Kim Opens Up About Bruce Jenner

This is something I've always thought, but now, it seems especially true: Say what you want about the Kardashians, but you can't deny they're an awesome family. Regardless of the fights and drama we often see on Keeping Up With the Kardashians, when they really need each other, they're there for each other. And after Bruce Jenner's interview with Diane Sawyer aired on Friday night, the entire family has made it a point to show their support for Jenner, and it's an amazing thing to see them pull together once again. On Monday morning, Kardashian sat down with Matt Lauer to talk Jenner's transition on The Today Show, and her loving support of Jenner could be exactly what people who are going through the same thing need to hear.

In the interview, Lauer asked Kardashian all the typical questions that all stemmed back to one major topic: How did her family take the news? Kardashian managed to answer this question both honestly and supportively, because even though she couldn't emphasize enough that she is so proud of Jenner, it has been an adjustment. Her family has had to pull together more than ever to support each other since Jenner explained to them that, as he told Sawyer, "for all intents and purposes, I am a woman." She also explained that they've participated in a long string of family meetings.

Essentially, as Kardashian explains it, the Kardashian-Jenner clan has had to start from scratch in figuring out how to proceed. And it sounds like they've done it all, from talking to GLAAD and other LGBT organizations, figuring out which pronouns to use, and talking to Jenner to figure out how to best be respectful of him and his transition. I love the way Kardashian makes it known that she and her family were generally pretty lost in the beginning, just because it's so honest.

And although it's obviously totally up to the Kardashians to decide what they're comfortable with sharing going forward, it could be truly helpful to the trans and gender variant communities if they continue being so honest. If other families who are going through the same thing see that this influential family is learning the ropes and being so supportive and open to Jenner, they could end up helping a lot of people.

And aside from their various "adjustments," Kardashian made it clear that she couldn't be prouder of her stepfather:

I'm really happy for him that he is living his life the way he wants to live it. And that he has found inner peace and just pure happiness. That's what life is about. I don't know what life would be like if you always felt like you weren't yourself. As long as he is happy, and he wants to live his life, however he wants to live it, that just makes me happy. And I support him 100 percent.

Like Kardashian tells Lauer in the interview, there's no way to truly understand what Jenner is going through if you aren't going through it yourself, but you don't need to fully understand it in order to give your support.

Whether you like it or not, the Kardashians are role models and have been from the first day KUWTK aired almost 10 years ago. They're a major force in pop culture, and it's huge that they've banded together to support Jenner this way — not just because Jenner deserves their love and support, but because they're doing an excellent job of being an example of what standing behind someone navigating this type of transition really looks like.

Editor’s Note: Per Jenner’s stated preference, Bustle will continue referring to Jenner using he/his pronouns for the time being. We will follow his lead and make any changes to this policy as needed in the future.

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