being bruce isn't easy

Bruce Jenner Comes Out As Transgender: ‘It’s Just Who I Am’

On Friday night, ABC aired its much-anticipated two-hour interview with Bruce Jenner. And as many had expected, Jenner came out as transgender and revealed that he is in the process of transitioning from male to female. During the interview, he talked to Diane Sawyer about his long, difficult journey, offering insight into his deeply personal experience. We want to let Jenner tell his own story (he explicitly stated that he wishes to use the pronoun “he” for now), so we’ve compiled some of the most enlightening quotations from his conversation with Sawyer.

  • On hiding the truth for so many years: “Being Bruce isn’t easy.”
  • “[First ex-wife] Chrystie was the first person I told.” (They were married from 1972 to 1981.)
  • On telling his family: “I downplayed it. When you love somebody, you don’t want to hurt them.”
  • “My brain is much more female than it is male.”
  • “For all intents and purposes, I am a woman.”
  •  In response to suggestions that his transition is a publicity stunt: “Are you telling me I am going to go through a whole gender change and accuse me of doing it for show?”
  • “How do I do this and not hurt my children? I tried to explain to them I’ll always be there, I’m not going anywhere”
  •  “My whole life has been getting me ready for this, not just the last few years when they have been treating me as a joke.”
  • “Bruce lives a lie, she is not a lie. I just can’t do it anymore.”
  • “I look at women all the time and think how lucky they are that they can wake up and be themselves.”
  • “I always felt heterosexual.”
  • On knowing who he is: “It finally makes sense.”
  •  On being on Keeping Up With the Kardashians: “When I had my suit on … I would walk off the stage and feel like a liar.”
  • Diane: “People have to know you want to identify as a woman and still … ”
    Bruce:
    “ … Kick butt.”
  • “Have an open mind and an open heart. I’m not this ‘bad person.’ I’m just doing what I have to do.”
  •  “I’m saying good-bye to people’s perceptions of me and who I am. I’m not saying good-bye to me. This has always been me.”
  • “I want to have a free soul and great friends. I want to enjoy life. It’s that simple.”
  • “We’re gonna change the world and make a difference and do some good.”

Bruce Jenner: ‘It’s Just Who I Am’