Caitlyn Jenner joins celebs mulling run for US political office

LOS ANGELES - Caitlyn Jenner has joined the list of celebrities who are considering running for political office in the United States following the election of former reality television star Donald Trump as president.

Jenner, who as former Olympic champion Bruce Jenner in 2015 became the highest-profile American to transition to a woman, said she would decide in the next six months or so whether to run for the US Senate in California.

Jenner told John Catsimatidis on his "CATS Roundtable" New York radio show on Sunday, that she is working with activist groups to improve the Republican Party's stance on lesbian, gay and transgender issues.

"Over the next six months or so I gotta find out where I can do a better job. Can I do a better job from the outside working the perimeter of the political scene, being open to talking to anybody, or are you better off from the inside?

"We are in the process of determining that. But yeah, I would look for a senatorial run," she said. Democratic US Senator Dianne Feinstein is up for re-election in California in 2018.

Jenner, 67, is a Republican but in February she criticized the Trump administration for reversing a federal directive that allowed transgender students to use public school bathrooms of their choice.

"From one Republican to another, this is a disaster," she said in a video message to Trump at the time.

The success of Trump, a businessman who found fame through TV reality show "The Apprentice," has encouraged others with no political experience to consider running for office.

Last week country-rock singer Kid Rock, a supporter of Trump, hinted he intends to run for the Senate in 2018 but he has yet to make any official announcement. He has not mentioned where he would run.

Actor and former wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has said he might run for the White House someday but has not mentioned a political affiliation.

Previous celebrities who made the transition to politics include action movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger, who served two terms as California governor, and professional wrestler Jesse Ventura, who was elected Minnesota governor.

Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe

source: news.abs-cbn.com

'Stop staring,' says Caitlyn Jenner, announcing genital surgery

Caitlyn Jenner says she has undergone genital surgery, two years after the Olympic-winning decathlete announced she had transitioned to a woman.

Jenner, 67, one of the most-high profile American transgender woman, says in an upcoming memoir that she had the surgery in January, and that she decided to go public "so all of you can stop staring."

"You want to know, so now you know. Which is why this is the first time, and the last time, I will ever speak of it," Jenner wrote in leaked excerpts of her memoir "The Secrets of My Life."

The excerpts were published by RadarOnline on Monday ahead of the April 25 publication of the memoir. Grand Central Publishing said on Tuesday it did not wish to discuss the contents ahead of the publication date and Jenner's representative had no comment.

Jenner announced her new identity in an April 2015 TV interview and announced her change of name from Bruce to Caitlyn in a July 2015 Vanity Fair cover shoot. Jenner, the step-father of reality stars Kim, Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian, later had her own TV reality show which documented her transition.

According to the excerpts, Jenner said the surgery, which is costly and complex, was successful and that she feels "not only wonderful but liberated."

She said having a penis had "no special gifts or use for me... I just want to have all the right parts. I am also tired of tucking the damn thing in all the time."

Many transgender people share Jenner's distress over being asked intrusive questions about their genitals, although most forgo gender reassignment surgery, citing the high cost.

Only 11 percent of transgender women had their testicles removed and 12 percent underwent vaginoplasty, according to a 2016 U.S. survey by the National Center for Transgender Equality.

(Additional reporting by Dan Trotta; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)

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Who made it to Time's 100 Most Influential People 2016 list

Time magazine has released its 13th annual list of 100 most influential people in the world.

Oscar winner Leonardo DiCaprio, rapper Nicki Minaj, Indian actress Priyanka Chopra and Lin-Manuel Miranda of Broadway's "Hamilton" all made it to the list, gracing their individual covers.

Mark Zuckerberg and wife Priscilla Chan were also among this year's most influential people, long with Adele, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Caitlyn Jenner, and Idris Elba.

Time editor Nancy Gibbs said these people made the list for showing the world what they're capable of and for breaking boundaries.

-ANC's News Now, April 22, 2016

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Jenner's offer to be 'trans ambassador' for Cruz draws some fire

LOS ANGELES - Reality star Caitlyn Jenner's offer to be a "trans ambassador" to U.S. Republican presidential hopeful Ted Cruz drew criticism on Friday from some members of the LGBT community, but major transgender rights organizations stayed out of the fray.

Jenner told gay and lesbian publication The Advocate in an interview posted this week that she admired Cruz despite the social conservative's stance on transgender issues.

The 66-year-old Olympic gold medalist turned television personality called Cruz a "great constitutionalist" and said she would like to advise him on questions relating to her community.

