While I would never dismiss their concerns or struggle, I believe that Jenner publicly coming out draws a good attention that previously did not exist.

Look at the first celebrities that came out as gay. Sort of the same thing happened. Though the journey is not at all the same, it is still something that was (and unfortunately still is) misunderstood.

Hopefully, articles like this will start the process to actual understanding and acceptance. The more public the more likely MSM will be to pick up stories like this

enough of the LGBT community makes him aware of the stark realities of being transgender outside the insular, protected world of vast wealth.

The organization that was assisting struggling transgender/transsexual people in the Phoenix area had to close recently because of lack of resources.

If you are involved in that project, you hit up the foundation Pritker has
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026574492

Couldn't hurt.

I have used the male pronoun for Bruce Jenner because that is what he said he wanted until he introduces her.

I do hope so. Jenner seems to think that Republican leaders will be welcoming and helpful. Maybe how the party treats her, when she is introduced, will cause a more philanthropic attitude.

Bruce Jenner was not raised with money. He is a self made multi millionaire. Since he started going out as a girl at the age of 8, there may be much more understanding than we know at this time

I have a close friend for whom the organization provided a foundation for moving on and improving her living conditions.

I edited the pronouns. I thought he might wish to be done with Bruce after the interview. If he has known he is a woman for decades, I hope he has come to the understanding that he is not ever going to magically turn into a man. It just doesn't happen, ever. If you are LGT, you are who you are, and you won't ever magically change into a straight person. While I respect every individual's choice to transition at their own pace, it's an iffy proposition to play games with the public for the sake of making a television program out of your transition, no matter how noble your intentions are. Real people will see, and be offended, if something isn't being real, and this could be harmful to the advancement of the rights, equality, and health of the transgender/transsexual community.

I have a fair amount of experience with people in transition. I am getting a sense that his transition process is being somewhat staged for the purposes of publicly showing what it is like to go through transition. If this is the case, I sincerely hope that he has extremely competent professional counselors who specialize in counseling transgender persons advising him and guiding the process, and not just network marketeers with dollars signs and dreams of a promotion being their main concern. Each transgender person's transition process is unique to them, but all are similar to each other in some ways as well. It is not unreasonable to be concerned that a wealthy person going through a staged televised transition will convey a distorted message to the general public about what it is like for non-affluent transgender/transsexual persons to transition.

I know Mr. Jenner wasn't raised with money. But he's had money for a long time. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know that having lots of money insulates someone from having many of the difficulties experienced by the majority of transgender persons going through transition. One problem is the enormous monetary cost of transition. There are many who desperately want to transition, who have no hope of even starting the process because they are so poor, and have no way to end their poverty. So far Mr. Jenner's transition does not make the public aware of this reality. The internal struggle is there, but there is no external struggle whatsoever. This is not the case with the overwhelming majority of transgender/transsexual people who transition, or who because of finances can only dream of transitioning. I know middle class transgender people who paid for their transition costs with credit cards, putting themselves into a lifetime of debt just so that they could finally feel comfortable in their own skin.

Which leads to the obvious fact that all healthcare plans administered by the ACA should include mandatory coverage of all transition costs for transgender/transsexual persons.

If you haven't watched the interview, you should. He said he is a woman. I think that this is part of a process that he needs and he believes his children need to say goodbye to the Bruce Jenner we knew. He said that Bruce Jenner, that the public knows, is not a reality.

Oh forget it. I am not saying it well. He did though.

I also know transgender people and I don't find what Jenner is doing as unusual. The only part that is different, and that I don't know anyone in the world can relate to, is Bruce Jenner was once dubbed "the best athlete in the world" "the strongest man in the world" etc. Unless another Olympic Gold Medal Winner in the decathlon, the most physically exhausting and multifaceted competition there is, suddenly comes out as a trans woman, there is no way anyone else can relate

but I do know two transgender former high school football stars who have expressed to me that they dearly wished they had been the cheerleaders instead.