigh whatever gains to be had.