The Kardashian’s are known for doing whatever it takes to get a little publicity. Nothing is off limits for them. But technically Bruce Jenner is no longer part of the extended Kardashian clan. His divorce from wife of 23 years, Kris, was finalized in December 2014, but his connection with the fame whores that are the Kardashians is too deep for the media to just let him fade off into the distance to live his life in peace.
Speculation that Jenner might be beginning a transition into a woman started in February of last year when news outlets started reporting that he had surgery to shave down his Adam’s apple. Ever since then, the scrutiny on his appearance has spiralled from mild curiosity (why is his hair so long?) to full on accusation (Bruce Jenner wants to be a woman!).
The tabloids have talked to everyone from Jenner’s children, stepchildren, ex-wife, and a bunch of “insiders” about whether the rumours are true, and no confirmation has ever been made. Kim Kardashian told Entertainment Tonight, “I think everyone goes through things in life, and I think that story and what Bruce is going through, I think he’ll share whenever the time is right … I think Bruce is very happy, the happiest I’ve ever seen him.” The bottom line is, all the speculation gets us nowhere. Tabloids make up stories every day, and the only way we will ever know the truth is if Bruce Jenner himself comes out and says it. Not that is any of our business anyway.
Although the tabloid stories were starting to escalate beyond innocent curiosity, it wasn’t until In Touch released a cover in early January, featuring an image of Bruce Jenner with makeup on that the story really reached a fever pitch. The magazine had clearly photoshopped the image to go along with the conclusions they had drawn in their story. The cover story read “Bruce’s Story: My Life as a Woman,” even though the magazine never once actually spoke to Jenner about “his story”.
Now, there is a rumour that Jenner will be doing an exclusive interview with Diane Sawyer to come out as transgender. The interview is scheduled to air sometime in May, with filming starting in the coming weeks. There is also talk that the interview is meant to promote a docuseries that Jenner has been filming for the last year about his journey towards coming out. E! (the same network that airs Keeping Up With the Kardashians) has had cameras following him around to document his experiences and the experiences of his family in order to get ratings.
Of course, these things have not been confirmed by Jenner himself, so they can’t be taken 100% seriously. But if they are true, it gives a little less credibility to the idea that we should be leaving Bruce Jenner alone to live his life. If he has a TV show coming out, it would make sense that he wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise by confirming now that he really is making the transition to life as a woman. And how many transgender people out there would choose to broadcast their struggles to millions of people?
On the bright side, if someone in the spotlight like Bruce Jenner, former Olympian, is willing to share his journey, maybe the struggles of other transgender people won’t seen quite as unbelievable. If he is really going through these things, and choosing to truly become who he feels he is inside, then other people can do it too. It isn’t exactly easy to hide something like this in the first place, but when the tabloids are following you around looking for any scrap of gossip, it must be even harder. Luckily for him, the year of speculation will probably mean huge ratings for his (still hypothetical) TV show.
The question is, is Bruce Jenner doing interviews and TV shows because he actually wants to, or because the constant media scrutiny is basically forcing him into it. Either way, he deserves the same respect and acceptance as everyone else, and it is our job to give it to him.
