WOW - Congratulations Caitlyn (formerly Bruce) Jenner!

[Luanne Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Luanne]

Plastic surgery? She just said that she wasn't having her penis removed.

She's had other plastic surgery procedures over the years.

[LisaH Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close LisaH]

I read that he had breast implant surgery. He also removed his Adam's apple a while ago...

[Pat H Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Pat H]

He had his Adam's Apple shaved not removed. I really hope I am wrong because if not, it's an absolute insult to other transgenders. The majority cannot afford any plastic surgery, let alone massive amounts to turn their face and body into beauties. They can't afford designer clothing fitted to their bodies. They have the bodies with which they were born for the most part and now have to fit into the opposite sex.

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

He had his Adam's Apple shaved not removed. I really hope I am wrong because if not, it's an absolute insult to other transgenders. The majority cannot afford any plastic surgery, let alone massive amounts to turn their face and body into beauties. They can't afford designer clothing fitted to their bodies. They have the bodies with which they were born for the most part and now have to fit into the opposite sex.

She also had facial feminization surgery recently as well as the Adam apple shaving several years ago. Breasts are new. Yes, keeping the penis and is still attracted to woman sexually.

And she said that just in the last few weeks she has had access to professional hair and makeup people and it has made a tremendous change ( for the better) in her appearance.

You are correct that most Trans people do not have access to all this.
But having a celebrity such as Bruce/Caitlin in their corner is a HUGE plus for bringing awareness to this situation.
It certainly has opened my eyes.

[JWC Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close JWC]

Exactly. I really don't care what other people do in this repsect- you want to pretend to be a woman or a man- knock yourself out. But I am against glorifying it - putting the person on a magazine cover with a 22 page spread and making him/her out to be some kind of hero. Making this out to be "normal". Our policemen are heroes; our firefighters are heroes; our military are heroes. Not this wacko.
.....LOL!

I agree 100%.

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

I read that he had breast implant surgery. He also removed his Adam's apple a while ago...

The physical medical process is overwhelming. The most recent facial feminization surgery took over 10 hours. That is just a small part of the process, it is not something that anyone would undergo on a lark, no matter the price. And I am-in-the-know a bit behind the scenes on this, Caitlyn is 100% for real.

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

He had his Adam's Apple shaved not removed. I really hope I am wrong because if not, it's an absolute insult to other transgenders. The majority cannot afford any plastic surgery, let alone massive amounts to turn their face and body into beauties. They can't afford designer clothing fitted to their bodies. They have the bodies with which they were born for the most part and now have to fit into the opposite sex.

I hear you and absolutely see your point. Many in the trans community want to see more authenticity, real people, not airbrushed celebrity. The hope is that the attention Caitlyn is getting will bring awareness to the plight of other trans* people who are not so privileged - there is no doubt that the huge majority cannot afford what Caitlyn has been able to avail herself of. There are are ongoing battles to gain rights for transgender healthcare services -- headway is being made, albeit slowly. Publicity like this can only help, even if it is "dumbed down" for the misogynistic masses that need to see only beautiful transwomen in order to pay attention.

[StressCadet Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close StressCadet]

Unfortunately your opinion is not all that unusual. But it is entirely uninformed. I happen to do work with the trans* community and I can assure that there are many people whose gender identity does not necessarily match the gender they are assigned at birth. They are not pretending to be anything other than their authentic selves. Did you know that hundreds of thousands of babies are born each year with genital characteristics that are "atypical?" In many cases where it was noticeable, doctors used to perform surgery to repair the genitals so they looked more like whichever gender they were closest to, or whichever surgery was easier. Today, the accepted medical protocol is to give the child an androgynous name and wait for the child to self-identity a gender before performing any surgery at all. In many other cases, gender anomalies have been found on a more subtle level in DNA or hormones and the like. It is accepted fact that not everyone's gender identity matches their genitals. And most transgender youth self-identify at a very early age, and it continues throughout their lifetime. They are NOT pretending.

