Transgender advocates aren't all ready to label Bruce Jenner 'brave' just yet.

Miranda Sparks is a transgender advocate from Brisbane, but she’s not quite ready to cheer on Bruce Jenner as ‘brave’ just yet.

Transgender identity has been topic de jour in the media lately.

It seems that on every second channel there’s a documentary on transgender children. (I’m looking at you, Louis Theroux.) Laverne Cox gave a new perspective on transgender bodies by appearing nude for Allure magazine. Let’s not forget the slew of transgender reality shows hitting networks in the coming future, like All That Jazz, New Girls on the Block, and Becoming Us.

And then there’s the most salacious story of all; the revelation that Bruce Jenner is a transgender woman.

There are the many who say ‘good for you, Bruce!’ and I can definitely feel the sentiment. It’s not easy to step out and embrace woman-ness in a world that tells you it’s less than, especially if you were assigned male at birth.

Some even take it a step further and congratulate Bruce on being brave but that’s the part I’m not feeling. (Bruce has asked for people to continue using ‘he’ and ‘him’ pronouns for the time being.)

Read more: How the world responded to Bruce Jenner’s interview about his transition.

Bravery is a choice. When faced with fear the decision to battle on in spite of danger is what makes a person brave. Maybe Bruce is brave for talking so openly about being transgender, but at the same time it was a matter he never had a choice in.

Months before his interview with Dianne Sawyer, tabloids were photoshopping his face, whispering about his family, and speculating about the future.

Is it really surprising? Transitioning from one gender role to another is no small move, especially for a public figure.

Given that, what other choice did he have than to step into the limelight?

Despite transgender advocates like myself telling the world how mundane and down-to-earth it is to be transgender, in the eyes of many it continues to be extraordinary.

For many, transgender people are not a visible part of the community. This is why when Bruce Jenner makes his intention to transition known it gets a lot of people talking.

Whether they be critics, advocates, or merely armchair observers, Bruce Jenner’s coming out in his interview with Dianne Sawyer was met with mixed response.

Read more: This is what the world’s first transgender doll looks like.

There are the those who say that Bruce is not the best advocate for the transgender community. Being rich, white, and having the degree of influence that he does buys his way out of much of the discrimination that transgender people face. Is it fair that Bruce be the most public face of a community when he does not resemble most of us?

Bruce himself even acknowledged this fact, even making note of the transgender women of colour who sparked the Stonewall riots. It was through their actions that the LGBTQIA+ movement of today first gained traction, yet their names and faces remain widely unknown.

There are conversations that need to happen in the wider community about the place of transgender people; not just women, but transgender men and others whose identities sit at different points across the spectrum.

Can these conversations start from a tabloid headline? Perhaps, but at some point they need to move beyond that.

Bruce Jenner has taken to his personal life being vented in the media with openness and grace. It wasn’t his choice, but he has given us an opportunity to address issues that we otherwise might not have faced.

Let’s not waste that.

Miranda Sparks is a web author, comedian, commentator, radio personality, community volunteer and transgender advocate/activist from Brisbane, Australia. She’s always wearing tights, but swears it has nothing to do with her love of superheroes. The glasses aid her vision and are NOT a cunning disguise.