"Yes, trans ambassador to the president of the United States, so we can say, 'Ted, love what you're doing but here's what's going on,'" Jenner, who last year became the most high-profile American to transition to a different gender, told The Advocate.

The muted reaction to Jenner's support for Cruz appeared to show the high level of esteem she enjoys in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. But that did not stop some of its members speaking out.

"Doing my best to not send tweets to a woman I respect for her courage, but dang it, @Caitlyn_Jenner you're killing me with Cruz support!" Chely Wright, the first country music star to come out as gay, wrote in a post on Twitter.

Some in the LGBT community took a more pointed stand, citing Cruz's opposition to same-sex marriage and his criticism of government efforts to allow students to use a bathroom that conforms to their gender identity.

In January, at a campaign stop in Iowa, Cruz said "inflicting" transgender students on teachers by allowing them to use a faculty restroom in line with their gender identity was better than having them share a bathroom with other students, according to video from NBC News.

Zack Ford, the LGBT editor at ThinkProgress, a website affiliated with the left-leaning Center for American Progress, wrote in a post that Jenner's support for Republicans like Cruz taints her "credibility."

Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, said Jenner's comments highlight the fact a significant share of transgender people are Republicans.

"One would hope that transgender people would support philosophies that are helpful and not harmful to trans people," she said, adding that Jenner might have taken that into consideration before offering her support to Cruz.

A representative for the gay rights group GLAAD declined to comment and a spokeswoman for Cruz could not be reached. (Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis and Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Andrew Hay)

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Geena Rocero continues trans advocacy through digital series

NEW YORK CITY – Transgender rights activist and fashion model Geena Rocero is back in the spotlight, doing what she does best — elevating the stories of trans and gender-conforming youth through her new digital series on Logo TV.

The transgender Pinay plays host to her own show, "Beautiful as I Want to Be", exclusively available on www.logotv.com.

Each episode highlights a trans guest and a mentor, such as Caitlyn Jenner, where they are able to express their authentic selves in a stylized photo shoot that reflects who they are and what their dreams are.

Each week at 10 am on Wednesdays, a new episode is uploaded on www.logotv.com.

Read more on Balitang America.

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Caitlyn Jenner legally a woman

LOS ANGELES, United States - A US judge on Friday approved a request by Olympic gold medalist Caitlyn Jenner to have her name and gender legally changed.

Los Angeles Superior Court judge Gerald Rosenberg issued the ruling during a brief hearing that was not attended by Jenner.

The transgender Olympian formerly known as Bruce Jenner sought the court ruling earlier this month but asked that much of her file remain under seal to protect her privacy and safety.

"I believe the widespread dissemination of my personal information will compromise both my privacy and my safety given the public interest in my transition, which is not all positive, and will significantly increase the likelihood I would receive further threatening attention," Jenner, 65, said.

Friday's ruling means that Jenner's birth name William Bruce Jenner will now be replaced by Caitlyn Marie Jenner.

Jenner became an American sports hero by setting a world record in the decathlon at the Montreal Olympics in 1976.

But it was through marriage to the former Kris Kardashian -- matriarch of the television reality show empire with whom he had two daughters -- that Jenner once again became a household name.

Jenner came out as a transgender woman in a television interview in April, when she discussed how she had been grappling her gender identity since childhood.

She unveiled her new first name and look in June.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Caitlyn Jenner steps out to collect sports courage award

LOS ANGELES -- Olympic champion Caitlyn Jenner issued an impassioned plea for transgender acceptance Wednesday in her first public appearance since coming out as a transgender woman, defying a blizzard of derision on social media.

Formerly Bruce Jenner, the US decathlon champion of the 1976 Montreal Olympics seized the moment for transgender advocacy as she collected the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the nationally televised ESPY sports awards gala in Los Angeles.

"If you want to call me names, make jokes, doubt my intentions, go ahead -- because the reality is, I can take it," said Jenner, 65, dominating the stage in an elegant form-fitting white gown and wavy shoulder-length hair.

"But for the thousands of kids out there coming to terms with being true to who they are -- they shouldn't have to take it," she said to robust applause from a theater full of top US college and pro athletes, including the World Cup-winning US women's soccer squad.

It was Jenner's first major public appearance since coming out as a transgender woman in an televised interview in April where she discussed how she had been grappling her gender identity since childhood.

Named for the US tennis star who died of AIDS in 1993, the Arthur Ashe award has in past years gone to athletes like Billy Jean King and Muhammad Ali and non-athletes including Nelson Mandela.

