A glamorous 65-year-old woman graced the cover of Vanity Fair on Monday. But this was no ordinary cover shoot: Instead, it served as the debut for Caitlyn Jenner.
Jenner, who had previously been living as Bruce, is well-known both as a former Olympian and as a stepparent to the Kardashian clan. She made headlines when she came out as transgender last month. The Vanity Fair cover announced her new name — and her new look.
Like many transgender people, Jenner has spent most of her life living in a body that she felt didn’t match her true gender identity. These feelings are familiar to Fox Fisher, a documentary filmmaker living in Brighton, England.
Fisher is a transgender man who was designated female at birth. He believes that society is making “massive advances” in understanding what it means to be transgender. And, he say, Caitlyn Jenner “has had a real impact on that.”
And plus he says the photograph was fantastic. "I mean her legs looked so great"
Still, one person — celebrity or otherwise — can’t represent an entire community, Fisher points out. But, he says, the way that transgender celebrities have been able to tell their personal stories has helped to create a “wave of change” around these issues. This includes Jenner, as well as Orange Is The New Black star Laverne Cox, who was featured on the cover of Time last year.
Fisher’s own personal journey involved some struggle. It got to a point, Fisher says, where he could not go on living as he was. He realized, “I had to live my authentic self.”
For Fisher, this meant living as a man. While many transgender people, like Fisher, do identify as masculine or feminine, not all do. And Fisher says he has seen a growing acceptance of non-binary gender identities in the United Kingdom, and of the “gray areas” in between male and female.
Fisher says it’s a “wonderful thing” when transgender people like Jenner are able to make the decision to transition. He’s excited about the amount of positive attention Jenner has been getting. “A lot of people will be watching her to see what she does next,” he says.