Thanks to Caitlyn, this conversation is going on the world over. Even if it's too late for some of the older generations to wrap their narrow-minded heads around it, hopefully our children's generation will be more accepting. And if you want some less "sensational" treatments on the topic, there is plenty out there. Here is a bit of a 101 for starters.

https://gaycenter.org/wellness/gender-identity

You can add one 55 year old male I know personally (I might even be married to him ) over to the plus column for awareness and acceptance. Why? Because it's Bruce Jenner. It's someone tangible and relatable for him. Often with social causes and/or illness,etc and drawing attention to said issue, you participate or support because you have been personally touched by it, i.e. a family member or a friend. I believe many people feel like they "know" Caitlyn due to either the Olympics or The Kardashian show and are therefore willing to at least take a moment to listen and learn about a subject they may otherwise find uncomfortable. Whether she truly wants to be the "face" of the trans community, or the media has made her out to be such, that will unfold soon enough. But there is no denying this has brought a lot of needed attention.

[wackymother Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wackymother]

Wow, check this out! Members of the trans community are making their own Vanity Fair covers. I love this!

http://www.salon.com/2015/06/04/tran...ityfaircovers/

[chriskre Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close chriskre]

She's leaving a great legacy for the community that's for sure.
I wish I could leave a legacy for something important at that age, but probably not gonna happen.

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

Wow, check this out! Members of the trans community are making their own Vanity Fair covers. I love this!

http://www.salon.com/2015/06/04/tran...ityfaircovers/

These are great!

[Sydney Contributor - Bronze Find all posts View Profile Close Sydney]

I really don't know what to think. I haven't read any more about this person than what's been posted on this site and initially thought that he had a chromosomal abnormality causing me to feel compassion for him as I do for transgendered people. However, refusing to do the full transformation and still being attracted to females is just confusing to me. I am somewhat sceptical now having read PatH's comments.

I really can't stand the Kardashians because my opinion is that they are dreadful and subversive role models for dignified & intelligent girls/women. Who knows why people in Hollywood do what they do really? There are all types of people in this world with very different motivations. I do believe some people would do the most bizarre things for non-altruistic reasons. Sure, there may be many detractors but he would have known that he would have many supporters also. The additional fame and money certainly wouldn't hurt.

*Having said that, I certainly want the world to be more compassionate and accepting of those who feel neglected, dejected and alienated.

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

I really don't know what to think. I haven't read any more about this person than what's been posted on this site and initially thought that he had a chromosomal abnormality causing me to feel compassion for him as I do for transgendered people. However, refusing to do the full transformation and still being attracted to females is just confusing to me. I am somewhat sceptical now having read PatH's comments.

I really can't stand the Kardashians because my opinion is that they are dreadful and subversive role models for dignified & intelligent girls/women. Who really knows why people in Hollywood do what they do really? There are all types of people in this world with very different motivations. I do believe some people would do the most bizarre things for non-altruistic reasons. Sure, there may be many detractors but he would have known that he would have many supporters also. The additional fame and money certainly wouldn't hurt.

I understand it may be confusing, but please know that many trans folks choose not to do a "full transformation," nor should they have to in order to satisfy any cisgender person's (or anyone at all for that matter) expectation of what they think a person of trans* experience ought to be doing. Bottom surgery (such as vaginoplasty or phalloplasty) is incredibly complicated with mixed results. Not everyone opts for it, in fact, many people do not. Similarly, some people opt for top surgery and others don't. Some people stop at hormones, some find even those difficult to tolerate. Transition is a highly individual experience. As for Caitlyn's sexual orientation, she has said that she isn't sure where she will end up in terms of attraction. Sexual orientation and Gender Identity are completely unrelated. I have seen statistics stating that as many as 1/3 of people who take hormones in the course of transition experience a change in their attraction due to hormones, but the majority do not.

[StressCadet Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close StressCadet]

Wow, check this out! Members of the trans community are making their own Vanity Fair covers. I love this!

http://www.salon.com/2015/06/04/tran...ityfaircovers/

Kind of like the Dove campaign. Real people.

I found this interesting too...concerning whether she is doing it for the publicity. The entire unfolding has certainly been orchestrated...but it's been a long time coming.

http://variety.com/2015/tv/news/bruc...ry-1201513335/

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

Kind of like the Dove campaign. Real people.

I found this interesting too...concerning whether she is doing it for the publicity. The entire unfolding has certainly been orchestrated...but it's been a long time coming.

http://variety.com/2015/tv/news/bruc...ry-1201513335/

It most certainly has. I knew about the suppressed story but didn't realize it was the Times.