Bruce Jenner interview: Social media community responds with support

Bruce Jenner announced to the world on Friday night, "For all intents and purposes, I am a woman."

Though the former Olympic athlete and reality TV star has not yet fully undergone the transition from male to female, he opened up to ABC News' Diane Sawyer in a two-hour special that drew an impressive 16.9 million viewers.

Celebrities of all kinds, from members of the Kardashian family to late-night talk show hosts, weighed in on Twitter with notes of support and praise. While such a showing is predictable from Hollywood's most visible denizens, the reactions from most regular viewers has, surprisingly, been just as positive.

Social media have tended to bring out the worst in a large majority of users, on any number of issues — from politics to race issues to "Game of Thrones" spoilers — but Jenner's interview has elicited unusually sensitive, encouraging responses nearly across the board . It may be impossible for any topic to find a consensus in the swirling vortex of public opinion (see: Kris Humphries), but Jenner's chat seems to have struck a major chord. (Even if, for those who didn't watch, that chord was, "Who is Bruce Jenner and why is he trending?")

For several people, the most surprising information Jenner shared on Friday wasn't that he is transgender, but that he is politically conservative. People from both sides of the political divide made note of the admission:

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