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Caitlyn Jenner Takes ESPYs By Storm: 'Trans People Deserve Something Vital. They Deserve Your Respect'
In her first public appearance since announcing
her decision to transition, Caitlyn Jenner mesmerized the crowd at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on Wednesday as she accepted the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the 2015 ESPY Awards.
Jenner spoke about her own personal experience so far as a transgender woman. But she also dedicated a significant percentage of her speech to a thoughtful and touching discussion of the vast number of issues facing the larger transgender community.
"Trans people deserve something vital. They deserve your respect," she said. "And from that respect comes a more compassionate community, a more empathetic society and a better world for all of us."
"At this very moment there are young people coming to terms with being transgender," she added at another moment, noting the high levels of bullying, homicide and suicide the transgender community must grapple with still today. The trans community, she said, needs the American community's empathy and understanding.
Jenner admitted she had never talked with another transgender person up until very recently, in what she said was a truly educational experience. "It's been eye-opening inspiring but also frightening," she said of her overall experience since she told ABC's Diane Sawyer in April that she was transitioning.
In a video about her experience preceding the speech, Jenner discussed about what she has learned about trans-related issues since then and how she decided over time she would become not just a trans woman, but a trans advocate.
"I came to kind of a revelation that out of all the things I have done in my life, that maybe this is my calling," she said. "To take my struggle, throw it out in front of the world, maybe I can bring understanding on this subject. It’s time that I do my best. This is an issue we can deal with. This is not something people have to die over."
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