"That must be so hard," ""She's so beautiful, and she's so happy," "Honestly, queen."
These are a few responses from these teens in The Fine Bros newest viral reaction video: "TEENS REACT TO CAITLYN JENNER"
The video features 11 teens ages 15 to 19 talking about Caitlyn Jenner's recent transition to live as her authentic self. Their reactions and perspectives reflect a broad range of thoughts and emotions often involved in discussions around the topic.
While watching the clips from Jenner's 20/20 interview with Diane Sawyer, several of the teen viewers send messages of support: "Good for her!," says 19-year-old Josh, while 18-year-old Morgan admits she "cried" when she saw the interview the first time.
Though they all say they were aware of Caitlyn Jenner's story prior to being brought into the Fine Bros studio, some still have questions. "So he [sic] would be considered transgender, right?" asked Labib, 18, about Jenner. Sixteen-year-old Josh earnestly struggled with pronouns at one point: "Him? Her? She? Him?...I don't know."
Each participant came into the room with a different level of knowledge and familiarity, some fumbling with a definition of "transgender" when asked, while another, 18-year-old Jeordy, says she has transgender friends.
None of the teens featured in the video are transgender, and while some struggled with the concept of being assigned the wrong gender at birth, they all expressed empathy and support for those who experience it and choose to transition. Those who admitted that they couldn't imagine feeling that way seemed to believe in an individual being able to exercise his or her freedoms.
The Fine Bros have been making quite a name for themselves with their reaction vid series, which feature select age groups reacting to a number of political events and cultural phenomenons (see: Elders React to Snapchat, Kids React to Old Computers, and Teens React to Cigarette Commercials).
This video is one of the Fine Bros more substantive in terms of topic matter, and made all the more valuable by the unfiltered, candid reactions of these teens, as well as their willingness to tackle the difficult questions and nuanced thoughts that come up during this discussion. That a mainstream, fun-loving production group like the Fine Bros chose Caitlyn as their newest reaction video subject is telling of the importance of these discussions about LGBT issues, particularly for young people.
Watch these teens in their efforts to sort through Jenner's gender identity, the public's perception of transgender people, and answer how they think having a friend or family member transition to another gender identity would affect their relationship with that person.
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