Caitlyn Jenner and the spotlight on transgender stories

• Caitlyn Jenner, formerly Bruce Jenner, debuts on the cover of Vanity Fair
• Transgender issues: Public awareness is on the rise

The Diane Sawyer sit-down,in which thenBruce Jennerrevealed he feels like awoman,attracted some17 million viewers.

The interviewgave 20/20 its highest ratings in 15 years, and catapulted Jenner,a former Olympic hero and reality TV star,into a new kind of stardom as an unofficial spokesperson for transgender people.

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It also was an impeccablygroomed preview of herupcomingreality series, which launches on E! in July.

Jenner'seight-part"docuseries" is expected to furtherthrust herlife astransgenderwoman into the mainstream, doing whatWill & GraceandEllendid for the gay community in the 90s, and whatThe L WordandQueer Eye for the Straight Guycontinuedto do in thethe early2000s.

Building momentum

The mainstream visibility of trans stories isa part of a larger trend, says transgender actress Michelle Hendley.

"There has definitely been momentum building up over past couple of years with trans rights movement," said Hendley,who stars in the coming-of-age romantic comedyBoy Meets Girl.

But the24-year-old Missouri-born actress says Jenner'sseemingly sudden change fails torepresent the real journey trans people take when embracing theirgender identities.

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"Transition for a lot of people is a slow methodical process and takes a lot of time and it's very expensive," explainsHendley, who documented hertransition on YouTube.

She also says depictions of trans people shouldfocus on the emotional changes, instead of the outer appearances.

"[Jenner]and other trans people who come out publicly are embracing who they are," she says, "and that's more powerful than any makeup or beauty shoot they do."

Changing in thepubliceye

LucasSilveira, theCanadian musicianbest known as the frontman of the alternative rock band The Cliks, was the first transgender man to be signed to a major label.

He was also the first transman voted "Sexiest Canadian Man"in a reader poll bymusic magazineChartAttack.comin 2009.

Despite receivinginternational recognition,Silveira says transitioning in the public eye hasn't been easy.

"It was very different than I thought it was going tobe," explainsSilveira, who started hormone therapyabout six years ago.

"A lot of people talk about when you transition to male, you gain privilege. But I live a very public life, so a lot of that privilege was actually taken away," he said.

"I lost a lot of my fan base that was queer and lesbian, because I think they started feeling like they couldn't identify with me."

When it comes to identifying with representations of trans people on television, the Toronto-based artist says it's important forcreators to expand their focus beyond what he calls the"narrow-minded sect of trans life": white men becoming women.

"This is why I love Orange is the New Black so much," saysSilveira,"because of the character Laverne Cox plays." Cox plays a black, transgendered woman on the Netflix prison series.

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"To me, she'sbeen one of the greatest representations of the trans narrative, because it doesn't speak always to the same one that we always see."

Trans-positivelineups

Dramas like Orange is the New Blackand the acclaimedseriesTransparentareleading the way in an increasingly trans-positiveTV landscape.

This summer, ABC Family will premiereBecoming Us, an unscripted show that chronicles the life of 17-year-old Ben Lehwald of Evanston, Ill.as his father Charlie transitions to become Carly.

The TLC cable network is premiering a series about a transgender 14-year-old called I am Jazzon July 15, and in AprilDiscovery Life aired New Girls on the Blockabout a group of transgender friends in Kansas City.

This Friday, Netflix will premiere the global dramatic thrillerSense8which featurestransgenderactress Jamie Clayton in the main role.

The series was created in partby theWachowski siblings, themovie-making duo behindBound andthe Matrix trilogy.

Lana Wachowski, one half of theAmericanfilmmakingtwo-some,became the first major Hollywood director to come out as transgender.

But offscreen, with transgender people who aren't rich and famous still facing rejection, unemployment, even high suicide rates, the road to equality might still be bumpy.

"We always talk about the pretty parts," says Silveira,"we don't talk about all the struggles people go through."