article_snippet.sent: In January, President Obama condemned the persecution of "people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender," becoming the first president to utter the word in a State of the Union address.
article_snippet.sent: For relatives and friends who are used to seeing someone as male or female, gender changes can be hard to accept.
article_snippet.sent: When your young daughter says 'I'm a boy'
article_snippet.sent: Gender-rights activists are reluctant to speculate.
article_snippet.sent: But at the same time, you wish it wasn't being played out for reality-TV entertainment," said Wilchins, the gender-rights advocate.
article_snippet.sent: Amy Stone, associate professor of sociology and anthropology at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, fears Bruce Jenner's could provoke those who already are averse to gay or transgender people.
article_snippet.sent: Such people "tend to use these moments to frighten the general public, relying on fears about trans women in bathrooms or locker rooms," said Stone, author of numerous books about queer politics and culture.
article_snippet.sent: Usually these moments tap into pre-existing panics about gender or sexuality, not necessarily spawning new ones.