But throughout the three-hour prime-time ESPY broadcast, hundreds of posts appeared on Twitter demanding to know why the Olympian turned reality TV star on "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" was being honored for courage, four decades after a gold-medal triumph.

Many thought Lauren Hill, who fulfilled her dream of playing college basketball in Ohio despite a brain tumor that took her life in April at the age of 19, was more deserving.

She instead was recognized with a "best moment" award, presented to her parents, for a game in which she scored the first and last baskets.

Jenner, whose mother, sister and children attended the awards, said her life going forward would be dedicated to doing whatever she could "to reshape the landscape of how trans people are viewed and treated ... (and) to promote a very simple idea -- accepting people for who they are."

Nearly a half-hour of the broadcast on ABC television was dedicated to Jenner, including a 15-minute biographical video that the ESPN sports network, which sponsors the Excellence In Sports Performance Yearly accolades, immediately posted on social media.

It was preceded by a commercial for Google that portrayed a gym in Kansas City, Missouri and how it strives to give a sense of belonging to transgender youth.

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LOOK: Caitlyn Jenner on Vanity Fair cover

US Olympic champion turned reality TV star Bruce Jenner is on the cover of Vanity Fair, as Caitlyn Jenner.

Jenner, the stepfather of Kim Kardashian, earlier revealed he is transitioning from male to female, ending long-running speculation he identifies as a woman.

The 65-year-old said he had wrestled with his sexual identity since he was a kid.

"I've always been confused about my gender identity since I was this big," he told ABC's celebrity interviewer Diane Sawyer.

"Here I am, stuck -- and I hate the word -- (a) girl stuck in a guy's body... As of now I have all the male parts and all that kind of stuff."

But asked point blank if he was a woman, Jenner said: "Yes. For all intents and purposes, I'm a woman."

Speculation that the actor, race-car enthusiast and 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics decathlon gold medalist was undergoing a sex change has been rich fodder for supermarket tabloids for months.

Supposed telltale signs, based on paparazzi photos from the streets of Los Angeles, include shaved limbs, long hair worn in a ponytail and what appears to be a sports bra under a T-shirt.

'I am not gay'

Jenner said he identifies himself as "her," but not by a specific name. The ABC interviewer used "he" and "him" throughout, without causing any apparent discomfort for the former Olympian.

He stressed the difference between gender identity and sexuality.

"I am not gay," Jenner said. "I am, as far as I know, heterosexual. I've always been with a woman, raising kids."

Just before making the long-expected announcement, Jenner symbolically let his hair down.

"Let's take the damn ponytail out," he told Sawyer, smiling.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights group GLAAD welcomed Jenner's announcement.

"Though Jenner's journey is one that is deeply personal, it is also one that will impact and inspire countless people around the world," GLAAD head Sarah Kate Ellis said.

Singer Miley Cyrus gushed on Twitter: "I LOOOOVE LOOOVE LOOOVE Bruce Jenner!!!!!!!"

Born outside New York in October 1949, thrice-married Jenner became an American sports hero when he set a world record with his Montreal decathlon victory.

Leveraging his fame, he appeared on boxes of Wheaties, a popular American cereal known as "the breakfast of champions," then tried his hand as a movie actor, with less than stellar results.

But it was through his marriage to the former Kris Kardashian that he once again became a household name in "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" in which he appeared as the sometimes bemused stepfather of her flamboyant daughters Kourtney, Kim and Khloe.

The couple have two daughters of their own, but they obtained a divorce in December, 14 months after separating -- although he has been seen still wearing a wedding ring.

Hero once again
"Not only was I able to call him my husband for 25 years and father of my children, I am now able to call him my hero," Kris Jenner tweeted.

Jenner's 89-year-old mother Esther hailed her son's announcement, comparing her pride to that when he won at the Olympics.

"I never thought I could be more proud of you. But I'm learning I can be," she wrote.

Jenner's son Brandon tweeted simply: "Proud son," along with an Instagram picture of himself as a young boy perched on his smiling father's shoulders.

Step-daughter Kim Kardashian trumpeted:

"Love is the courage to live the truest, best version of yourself. Bruce is love. I love you Bruce. #ProudDaughter."

Her sister Khloe wrote: "Bruzer, I'm soooo proud of you! Dads really are heros."

National Center for Transgender Equality advocacy group executive director Mara Keisling called Jenner's declaration "one of the most profound displays of bravery and courage I've seen."

Jenner, clearly relieved to have finally come clean, said: "I'm saying goodbye to people's perceptions of me and who I am.

"I'm not saying goodbye to me because this has always been me." - with a report from Agence France-Presse

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