CABU GAH DIARIES: Bruce Jenner…May His Bold Sexuality Confession Be A Turning Point For Kenya’s Closet Transgender Community. Viva Bruce Jenner!

Very few Kenyans are familiar with Bruce Jenner. Or with the major announcement he made on U.S. Television a few days ago. His story,pundits are claiming,is like the Second Coming.

I have followed the whole riveting Bruce Jenner saga for months now. Bruce,for those still in the dark,is a former U.S. Track champion who,in the late 70’s was widely regarded as the “Greatest Athlete In The World”.

Bruce,after retiring,married Us Television star,Kris Jenner…the Matriarch of the wildly famous Kardashian Klan. And Bruce,alongside his attention-hogging family,appeared in hundreds and hundreds of episodes of the hugely successful reality show KEEPING UP WITH THE KARDASHIANS.

And so,he became even more famous and popular amongst the young generation that didn’t quite know him as an iconic track legend.

A lot of people know Jenner today from his relationship to the far-famed Kardashian clan. But decades ago, he became a national hero after he nabbed the gold medal in the 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics for the decathlon. This triumph meant more than most: In the 1972 Olympics, the U.S. lost the decathlon, an event the country had won in past Games, to the Soviets. For many, Jenner’s win was a symbolic victory for the U.S. over its Cold War enemy.

Speculation that he was transgender had swirled around the former Olympian for months. Many transgender advocates were alarmed by the speculation before he spoke for himself, saying the gossip and jokes about Jenner’s body and gender identity were profoundly disrespectful and demeaned the dignity of transgender people.

But Bruce,a man many Americans considered the epitome of machismo,shocked the world last Friday when,in a landmark interview conducted by legendary American TV host Diane Sawyer,he came out as a WOMAN. And bid goodbye to his old self…the man,Bruce.

Bruce,a 65 year old American celebrity,was hailed world over as a hero by tens of huge-and I mean HUGE-celebrities among them Oprah Winfrey,Ellen DeGeneres (who had her own monumental moment in 1996) and Pop goddess Lady Gaga.

America-and the World at large-hailed Bruce Jenner,roundly praising him,commending his “courage” and branding him a “hero”.

But the best Twitter quotes,of course,would come from his vainglorius,super-famous children who gushed allover Twitter declaring their pride in their ‘father” and dropping a few other very quotable quotes for good measure.

The World seemed to have stopped….And EVERYONE,I mean EVERYONE,was praising Bruce and calling the moment he broke away from his masculinity a “Pivotal moment in History”. Others even called that groundbreaking ABC sit-down as the “Greatest Moment Of the 21st Century”

And indeed,it was.

Bruce Jenner,a towering athletic figure in America,is the last person the World would expect to come forward and,unabashed,face his demons,address his tribulations and,once and for all,break away from the closet life he’s led for a whooping 65 years.

Transgenders all across the World have always been treated with suspicion,mistrust,stigmatization and unwarranted hate…more than 40 percent of whom have attempted suicide in response to society’s open hostility, violence, discrimination and daily humiliations.

But Jenner’s boldness stood for all of those communities. Jenner stood tall…Not just for people like him,but for all people…All minorities,all weak societies,all dejected people,for gays and lesbians,for people living with secrets and living in closets. Bruce Jenner opened the door. For ALL of the World.

What Jenner did,in that unparallelled interview,taking the stage in such a brave way,didn’t just reveal an interview, a personal or “family secret,” he opened a huge door. He opened the door even further with discussion. He touched people ranging in age from, likely, as young as 12 years old, up to, as the ABC Interview showed,Jenner’s own mother at 88 years of age.

Jenner’s message reached across the board, and my hopes are that Bruce’s interview, his truth, his explanation of who he is today and where he plans to go in the future with “her,” has reached people who resonate with his journey. I hope this will push further discussion, acceptance, understanding and most of all, empathy.

Time will tell what longer-term impact the interview has,But this much is clear: Despite the media’s-Especially America’s- preference for vain spectacle, the interview was a rare sympathetic portrayal of a trans person. And a climactic moment for humanity.

Bruce’s interview opened a new chapter to the World…It showed people that it is Ok not just be but feel different,too. It also emboldened the silenced…And showed them that is about time they stood up,stood tall and,just like Jenner,a famed athlete and TV star,tell the World who they really are. Whether the World is ready or not. Or likes it or not.

It is also a lesson for families across the World…Families in whom are queer members. Bruce’s family openly stood by him. His family ALLOWED him to be. They,in as much as they are famous and are meticulous PR superstars,stepped down from their high pedestal (Yes,including Kanye West) and,despite what it appeared they would stand to lose,decided to STAND by Daddy. And ACCEPT him. And his unusual transition.

I hope and pray that Jenner’s coming out helps us not just deal with Audrey Mbugua better…But also understand her more. And cut her some slack even more.

We must draw powerful lessons from that interview. And the Kenyan Media too,which has many times failed to understand the human side of issues and failed to educate about and embrace “weird” personalities,must also learn lessons from the now-famous ABC Diane Sawyer interview.

It was real. And true. And passionate. And soft. And illuminating. And thought provoking.

May Jenner change the World. And may he remain the icon he has always been…this time for the weak,the stigmatized,the closet communities and the afraid.

Viva Bruce Jenner!

That was a moment in history.