Bruce Jenner To Diane Sawyer: “I Am a Woman”
Bruce Jenner’s tell-all interview with Diane Sawyer has finally aired, confirming what months of rumors and speculation have long assumed, Jenner is undergoing a transition to become a woman. In the two-hour special, an emotional run in which Jenner was often teary-eyed, the world got its first peak at the real Jenner, along with the revelation that this would be his final interview as a man, and as Bruce (though neither his new look as a woman, nor his new name were revealed).
Here, 12 highlights from the interview, in Jenner’s own words.
1. He knew since he was eight years-old.
“Bruce Jenner is, I would say, I have always been always been very confused by my gender identity since I was this big [gestures towards the ground]….God’s looking down making little Bruce. What am I going to do?”
2. He’s been struggling with identity ever since.
“I marked the [spot in the] closet so that when I put it back I would put everything back in the exact same spot so I wouldn’t get caught. At that time, I didn’t know why I was doing it besides it just made me feel good.”
3. His sister was the first person he told.
“It was Chrystie [Scott]…Most women think ‘Oh, I can fix that.’ Most women think that. I never really hardcore said, ‘Look I don’t know if I’m going to make it in this male gender here my entire life.”
4. He doesn’t consider himself to be gay.
“I’m not gay. As far as I know, I’m heterosexual. I’ve never been with a guy.”
5. He hasn’t had major surgery, though he’s been taking hormones since the eighties.
“You do face, breasts, you know, all that kind of stuff. There are certainly some physical changes to it, but it’s mostly mentally. It just kinda takes the edge off…At this point, SRS-sexual reassignment surgery-will be down the line.
6. Son-in-law Kanye West has been a big support.
“He says to Kim, ‘Look, I can be married to the most beautiful woman in the world, and I am … but I’m nothing if I can’t be me. If I can’t be true to myself.'”
7. So has step-daughter Kim Kardashian.
“Girl, you gotta rock it and you gotta look good. If you’re doing this thing, I’m helping you,” Jenner says she has told him.
8. Jenner reaffirmed, this wasn’t just publicity for “Keeping Up With the Kardashians”.
“Do you have any idea what I’ve been going through all my life? And they’re going to say I’m doing this for publicity for a show.”
9. His gender identity played a role in the end of his marriage to Kris Kardashian.
“If she had been really good with it and understanding, we would probably still be together.”
10. Khloe Kardashian has had the hardest time dealing with it.
“I’ve raised wonderful children. Ten of them. Millions and millions of miles of carpool. They all cried. She’s had the toughest time with it because she has had a lot of losses in her life.”
11. He’s most looking forward to the small things.
“To be able to have my nail polish on long enough so that it chips off,” is one of them.
12. Jenner is hopeful for the future.
“I’m saying goodbye to people’s perception of me and who I am. But I’m not saying goodbye to me. This has always been me. [When you think of me], please be open-minded. I’m not this bad person. I’m just doing what I have to do.”
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