Caitlyn Jenner sits awake in her bedroom at 4:30am, anxiously musing to the camera on her anxieties about being the world’s current most famous transgender.
‘What a responsibility I have towards this community. Am I going to do everything right? Am I going to say the right things? Do I project the right image? My mind is just spinning with thoughts. I just hope I get it right.’
The world premiere of reality series I Am Cait aired last night around the world, starring recently transitioned former Olympic athlete Caitlyn Jenner.
The Keeping Up With The Kardashians spinoff centres around Caitlyn’s transition, and how her ‘new normal’ affects her relationships with family, friends and the media. But despite the drama and fatuity of the Kardashian franchise, I Am Cait has managed to surprise, provoke, and inspire audiences, with an overall global reaction of support and encouragement.
The show comes as one of the many ways Caitlyn has used her fame to bring attention to the issues surrounding transgender people. In her recent acceptance speech at the ESPY Awards this year, after receiving the Arthur Ashe Courage Award, Caitlyn stated that ‘with attention comes responsibility’, cementing her genuine concerns for the heavy responsibility that lies with being a transgender person in the global spotlight.
‘As a group, as athletes, how you conduct your lives, what you say, what you do, is absorbed and observed by millions of people. Especially young people.’
In last night’s premiere, Caitlyn also acknowledged the privilege of transitioning as a celebrity, and that it is not an accurate representation of the difficulties faced by regular transgender people.
‘You also have to realise it’s not this way for everyone… People are dying over this issue’
If you missed the premiere, take a look at our top three highlights from the episode:
1. Kanye is her biggest supporter
Of all the people, who would’ve thought Kanye would have the most moving words?
‘You couldn’t have been up against more… And it was still like, F*** everybody, this is who I am’
2. Kylie is beautifully supportive of Caitlyn
The episode shows Caitlyn reintroducing herself to her family as Caitlyn for the first time, including her youngest daughter Kylie Jenner over FaceTime.
‘I don’t want to scare you,’ said Caitlyn.
‘You’re not scaring me,’ Kylie protested, ‘You look pretty!’
Caitlyn pondered on her insecurities into the episode.
‘Even Kylie coming over today, you never know, when they get away from here and they go home they go ‘Oh my god, that is strange,’ … Khloé hasn’t been here. Kourtney hasn’t been here and hasn’t met Caitlyn. Rob. Maybe them not being around is, you know, kind of their way of saying ‘I don’t really agree with this or what.’
3. Caitlyn worries for young transgender people
‘I feel bad that these young people are going through such a difficult time in their life… We don’t want people dying over this.’
But despite the endless positive support from the people around her, from the snippets we’ve seen of future episodes in the series, including an argument with Kim Kardashian, it’s not all smooth sailing. Regardless, there’s no doubt that I Am Cait is playing a crucial role in the global conversation about Transgender people today.