7 Questions With Jazz Jennings of TLC’s ‘I Am Jazz'

[admin1]

By Johnny Diaz
Jan. 30, 2020
Jazz Jennings has been in the spotlight since 2007, when she was 6 and appeared on the ABC News program “20/20.” Wearing a dress, she opened up to Barbara Walters about being a transgender child, at a time when mainstream audiences didn’t often hear from those voices.

Thirteen years later, Ms. Jennings, now 19, continues to be an advocate for L.G.B.T. youth. She has had a doll modeled after her, written a children’s book and a memoir, and, with her family, started the TransKids Purple Rainbow Foundation. And she’s the star of the TLC reality show “I Am Jazz,” which returned for its sixth season this week.

TV viewers have followed many firsts in Ms. Jennings’s daily life, from going to prom to having a boyfriend. They tuned in when she had her gender confirmation surgery in New York City last season, surrounded by her parents and three older siblings. (There were complications after the surgery, and several follow-up procedures and visits with doctors were also chronicled on the show.)

Around the country, children and teenagers have watched Ms. Jennings go about her life at a time when some states are pushing back on transgender youth seeking the kinds of medical treatments the TV star and her friends have received. In South Dakota, young transgender people fear a bill that would restrict access to hormone treatments and surgeries on anyone under the age of 16. Similar bills have been introduced in other states including Colorado, Florida and South Carolina. (And despite the growing presence of transgender people in popular culture, the community faces elevated levels of homelessness, poverty and violence, especially for transgender women of color.)

Ms. Jennings talked to The New York Times about the new season, which features her third surgery, one she described as “a cosmetic operation for aesthetic reasons.” As Ms. Jennings recovers, she and her family have to contend with another complication and a possible fourth surgery. Ms. Jennings also helps raise money for a transgender friend who says that her mother’s insurance doesn’t cover her gender confirmation surgery.

Finally undergoing bottom surgery has allowed me to confidently flourish in my new body and dismantle any remaining gender dysphoria. For the first time, my body fully reflected my soul — how I felt on the inside. The surgery didn’t solve all of my issues, but it did offer a sense of peace and comfort that wasn't otherwise there.

You seemed excited last year about being accepted to Harvard. Why did you decide to delay college?

I decided to delay college so that I could focus on taking a deep breath with all of the recent events of my life. I just needed a year to focus on my mental well-being and get in the right head space. I’m very glad I took a gap year and plan on starting school at Harvard in the fall.

You had complications after your surgery. Given those, do you regret having it done at an early age?

I have no regrets when it comes to the surgery. Even though I was young, I knew what I wanted and got the surgery right when I was meant to. Yes, experiencing the complications sucked, but it all worked out in the end.

You have described the surgery as a lifesaving operation that was covered by insurance. Do you think most health insurance should cover the costs of such surgeries?

This is a controversial question because some consider this specific procedure as an “elective” surgery undergone by choice rather than necessity. However, I disagree wholeheartedly. Gender dysphoria is a real condition and this surgery saves lives. It IS a necessity for so many transgender people and should absolutely be covered by insurance. So many trans people are suicidal due to the insecurities they feel being stuck in the wrong body.

You have shared so much of your life on camera since the show debuted in 2015. How do you balance what you share with viewers and what you keep private?

There is so much of my life that isn’t featured on the show. Even though most of the monumental events of my life are recorded, I still have so many private moments that aren’t shared. There is definitely a good balance and I feel like, even with a TV show about my life, I still have a great deal of privacy.

You recently shared your surgical scars on social media. What do you hope people take away from seeing them?

I hope that people appreciate the strength and perseverance it took to complete my transition and have the courage to be body confident. We all have bodies — some are bigger, some are smaller, some have scars.

What message do you hope that viewers take away from your show?

I hope they understand the importance of unconditional love. That’s always been the core of my family’s message. You just have to love and appreciate all people for who they are, including our differences. We’re all beautiful and unique and we just have to learn to embrace that.

Full credit for the above article goes to Johnny Diaz

[admin1]

A short pic gallery of Jazz

[NikkieSims]

About
Jazz Jennings is an American YouTube personality, spokesmodel, television personality, and LGBT rights activist. Jennings is one of the youngest publicly documented people to be identified as transgender. Wikipedia
Born: October 6, 2000 (age 22 years), South Florida
Nationality: American
Parents: Jeanette Jennings, Greg Jennings
Siblings: Sander Jennings, Ari Jennings, Griffen Jennings
Education: Broward Virtual School
Nominations: Shorty Award for Best in Activism

[NikkieSims]

The Untold Truth Of I Am Jazz
BY JESSICA BOOTH AND LOUISA MARSHALL

Reality television often gets a bad reputation for being vapid, shallow, and full of negative situations that are usually more scripted than, well, actually realistic. Many of the guilty pleasure shows out there live up to this stereotype, but one stands out in a good way: TLC's "I Am Jazz," starring transgender activist Jazz Jennings and her family. The critically acclaimed show shares the story of what it's like to grow up as a transgender teen and young adult in today's world, approaching important issues with a surprising amount of frank honesty in order to try and fight the many misconceptions out there.

