So Bruce Jenner has finally announced that he is in the process of “transitioning” into a woman. He told Diane Sawyer of ABC News on April 24, 2015 that he now identifies as female.
I have to say, the 65-year-old native of Mt. Kisco, New York was blessed with some fabulous genes. During his 20s and 30s, Jenner was a devastatingly handsome man. And then there was the matter of his athletic ability. Winning the gold medal in the decathlon in the 1976 Montreal Olympics was big stuff. He has, by his own admission, been milking his celebrity status now for almost four decades. Jenner has done “work” as a sports announcer, motivational speaker and actor in made-for-TV movies. Since 2007, he has been part of a reality show called Keeping Up with the Kardashians. I have a very low opinion of such fare and would never watch it unless somehow compelled.
In his self-absorbed and sometimes weepy two-hour sit-down with Sawyer, he revealed that he had first engaged in cross-dressing when he was nine years old. That was a secret he kept with his mother, sisters and wives (Chrystie, Linda and Kris). In recent years, he has taken more active measures—hormone replacement therapy, a laryngeal shave to get rid of his all-too-masculine Adam’s apple, growing his hair out, and just looking and sounding ever more feminine. These days, he finds it necessary to wear a brassiere.
Jenner informed Sawyer that he has not yet undergone “sex reassignment surgery.” All euphemisms are meant to obscure the truth, and this one surely does. The surgery, if Jenner chose to subject himself to it, would involve being castrated and having a reasonable facsimile of a vagina carved into his crotch. Let’s for the moment ignore the fact that he is well past the age of childbearing and ask—would it be possible for him to conceive and bear a child? Quite obviously not. Again, if he were much younger—would he have a monthly menstrual cycle? No. Only if we are willing to posit a very elastic definition of "female" would he qualify, and Jenner retains his male package; the family jewels are intact.
Let us look at the flip side of the coin. Women who identify as men and take the transgender leap are given hormones to make them more masculine, and undergo two kinds of operations. The first is rather blithely called “top surgery” (bilateral mastectomy) wherein their breasts are removed. A doctor is also called upon to turn female genitalia into the male version. Good luck with that! A hysterectomy is usually performed. Tissue grafts from arm, thigh or belly are used to construct something like a male organ, and the labia majora are united to form a scrotum into which fake testicles are inserted. An inflatable or noninflatable penile prosthesis allows an erection of sorts. Orgasms? Let's not even go there.
To suffer through such procedures, people must be truly desperate to change their gender. I find all this very hard to understand since I have been a heterosexual man all my life, and yet I am not unsympathetic. Males who sense themselves to be female or vice versa have serious struggles, and we are in an age that is far more open and embracing than in the past. Still, not all of these cases are successful. A friend of a friend has a son (Brian) who was unhappy and confused about gender issues. He took all the hormones and had the surgery stated above, became a she (Brianne) and found that her problems had not vanished. Unable to find a male partner, she decided she was a lesbian, but no female partner could be found either. I believe that most "normal"—yes, I am using the term consciously—men and women, whether heterosexual or gay, given the chance to have an intimate relationship with a person who has changed genders, would decline.
The media, intimidated by the gay and transgender "community," has done us a disservice in the Jenner case and numerous others. If I had a dollar for every time I have read a rah-rah article in the New York Times about transgender issues, I would be richer than the Sultan of Brunei. In light of Brianne’s experience, maybe Jenner is wise to hedge his bets about having that big operation—you know what I’m saying?
The NYT, CNN, Sports Illustrated, ESPN and of course ABC have covered the issue in depth, as it seems people are fascinated by the former Olympic champ who claims to have a female soul. You simply will not find an article in those venues that is anything less than positive and supportive. Even the comments—usually much more freewheeling than the articles themselves—seem to be carefully screened. I was actually surprised to see one by a guy who said the new Bruce Jenner makes his skin crawl and the PC police are out in force.
I wish Jenner the best, I really do. In fact, I applaud him for being honest with himself and dealing with these personal issues. But, try however I might, I cannot relate.
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