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Orlando transgender woman hopes ABC’s Bruce Jenner interview spreads understanding, awareness

An Orlando woman who was born male, but knew since the age of 7 that she was a female, said she struggled during her transition, but also said the central Florida community helped her cope.

Gina Duncan told Channel 9's Ryan Hughes she hopes Olympian and reality TV star Bruce Jenner’s exclusive interview with Diane Sawyer sheds light on the transgender community and helps others with their transition process.

Raw: Orlando resident Gina Duncan speaks out about her transition from a man to a woman

“I got to the point where I could no longer live in this life,” said Duncan.

Like Jenner, Duncan was a star athlete in high school.

She showed Hughes photos that date back to her time on the Merritt Island High School football team, when she was Greg Pingston.

It was a life she wasn’t comfortable with and hadn’t been for some time.

“I knew I was transgendered at an early age. I knew at 7 years old,” Duncan said.

So at 50 years old, she spent $100,000 and four years undergoing a change from a man to a woman.

It required breast augmentation, gender reassignment surgery and 11 hours of facial reconstruction.

Duncan said it’s been a struggle at times, but she’s glad the central Florida community has embraced her wholeheartedly.

“And Orlando is one of the more accepting areas of the state,” Duncan said.

Terry Decarlo, executive director of the of Equality Florida, agrees.

“People don’t realize Orlando has one of the larger LGBT communities,” Decarlo said.

He said transgender groups meet at the center on a regular basis to talk about their issues, struggles and triumphs.

Duncan hopes the Jenner interview gets more people talking.

“That visibility and that awareness of the transgender community could be a very positive thing,” Duncan said.

Statistics show 3 percent of the population in Florida considers itself transgender.

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