Caitlyn Jenner’s much-hyped new docu-series, I Am Cait , debuts tonight on E! Network. It is set to follow Jenner as she starts her new life as an openly-transgender woman, making public appearances and introducing herself to her family. She is also set to become increasingly involved in the transgender community.
In anticipation of the new series, GLAAD’s director of programs for transgender media, Nick Adams, wrote a guest column for The Hollywood Reporter . Adams said that the series will continue the influence Caitlyn has already had in bringing awareness to transgender issues. But Adams emphasized that the work is far from complete.
“Caitlyn herself is using her media platform to teach people more about what it means to be transgender — to live as someone whose deep, internal sense of their own gender does not match the sex they were assigned at birth.
“But there is much more work to do, particularly for transgender people who are not as privileged as she is.”
Adams pointed to Jenner’s own speech at the ESPYs when she described herself as “fortunate,” and acknowledged the tough road for transgender people without the same resources, family support, or thick skin.
“It is an honor to have the word ‘courage’ associated with my life, but this night another word comes to mind: ‘fortunate.’
“[I]f you want to call me names, doubt my intention, the reality is, I can take it. But for thousands of kids out there coming to term with who they are, they shouldn’t have to take it.”
In previews for I Am Cait , Jenner expressed a deep concern for other transgender people and what her story might mean for them. As reported by The Guardian , Jenner was worried whether she was projecting the right image and saying the right things.
Critics were generally positive after seeing previews of the program. Although teaser clips have shown Jenner interacting with her mother, daughter Kylie Jenner, and stepdaughter Kim Kardashian, Jenner’s four oldest biological children refused to participate. The Guardian quotes Brandon Jenner as saying of E! reality programs: “Every one of them is a circus.”
Kardashian’s husband, Kanye West, also appears, and has supportive words for Caitlyn.
“I think this is one of the strongest things that have happened in our existence as human beings, that are so controlled by perception. You couldn’t have been up against more.”
I Am Cait is scheduled to run for eight weeks on E!
[Photo by Kevin Winter / Getty Images Entertainment]
