# data[].attributes.body
Jennings, Jazz. Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen. Crown Books for Young Readers, 2016

# data[].attributes.body
When she was little she had a dream about a fairy that will her penis into a vagina.

"The world seemed crystal clear as a grown women wearing a blue gown floated into the room. She wasn't quite like the imaginary creatures you see in cartoons, but I knew instinctively that she was a fairy, thanks to her gossamer wings, the glowing light all around her, and the magic wand that suddenly appeared in her hand... I don't remember her exact words, or even if she spoke out loud at all, but I knew why she was there. She promised to use her wand to turn my penis into a vagina."
(pg. 6-7)

# data[].attributes.body
Jazz's mom got so concerned in her behavior that she told her pediatrician. Jazz's pediatrician then referred her to a child psychologist, it took a long time to find one because no one either didn't felt comfortable talking to a 2 soon to be 3 year old about GID (Gender Identity Disorder) or just didn't work with kids at all. When Jazz was three they found someone, Dr. Marilyn, that worked with kids and teens. Dr. Marilyn then diagnosed Jazz as being transgender.

# data[].attributes.body
Preschool wasn't all that bad, she didn't get made fun of that much.

"I had been in preschool  since I was two and a half and had sometimes been teased for dumb things like using pink and purple crayons when we colored, or playing with grocery carts and doles instead of trucks and blocks. It was nothing to mean, though. I don't think children usually have a problem with what another kid plays with unless someone else has told them it's wrong or different."
(pg. 15-16)

# data[].attributes.body
Jazz's parents finally let her fully transition at home, but they wanted to tell her siblings and explain to them what was going on. The twins, who were seven at the time, were totally fine with it. They didn't look at Jazz like she was a little brother, because of how she acted around the house. Ari, who was nine, didn't take it so well. Since Ari was the only girl she was given the princess title, and not by any means did she want to share that with Jazz. Once their dad explained to Ari what transgender people go through, she finally came around and accepted the fact that she wasn't the only girl anymore.

# data[].attributes.body
She was so happy, because she could finally show every who she truly was. Not to mention it was also her 5th birthday party.

"It got to be an extra-special occasion, and my parents parents didn't hold back anything... On that day, I was finally allowed to wear whatever I wanted in front of my friends and their families because Mom had invited my entire preschool class... None of the kids from school reacted at all. I think by that point they were just used to me. I remember seeing a couple of moms giving funny looks, but I didn't care at all. Nothing was going to bring me down that day." (pg. 28-29)

# data[].attributes.body
Jazz's parents wanted to take the next step into her transition, which was enrolling her into kindergarten, but there was a slight problem. The principal (which her parents had known for years) was conservative. When Jazz's mom tried to talk to the principal about enrolling Jazz into kindergarten as a girl and not a boy. After the principal found that out, she didn't answer any of Jazz's mom's follow up calls, and basically blatantly ignored her. So, Jazz's mom took it to the papers so everyone can know what was going on, and show everyone that people like that exist in the world. Of course she used fake names, and didn't reveal the name of the school.

# data[].attributes.body
She started kindergarten at a new school.

"Since my preschool had been on the other side of town, I was entering a world where no one had ever thought of me as being a boy. It was like the whole slate of my life had been wiped clean and I was getting the chance to start over as the real me. The Good Fairy still hadn't come along with her magic wand, but entering a new school as a girl was a nice start towards that dream promise being filled." (pg. 35)

# data[].attributes.body
On Jazz's first day of Kindergarten at her new school, there was a lockdown. Jazz and her mom were confused on what was happening because the lockdown was handled weirdly. Jazz's mom was skeptical and asked if the lockdown was because of Jazz. She was told no by every teacher she asked. To come to find out that the administration was scared that the media was going to show up. When Jazz's mom found out she was confused, because the news article didn't use their real names or the name of the school, or anyone's name that specifically went to that school.

# data[].attributes.body
Jazz would draw pictures in class.

"I soon became obsessed with drawing explicit body parts in school... I'd always been into drawing, but I suddenly found myself constantly sketching during class. And what I was sketching was fairly realistic portraits of vaginas, breasts, and butts. All the boobs were big because my mom's were, and since those were the only ones I'd ever seen naked, they were all I really knew. Anyway, I was drawing what was on my mind, what I wish I had." (pg. 37)

# data[].attributes.body
The story that Jazz's mom had put out so she could get a meeting with the principal had gotten picked up by a representative of a famous TV newsmagazine. It got to the point where talk show hosts talked about it, of course they weren't all positive about it. The TV newsmagazine 20/20 representative wanted Jazz to be at the show. The representative reached out to Jazz's parents, and they immediately said no. The representative never gave up and tried for ten months to get them to say yes, and it worked. Fun fact: This is how Jazz got her name.

# data[].attributes.body
"In My Own Little Corner" was Jazz's favorite song from Cinderella, but who knew when she got older she would find that she related to it so much.

