For Bruce Jenner, Talking About His Transgender Journey Is 'Better Than A Gold Medal'

For Bruce Jenner, announcing his decision to become a woman has been more satisfying that winning a Gold medal at the Olympics, new reports suggest. The statement was made by Bruce to “Orange Is the New Black” actress Laverne Cox some time back. She has been a confidant of Bruce's gender transition journey since a long time.

The actress told MSNBC at White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday that she had a candid chat with Bruce on his transition when she met him several months back. “The same person who I spoke to on the phone, who really just loves their children so much and wants their family to be happy was the person I saw on television last night,” the actress is quoted as saying to MSNBC.

The actress also spoke to Bruce after his “Bruce Jenner: The Interview” aired on ABC News on Friday and told him that this was like another Gold medal win. But she was surprised to hear Bruce's answer. The former Olympian told Cox that talking about his gender transition on national television was actually “better than a gold medal." She also called Bruce as a “profoundly nuanced, complicated, beautiful human being.”

An unnamed spokeswoman for the trans community also told the website that Bruce's story is very “specific” and most transgender people do not have that kind of “privilege” and “visibility” that the 65-year-old Olympian has. The kind of visibility celebrities like Bruce have do not save a common man from taking his own life; if he discovers and shares his transgender issues and does not get accepted.

She also revealed names of a few transgenders [Blake Brockington and Leelah Alcorn] who took their own lives because they were not accepted in the society. “So visibility matters, but structural change and policy change is what needs to happen so the lives of all trans people will be better,” she added, according to the website.

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