“I’m a woman.” Bruce Jenner, former track star and Olympic gold medallist, revealed this long-kept secret in an interview with ABC’s Diane Sawyer late last week.

“I was not genetically born that way, as of now, I have all the male parts, but I still identify as female.” The revelation brought along with it a huge media frenzy. But it was heartening to see how sensitively ABC handled the story.

Yes, a confession of this sort, more so by a sports celebrity, in a world that is yet to start a nuanced conversation on gender identity is a topic of controversy. But ABC News showed how a revelation of this kind can be handled delicately to start a conversation on a much-misunderstood issue.

The interview wasn’t scandalous and did not seek to sensationalise. It was enlightening. Diane Sawyer tried to understand Bruce’s story, his condition. True, there were moments where she was confused and even asked Bruce a few times if he was gay, but she tried to overcome her confusion and understand Bruce.

ABC News, through the interview, tried to clarify the difference between gender and sexuality. A segment of the interview talked about transgender terms, breaking down definitions, and dos and don’ts while talking on the issue. Terms like gender identity, sexual orientation, cisgender and trans were clearly explained. The interview highlighted the violence that visits the lives of trans people and the extreme levels of poverty and unemployment they face.

It wasn’t just ABC, other media organisations like Al Jazeera, too, highlighted the human element of the story. The focus wasn’t on Bruce Jenner – the trans woman. The focus was on what this coming-out could mean for the transgender community and how it could probably bring about a change in their condition.

Compare this to the way in which the Indian media dealt with the case of Pinki Pramanik. The 2006 Asian Games Relay Gold medallist was arrested on allegations of rape, made by her live-in partner in 2012. The arrest brought Pinki’s gender into question, with her partner stating that Pinki was male and had raped her. She was made to undergo various sex-determination tests, all of which were closely followed by the media.

The coverage of the case brought into focus the insensitivity of many in the Indian media. The case gave the media an excuse to poke and prod, and lay bare Pinki’s life in front of the cameras. While the media indulged in this voyeurism, Pinki and her family silently suffered. There was no attempt by the media to try and understand her condition. There was little attempt to understand that people cannot always be clearly classified as male and female.

‘Medical Report says Pinki Pramanik is male, police file rape case’. ‘Athlete Pinki Pramanik declared male, charged with rape’. These were some of the headlines that dominated media websites. The media reported the results of the DNA test that said she was male. What was completely ignored was the fact that the examination also revealed that she had an intersex variation and was not capable of penile penetration, as reported by Lawyer’s Collective, who represented Pinki in court. The media didn’t question why she was still charge- sheeted under the offence of rape, despite the medical findings.

An image of her being groped by a policeman in public was published everywhere, with no consideration for her sentiments. Thankfully, the media at least continued to use the pronoun “her” while referring to Pinki. The Hoot rightfully pointed out that the media didn’t question why she was arrested by male police officers, kept in a male lock-up and treated like a male, even before it was proved she was one. The Hoot also pointed out how the media unquestioningly gobbled up what the police served them.

This was not the only case. The case of Dutee Chand, the Asian Junior Athletics Championship Gold Medal winner, was similarly dealt with by the media. In July 2014, Dutee was not selected for the Commonwealth Games because she had failed a gender test. The test results showed increased levels of androgen, specifically testosterone in her body. On July 12, she was told that she could not compete in the Commonwealth Games and on July 16, details of her test and her name were made public by a newspaper, as reported by Mint.

The Indian Express, in a report noted how the media was instantly at her doorstep in Odisha, eager to talk to her family and discuss the details of her gender. Once the word was out, even her warm-up sessions weren’t private anymore, with cameramen trying to get footage of her.

These incidents speak for themselves. Bruce Jenner wasn’t made into a specimen to be pulled apart piece by piece, for everyone to see. Pinki Pramanik was. The revelation of Bruce’s gender identity was seen as something of a celebration for trans people around the world. Pinki’s gender identity was questioned.

Of course, the media first needs to understand how a case is sensitive, only then can they treat it as one. Perhaps a working knowledge on issues of gender identity and sexuality could be the way forward in dealing with such cases better.

The author can be contacted at nirmolika.sangha@simcug.edu.in