Indiana LGBT group reacts to Jenner interview

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — An estimated 16.9 million people watched Diane Sawyer’s exclusive interview with Bruce Jenner, making it the highest-rated, non-sports show on a Friday night since 2003,  according to Nielsen.

As expected, Jenner discussed his gender identity and his transition from a man to a woman. Social media has been buzzing about since the interview aired.

The interview with Jenner really hit home with a lot of people, including the organizers at Indiana Youth Group. They deal with the struggle young transgender people go through every day. The organization’s goal is to give kids struggling with who they are a safe place to express themselves.  That includes the transgender community.

Kristopher Posthuma is the Prevention Program Coordinator and also helps run a gender variant support group.

“I’m moved by anybody who is brave enough to come out and say ‘here I am, here’s my story,’” said Postuma . “We often talk about how there’s a lack of representation or positive representation of individuals who are gender variant and our youth don’t see themselves in a lot of celebrities. That’s slowly starting to change.”

Support for Jenner in the twitterverse continued through the weekend.

“I think we’ve seen a lot of positive support. She’s got a lot of support from the Kardashian family and some other celebrities have tweeted support,” Postuma said.

Jenner said his goal wasn’t for recognition or for publicity but to give a voice to a community so often ignored.

“I was just moved by the honesty and the willingness to do that. Regardless, people are going to say some pretty horrible things, and despite of all that, she felt the need to come out in hopes that it might save a life. Maybe it will give somebody some inspiration.”

If you are looking for an outlet, visit the Indiana Youth Group website.