"'In my own little corner in my own little chair
I can be whoever I want to be
On the wings of my fancy
I can fly anywhere
And the world will open its arms to me'

I didn't get how profound the lyrics were for my situation until I was much older and watched the show again online. It's a song about the desire to become your authentic self and have everyone accept you for the person you are." (pg. 46)

# data[].attributes.body
Everything in Jazz's life was going great after the show with 20/20 aired. The only problem was being able to play a sport on an all girls team. The first time she played rec soccer it didn't matter because it was a coed team. The second year she played her mom "accidentally" put a coffee stain where the letter "M" was next to sex. It luckily worked and there was no problem with it. But when Jazz started playing on a traveling team in third grade, the soccer association denied her a female playing card to play on an all girls team, even after Dr. Marilyn explained to that Jazz was transgender.

# data[].attributes.body
Jazz finally got a taste of what the real world is like, without her parents being able to protect her or sugarcoat anything.

"I'd understood in a general sense that there would probably be other problems I'd have to face in life besides bathrooms and pronouns, but I began to feel the full weight of how much people didn't get what being transgender is." (pg. 53-54)

# data[].attributes.body
Jazz loved being in plays and musicals, she even went to theater camps with Ari, her older sister. Ari and Jazz were always in musicals together, the only thing was that Ari would have a big part while Jazz would have a part of an extra. Ari would practice with Jazz and help her, so she could get better parts than she was getting.

# data[].attributes.body
Jazz's mom had rules for when Jazz was going to someones house, and before someone came into their house.

"Mom was all about disclosure and created an unbreakable rule that I couldn't go over to anyone's home unless they knew I was trans. The same went for people who came into our house. You never know how people might react, and my safety was the most important thing to Mom. She wasn't about to put me in a situation where a seemingly normal person might freak out if they didn't know about me already." (pg. 65)

# data[].attributes.body
Although Jazz might not have known it at the time, because of how young she was, she made a big impact on in the transgender community. She saved the lives of older kids that are transgender and might not have supporting parents like her, without knowing. When she got older, she sort of started to realize what she was doing.

# data[].attributes.body
Jazz and her mom would speak on panels to talk about being trans, every once in a while.

"Since she saw that I was comfortable talking about myself, she asked if Mom and I would be willing to speak to a class of first-year medical students at a nearby college... The first really big panel I spoke on was at something called TransCon, an all day conference in Miami devoted to transgender issues." (pg. 69)

# data[].attributes.body
Rebecca's house was the first house that Jazz slept over at, and her parents were the first of her friends to accept Jazz for who she was. Rebecca and Jazz were super close, they had sleepovers, hung out at school and even bought each other valentines day gifts. Jazz felt lucky to have Rebecca, she appreciated Rebecca and her parents.

# data[].attributes.body
Jazz had a problem going to the bathroom.

"Since I wasn't allowed to use the regular bathrooms at school, I was holding it in a lot when I had to go. And when Rebecca made me laugh too hard, I'd pee my pants. I started to come home with wet clothes, and sometimes the accident would be bad enough that the school had to call my mom to bring me a whole new outfit."

# data[].attributes.body
In this video Jazz is answering question her fans have asked.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HegmwWguSg0

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Jazz Jennings Answers Fan Questions and Reveals Her Favorite Part of Pride

# data[].attributes.body
This is an interview Jazz did when she was 11.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJw3s85EcxM

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Transgender at 11: Listening to Jazz Jennings | 20/20 | ABC News

# data[].attributes.body
When Jazz was in the third grade she would sit with "the trio", Megan, Jessica and Brittany. They would be really nice to her for a couple days, and then out of nowhere, they would be rude. What Jazz noticed was when Rebecca, Casey and Jazz sat with them they were nice, but when it would just be Jazz they would be incredibly mean. They just got ruder and ruder overtime. After some time it finally came out that they didn't want to sit with "the transgender girl". They hated Jazz for some reason, and Jazz didn't understand why.

# data[].attributes.body
This is an article on what Jazz did for the transgender community.
https://variety.com/2021/tv/features/jazz-jennings-i-am-jazz-trans-legislation-1234985248/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How Jazz Jennings Changed the World for Trans Youth Simply by Being Herself

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In 2007, six-year-old Jazz Jennings went on national television to tell Barbara Walters the same thing she’d been telling her parents, siblings and anyone else who would listen: She was, despite he…

# data[].attributes.body
Jazz answers the questions of Brightly.
https://www.readbrightly.com/jazz-jennings-writes-transgender-story/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Jazz Jennings is no ordinary 15-year-old. She has a show on TLC, a vast YouTube following, and now a book. It's been a very public journey that has brought us to a familiar territory - teenhood - but with a slightly new twist: Jazz is transgender.

In Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen, Jennings shares her earliest memories of having a girl brain in a boy body, the trials and travails of living in a largely transphobic society, and the victories, small and large - from being able to wear the "mommy" costume in preschool to helping change laws that kept trans girls from playing soccer.

