From the Diane Sawyer interview to her official debut on the cover of "Vanity Fair," Caitlyn Jenner has certainly captured America’s attention. Some of us are #TeamCaitlyn and some not so much, but most are equally interested to see what she does next—which happens to be the reality show “I Am Cait.”
Many, including myself, have been dying to see the premiere of the new E! series, “I Am Cait” for many reasons. One is simply watching the former Bruce Jenner live as a woman. Thanks to the "Vanity Fair" cover, we know what Caitlyn looks like but what does she act like? Does she have the same personality as Bruce did? Regardless of how accepting we may be with Bruce’s transformation, it’s still shocking. Given who Bruce was in his earlier years, this came as quite a surprise for most Americans. And that makes for a pretty intriguing TV series.
When I first heard that a TV show was coming out based around Caitlyn Jenner’s new life, I had mixed feelings. Was this some PR stunt to exploit that Bruce Jenner is transgender or was this just a “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” spin-off with no purpose? I was curious to see what the show would be about.
As I watched the first episode, I started to think this show might actually have been Caitlyn’s idea. In the beginning of the episode, Caitlyn spoke about how being transgender is affecting so many and how she feels responsible to help, and was even losing sleep over it. After watching her speech at the ESPYs or seeing her posts on social media about spreading awareness, I knew this was a goal of hers but honestly never thought she would use her show as a platform.
Most of the episode was entertaining just to see the physical transformation she’s made. This is still a reality show about Caitlyn’s new life but parts of the premiere were devoted to other transgender lives. She not only spoke about wanting to help, but actually reached out to a family who recently lost their transgender son to suicide. In the episode, it shows Caitlyn visiting the family at their home as she tried to learn more about how she could help others.
This show could have been centered solely on Caitlyn and all the things that come with being a woman for the first time—and America probably would have been just as interested. But instead of focusing only on herself and her new life, she chose to channel the attention she’s getting into raising awareness. And I respect her for that. If her public ‘campaign’ about her transition helps even one family or saves even one life, it will be worth everything she’s gone through.
