In 1976, Bruce Jenner became a household name after winning the gold medal in the Olympic Decathlon event. Images of him bearing the American flag raised the morale of a nation still hurting from the effects of Watergate and the Vietnam War. Now, Jenner is once again making headlines – as a woman.
It turns out that Jenner has long felt he was a women trapped inside the body of a man. This led him to believe he was living a lie every second of the day. Now, it seems that Jenner is embodying the words of the fictitious character Polonius in the Shakespeare play Ophelia: “This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.”
In recent days, Jenner made his grand appearance to the world as Caitlin Jenner. As part of hers debut, Vanity Fair hired famed photographer Annie Leibowitz to conduct the photo shoot. The result was a woman who bears almost no resemblance to Bruce Jenner. In fact, many people believe Caitlin looks strikingly similar to actress Jessica Lange.
Still, the entire matter is proving to be controversial. In some respects, Jenner is now the face of the transgender movement for equality. The fact that she is also a member of the Republican Party has opened up a window for the GOP to show a more tolerant side. At the same time, the issue has other people morally constricted. In some religious circles, gender is viewed as a fundamental aspect of our existence with gender being divinely assigned to a person before birth.
While the mind of a person may believe it is of the opposite gender, the genetics of a person ever remain what they were at birth. Yet, it is hard to hear the Caitlin Jenner explain her emotional journey without feeling a sense of human compassion. Watch her video and decide for yourself where you stand on the issue.