Bruce Jenner, who was once hailed as an Olympian, is now changing dramatically before our eyes into a lady.
1. He very effectively commented on the inner conflicts that he experienced most of his life. Her self-presentation raises psychological issues related to being a lady trapped in a man’s body.
2. He deserves quite a lot of credit for coming forward. Her story sheds light on the conflicts, problems and feelings that many people have about who they’re and where they’re going in life with their personal traits and traits.
3. Jenner emphasizes personal conflict that lasts a long time, a lifetime. Some individuals are unable to see themselves effectively and they use denial and repression to deal with their true feelings.
4. Her story demonstrates the proven fact that being human is complex and it’s important to be open-minded, sensitive and wise in how we view others. Personal internal conflicts, turmoil, and feelings that other people have often can’t be explained by easy thoughts.
5. As a clinical/political psychologist, I often say that we all have different sides of our personality and we all have sides that require quite a lot of effort and attention. Not all sides of a person’s personality are positive. Jenner emphasizes how serious and exaggerated certain sides of one’s personality can be and the magnitude of it all.
6. Hopefully Jenner’s story makes more people think differently about gender and personality/psychological issues. Shallow thinking won’t succeed in understanding all the problems we experience better.
7. Jenner being a conservative is another matter. This has to do with why people will identify with, support, and vote for people who essentially hate them. This is an example of ideology trumping common sense or what might constitute rational thought. People on the far right say things every day about how despicable gay people are and that they threaten traditional values. What some on the right consider Jenner may be too harsh to describe, but she is willing to support them because of her own ideological thought process. In my view as a political/clinical psychologist, this is a real example of Thought Disorder.
