Are Caitlyn Jenner’s New Transgender Friends Worried About Her Conservative Views? [Video]
Back in April, when Bruce Jenner told Diane Sawyer that he was a woman and intended to transition, he dropped another bombshell: he’s a Republican. As CNN recalled, when asked if he would use his influence to promote transgender issues within the Republican party, then-Bruce Jenner said he would and that “I think they’d be very receptive to it.”
Now a teaser clip from Caitlyn Jenner’s docu-series, I am Cait, reveals not everyone in her circle is happy about her conservative views. The issue arises as part of a discussion of ways to assist transgender people with employment. Jenner implies social programs are not always a good idea and that people can become dependent on assistance.
Activist Jenny Boylan tells the camera she fears Jenner’s life in a bubble has prevented her from a full understanding of the issues many transgender people face.
“Caitlyn has every right to be just as conservative as she choses, but many transgender men and women need social programs to survive, and that’s nothing to be ashamed of. If Cait’s going to be a spokesperson for the community, this is something she’s going to have to understand.”
You can see the I am Cait scene below.
Casey Plett wrote in the New York Times Monday that Jenner seemed very alone in the premiere of I am Cait. Although she was surrounded by many people, none of those people were transgender. The new clip suggests that the docu-series will progress in a direction that has Caitlyn engaging more with the transgender community.
Jenner acknowledged during her ESPYs speech on July 15, when she received the Arthur Ashe Courage Award, that she had learned much in the few short months since the Diane Sawyer interview.
“[T]he real truth is, before a few months ago I had never met anybody else who was trans, who was like me. I had never met a trans person, never. Now, as you just saw, I dealt with my situation on my own in private and that turned this journey into an already incredible education.
“It’s been eye-opening, inspiring, but also frightening. All across this country, right now, all across the world, at this very moment, there are young people coming to terms with being transgender. They’re learning that they’re different and they are trying to figure out how to handle that, on top of every other problem that a teenager has.”
The docu-series is scheduled to run for eight weeks on the E! network. The program airs Sunday nights at 8 p.m.
[Photo by Kevin Winter / Getty Images Entertainment]