"I Am Jazz" debuted in 2015, and since then, it has never shied away from putting a spotlight on controversial issues. Jazz openly discusses her sexuality, her gender confirmation surgery, body image issues, and so much more — her strength is inspiring to watch. 

Still, even though the show (and its star!) is known for being incredibly honest and self-aware, there are some behind-the-scenes secrets that even the biggest fans aren't aware of. These little details give the show even more depth, and can be integral to truly understanding Jazz's world.

Jazz Jennings first gained notoriety back during her "20/20" interview with Barbara Walters in 2013. At 11 years old, Jazz revealed to the world that she is transgender, becoming the youngest trans advocate during a time when talking about it was far more controversial than it is today. Jazz told the world that she had been expressing gender dysphoria (when someone strongly identifies with the opposite gender of their assigned sex) since she could talk, stating, "I have a girl brain in a boy's body."

The interview obviously led to a lot of media attention, eventually leading up to the creation of the show "I Am Jazz." But while the "20/20" interview shows an 11-year-old Jazz talking to the camera in a surprisingly mature way, what many people don't realize is that the very first time Walters met Jazz was when she was 6 years old, back in 2007. During the "20/20" interview, Walters talks about how, at 6 years old, Jazz was "one of the youngest documented cases of an early transition from male to female."

Jazz and her family didn't set out to do the "20/20" interview with dreams of becoming famous. They actually originally brought their story to the media in an attempt to get others to accept Jazz as a girl. In an interview with Broadly, Jazz's mom, Jeanette, opened up about how she and her husband struggled to get school administrator's to see Jazz as a girl, saying, "I tried to engage in a conversation, and they really weren't interested in meeting with me. I think they were afraid."


In the beginning, Jeanette submitted their story anonymously to a local newspaper, although she says that it was clear to their community that it was about their family. In the end, the media attention paid off. Jeanette told Broadly, "It worked because they granted us the conversation and a meeting. They allowed us to go in with our lawyer, our doctor — you name it, they were there. We came in, guns loaded, ready to battle, and we fought for her right to go to school as a girl." This was, of course, only the beginning when it came to the spotlight on the family.

Remember, the Jennings originally went to the media for some extra help in getting Jazz accepted as a girl at her school, and they did so anonymously. So it isn't too surprising to hear that they weren't exactly thrilled with the idea of having Jazz do an interview on national television. In an interview with Metro Weekly, Jeanette talked about being approached by ABC for "20/20" and said, "It took them 10 months of wooing us to even convince us to do it. We were not ready to share something so personal."

Read More: https://www.thelist.com/130757/the-unto ... paign=clip

In the beginning, Jazz's parents said they would only do the interview if they didn't have to show their faces or share their real names. They also insisted of having Walters do the interview. In the end, the family gave in because they felt fully introducing the public to Jazz would be the best way to get their message across. Jeanette told Metro Weekly, "You know, you really have to see Jazz to get the whole situation. To see her in her environment, with her friends and family — to know and see that she truly is a girl."

Despite their initial hesitation, Jazz Jennings and her family have said that they began to actually enjoy being filmed all the time. In an interview with Metro Weekly, Jeanette said, "I love having people in my house, I love having company. For other people it'd be disruptive, but I really enjoyed the crew. It was a lot of work at times — many hours where we were filming and we were exhausted. But it's all worth it in the end, now that we see the finished product."

Jazz also talked about how much she enjoys filming the show. She said, "Like my mom said, the crew was just absolutely incredible. It was definitely difficult to adjust to at first. But we got used to it pretty quickly. And you know, when you always have this camera following you around — it's so different, it keeps you on your toes."

Even though they're on an incredibly popular reality TV show, the Jennings family is still pretty committed to having some sense of privacy. The show might be very open about Jazz's experience as a transgender girl, but the family tries to keep hidden what they can. It took a long time for them to reveal they lived in Broward, Florida, and in an interview with the Miami Herald, Jeanette revealed that "Jennings" isn't their real last name. She said, "Jennings is our pseudonym, to sort of make life easier. We try to hide our real last name as much as possible."

One of the reasons "I Am Jazz" is such a great show is because it's genuine and real. You know that what Jazz talks about going through is really happening, and you don't get the sense that anything is scripted or staged — like you do with so many other reality TV shows out there. As it turns out, though, a few of the scenes actually are staged. Jazz wrote in her book "Being Jazz" that most of the dinner table scenes are staged, and reasoning actually makes sense.