Is Bruce ’Keeping Up’ With Kim and Transitioning?
Is Bruce Jenner transitioning?
According to rumors reported this week by a number of outlets, the former track and field Olympic champ and ex-"Keeping Up With the Kradashians" star is transitioning from male to female.
The British tabloid paper the Daily Mail reported Wednesday that Jenner, 64, was spotted leaving The Beverly Hills Surgical Center clinic in Beverly Hills, Calif., last week where he allegedly had surgery to shave down his Adam's Apple. In the photos taken of Jenner, however, the celebrity looks frail and his throat is covered. Hospital staff is also seen assisting him to a car.
Reports say that the reality/sports star has been "looking more like a woman" for awhile now and that a "laryngeal shave," or cutting down the Adam's Apple, is the first step in transitioning. But according to Jezebel's Kat "Kyosuke" Callahan, who is a transgender female, these reports, specifically getting a laryngeal shave, are ridiculous.
"I'm a trans woman, and I'm pretty certain my own gender reassignment didn't start with any kind of trachea shave. In fact, I'm not planning to alter my neck at all," she writes in an article called "Bruce Jenner, Transitioning or Not: You're Reporting It Wrong." "And 'remove' his penis?' You're just making shit up at this point, right? That's not how vaginoplasty works!"
The National Enquirer reports Jenner has grown his hair long, often wearing it in a ponytail, "which accentuates his delicate, surgically enhanced facial features. In January, he stepped out with manicured, long fingernails," the tabloid paper writes.
A sourced told the Enquirer that he wants to change his name to "Brigitte," after actress Brigitte Bardot.
"He's also determined that the name he chooses has to start with a letter that comes well before 'K,'" a source said. "It makes him feel good to be ahead of the Kardashians in the alphabet."
"He loves 'Brigitte' not only because it's such a beautiful name, but it makes him think of Brigitte Bardot, who was a total bombshell," the sourced added. "She also starred in (the 1956 movie) 'And God Created Woman' - and Bruce thinks it's just perfect since he's in the process of becoming a woman."
The source also said that Jenner will be a guest judge on Season Six of "RuPual's Drag Race." It has been confirmed that his stepdaughter, Khloe Kardashian, will be a guest judge on two episodes of the hit reality series.
"Bruce has been a huge fan of the show for a long time," the source told the paper. "He's checked with E! executives to make sure it won't conflict with his 'Keeping Up with the Kardashians' duties. For years Bruce felt hemmed in by Kris, but now he wants to be free to pursue his own interests, including judging drag queen contests."
In October Kris Jenner, mother to Kim, Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian, announced that she and Bruce Jenner were officially split up after 22 years of marriage, though not legally divorced. Though the announcement came just a few months ago, the couple has apparently been apart for more than a year.
Jezebel's Callahan goes on to criticize the way tabloids are reporting the rumors, writing, "And if we're going to talk about this, do we really have to put transition on the same sleazy tabloid level as cheating celebrity spouses and who has developed a drug habit? The whole expos� style is pretty insulting to trans folks. It's pretty insulting to me. It's insulting to Jenner even if it's all inaccurate speculation. If he is transitioning, then it's even worse."
She goes on to say if Jenner is transitioning, it's a healthy choice and "following whatever steps one needs in order to be happier and well-adjusted. And it's hard as fuck. It's emotionally and physically draining, but it leads to a better, truer life. Don't you dare act like it is something of which to be ashamed, because you'd be wrong."
Callahan also reports that Kris Jenner says the transitioning rumors are false and that this isn't the first time these rumors have popped up. In fact, they've been going around for 40 years.
Perez Hilton reports that Kanye West, who is engaged to Kim Kardashian, says the rumors are false too.
"Bruce is an Olympic icon who can still get women at 64. He wants to bang women, not become one," the rapper reportedly said.