A few weeks ago, the athlete formerly known as Bruce Jenner told Diane Sawyer he wasn’t discussing his transition to a woman for publicity.
“I would never do that, Diane,” he said that Friday night on the two-hour ABC special. “(This) is going to do some good. We’re going to change the world. I firmly believe that we’re going to make a difference in the world with what we’re doing.”
It was powerful stuff, maybe hugely important stuff for the transgender community, especially its young people so painfully confused by the messages their minds and bodies apparently send them.
And had the 1976 Olympic gold medalist in the decathlon — “The World’s Greatest Athlete,” as he/she was once proclaimed — stopped there, or taken his/her story to schools and churches and public forums, his claims of changing the world would certainly have carried much weight.
Especially if it truly made life more comfortable and acceptable for transgender people the world over.