Why Caitlyn Jenner Chose to Spell Name Without 'K'
She said she went back and forth about "k" or "c."
— -- After Caitlyn Jenner introduced herself to the world on Monday in Vanity Fair, she addressed the spelling of the name to the magazine.
“It’s one of the hardest things in life—choosing your own name,” she said, adding that she felt it was time to break tradition, straying away from the trademark K used in Kardashian names.
"She settled on 'c,'" the magazine reports.
In addition, the article's author, Buzz Bissinger, stopped by ABC News' "Good Morning America" today to talk about that game-changing piece.
Bissinger has been a journalist for 40 years but he said he's never worked on anything "as remarkable as this."
"This is important culturally," he added. "And it’s not a story about he became a woman, transgender community, it’s about tolerance. Let people be who they want to be, whether it’s man, whether it’s woman, the way they dress, all of it."
Next, the acclaimed "Friday Night Lights" author revealed why she chose the name Caitlyn.
"She made a list of names, had a close friend make a list of names. Caitlyn was on both and folks it’s Caitlyn with a C," Bissinger said.
As for the cover photo that went viral immediately after it was unveiled Monday, Bissinger said Jenner's sons have taken the transition the hardest.
"Think about it. I wouldn’t want to see my mother dressed in a bustier, so this is their dad and it’s going to take a while for them to adjust," he said. "There was concern expressed, 'Are you making this into a spectacle? Are you going to draw bad attention to yourself?' ... They were asked to participate in his reality series, docu-series, and the kids said 'No.' They said, ‘No, Dad, we want you to have a legacy that is equal to that of Muhammad Ali, of an athlete who made cultural change. Don’t destroy that.'"
But Bissinger did say that all 10 of Jenner's children, from the Jenner and the Kardashian side, will be there at the ESPY Awards to honor Caitlyn as she receives the Arthur Ashe Courage Award on July 15.
"I don’t think all 10 kids have been together in 20 years, so I hope it’s not like the Hatfield and the McCoys," he said. "Caitlyn was insistent basically, ‘I want all 10 of my children there if they can be there. I want them to share in this moment.’ And one thing she is trying to do, to the best of her ability, is to make things right with the four Jenner kids who, frankly, as Bruce, he abandoned when they were entering adolescence."
Bissinger spent hours with Jenner, before and after the transformation, so he really saw the change first-hand.
"When I started this story in February it was Bruce. It was the Bruce Jenner I remember, 1976 winning the decathlon ... and literally on March 15 he went in for 10 hours of plastic surgery and that was the end of Bruce as we know him and now it’s Caitlyn. It’s bizarre. You’re seeing a man and then you’re seeing a woman," he said. "When I saw her for the last really sort of months, completely isolated. Completely alone. It was almost painful to be with him. He couldn’t go anywhere. There was an awkwardness to him."
In the Vanity Fair article, Jenner admits she had a panic attack after the surgery, which she thought would be 5 hours, not 10.
"She was scared, right after the surgery, the day after. She was scared to death. She was in a lot of pain, trying to get some sleep, then woke up in a terror and told the nurse, ‘Turn on the television. Do something. I need noise. I need sound.'" Bissinger explained. "And began to pace up and down the hallways saying, ‘What have I done? What have I done to myself? I’ve waited 65 years but what if this isn’t the right decision,’ which occasionally can happen."
But Bissinger said Jenner was able to meet with a counselor and realize this was the right choice.
"And I think the great thing is now I just spoke to her, and it’s in the piece ... 'I’m free. I’m free. After 65 years, I’m free.' So when the paparazzi surround me, you know, boys and girls, just make it a good shot."