Bruce Jenner’s Gender Identity: What Does It Mean To Be Transgender?

Bruce Jenner revealed his true gender identity in a shocking interview that aired Friday night on 20/20 with Diane Sawyer. The former Olympian revealed that he is a transgender woman.

Sawyer asked, “Are you a woman?”

Jenner responded, “Yes, for all intents and purposes, I am a woman.”

So, what does transgender mean? The word has been on everybody’s minds all week since it’s come into the mainstream. Transgender is an “umbrella term” used for people whose gender identity differs from their sex at birth, according to CNN. According to a 2011 study, around 700,000 American adults or roughly 0.3 percent of the population identify themselves as transgender. Some transgender people will use hormones or undergo sex reassignment surgery to alter their bodies, while others live a life without both.

Some are gender noncomforming, which means they don’t express their genders according to society’s expectations. Some men may exhibit feminine traits, and women who exhibit male traits may identify as gender noncomforming.

As for Jenner, he said he’s not sure if he would undergo gender reassignment surgery.

“These are all things that are out there in the future for me to explore. There’s no rush for that. And I would do it so quietly that nobody in the world would know.”

Bruce Jenner also revealed that even though he identifies as “her,” he doesn’t use a different name. He told Diane Sawyer that he still feels comfortable using the pronouns “he” and “him,” which is an important topic for the transgender community. Many believe that transgender people should be referred to the pronouns they wish to identify, according to Trib-Live News.

Jenner went on to explain his gender identity. He says that his “brain is more female than it is male.” Jenner revealed that he also had an urge to try on his sister and mother’s dresses when he was a young boy.

“I didn’t know why I was doing it. It just made me feel good.”

He also told Sawyer that he started gender reassignment therapy in the 1980s without the public knowing. He started taking hormones and having plastic surgery that would alter his nose and remove his body hair. Jenner later stopped these procedures because of his Christian faith and that he felt regret in himself.

Bruce also explained his sexuality on the interview. He said that he’s never felt sexually attracted to men, and he stated that gender identity and sexuality are two separate things.

“I am not gay. I am, as far as I know, heterosexual. I’ve always been with a woman, raising kids.”

Gender identity is your own internal sense of being a man or a woman, whereas sexuality orientation describes a person’s emotional or physical attraction to another person. Diane Sawyer explained it best.

“Sexual orientation is who you go to bed with. Gender identity is who you go to bed as.”

Some may think that Bruce Jenner’s MTF (male-to-female) transitioning is selfish. It’s not selfish when a transgender person is finally comfortable with who they really are and is ready to live their true life, according to Mashable. It’s not about Bruce’s family members or past partners at this time. Bruce decided that he wanted to live his life the way he wants because he “wants to know how his story ends.”

If you want to learn more about gender identity and the transgender community, please visit the ABC News website. Jenner’s 20/20 interview with Diane Sawyer was also very educational and informative on the subject matter. Share your thoughts about Bruce Jenner’s interview or gender identity below in the comments section.

[Image: Ethan Miller/Getty Images for Michael Jordan Celebrity Invitational]