A local activist is hoping the positive impact of Caitlyn Jenner will make coming out easier for transgender people.
Michelle Boyce, executive director of the Alphabet Community Centre, says Jenner has started an important conversation about acceptance of the trans-community.
She says she's pleased that the majority of people reacted to Jenner's Vanity Fair cover in a postive way.
"It's the shock factor. They didn't expect beauty, they expected freak show," says Boyce "That's some of the stuff that was really good for the trans-community to see."
Boyce says, fortunately for Jenner, she enjoys advantage of economic privilege, something many in the trans-community do not have. She adds most people simply don't understand the day-to-day struggles transgender people face.
"The other huge advantage that Caitlyn Jenner has is family acceptance, and most trans-people don't have that family acceptance, and that is the number one protective factor against suicide in trans-community."
Boyce says she appreciates what Jenner has done and believes everyone that comes out is an asset to the community.