Brightly spoke with Jazz and her mother Jeanette about what it's like to be trans, and a teen, in America today.
It's an interesting time to be transgender. In particular, I'm thinking of Attorney General Loretta Lynch, saying, "We see you; we stand with you; and we will do everything we can to protect you going forward. Please know that history is on your side." Did you feel this moment was coming? Was it inevitable - or a surprise?
Jeanette: I was surprised that it happened so quickly. I didn't think I would see this yet. But I didn't see things like North Carolina happening either.

Jazz: I definitely think that there's been a lot of progress in the last few years. We deserve to be treated with respect and to hear from major officials that they support us. We're people, too, and we deserve to be treated equally.
Do you see other signs of progress for the trans community?
But I still think more change needs to happen.

Jeanette: The biggest step to me is the directive from the Obama administration stating that all public schools need to allow kids to use the bathroom of their choice otherwise they risk losing federal funding. We watched a video of a town hall meeting where Obama actually addressed the issue stating that schools need to "create an environment of dignity and kindness."

To hear him say something like that blew me away.
Jazz, who did you write your book for?
Jazz: To me it's not just about the directive and laws. I'm seeing people being more welcoming. With all the visibility in the media, people are finally becoming more educated. A lot of minds are being opened.

Jazz: The book is really for everyone - for the transgender teen who might be struggling, but there's also a universal message of being who you are and loving who you are as well. It's for anyone who feels a little bit different.
How is the book different than your show on TLC or even YouTube?
It also helps families and siblings and friends better support transgender people.
What's different about being a transgender teen vs. a transgender child?
Jazz: The book really encompasses a lot of my life, more than the other media outlets. It's all the experiences I've gone through, through my eyes and in my words. And there are things that maybe people didn't know about - what makes me a whole person. It's cool to be able to share that.

Jazz: I think being a teenager is hard in and of itself - trying to figure out who you are and what you want to do with your life. Kids can be mean and judgmental, too, because they're still figuring these things out.

Being transgender and a teen makes it that much more difficult. No one is going to know exactly what you're going through.
Jazz, are there any books that you read that made a difference to you?
For transgender teens, it's the hardest time of anyone's life. I think it's important for them to know that they aren't alone in their experience and that they can find love and acceptance.
How about you, Jeanette, are there books that you felt were helpful? Inspiring?
Jazz: There have been a lot of books that I've read that have been inspirational -they often have a strong female character, like, The Hunger Games. Those stories inspire me to be strong and be myself.

Jeanette: I've read lots of books written by transgender people - some biographical and some informational. She's Not There, by Jenny Finney Boylan, had a huge impact on me. As Nature Made Him did as well. Transgender Warriors and Gender Outlaws opened my mind. The Christine Jorgensen biography was fascinating.

As a parent, I went digging for books about transgender youth and what I found is that there was nothing really out there geared towards children. I remember searching the library hoping to find a book, How to Raise Your Transgender Pre-schooler - which of course didn't exist. Now, there's The Transgender Child, which was published several years after Jazz transitioned.
What advice do you have for parents with kids who may be transgender - or who are struggling with their gender identity.
I turned to books a lot for information. Parents need to keep educating themselves. Jazz's book just came out, of course, but there are more books and more information to come.

Jeanette: In all situations, everyone needs to remember that we're human beings.

Parents need to know it's okay not to fit into binary roles. Love your child for who they want to be - not who you want them to be. It boils down to unconditional love - loving your kid for who they are.

Jazz: For me, it's not just encouraging the child, it's embracing the child and the decisions they make - to support them in every aspect.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Through Her Eyes and in Her Words: Jazz Jennings Writes Her Own (Transgender) Story | Brightly

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Jazz Jennings is no ordinary 15-year-old. She has a show on TLC, a vast YouTube following, and now a book. Brightly spoke with Jazz and her mother Jeanette about what it's like to be trans, and a teen, in America today.

# data[].attributes.body
In this article Jazz is talking about the final steps in her journey.
https://abcnews.go.com/Health/transgender-teen-jazz-star-jazz-jennings-sharing-final/story?id=58513271

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
It's a dream she's had since she was 2 years old.

"When I was 2 years old, I went up to my mom and asked her, 'When is the good fairy going to come with her magic wand and change my penis into a vagina?'" Jazz Jennings, 18, told ABC News' "Nightline" co-anchor Juju Chang.

For Jazz, that dream became a reality. This past June, she underwent her gender confirmation surgery -- a procedure that, in her case, essentially re-fashioned male genitalia into a female equivalent.

"It was like a dream. It was. This is a moment that I had always envisioned and just experiencing it was so surreal. I was like I can't believe this is happening," Jazz said.

Jazz, who is from Florida, is one of the most well-known transgender teens in the country, carrying the torch on behalf of trans rights for the last decade.

Known for her relentless advocacy -- from gender neutral bathrooms, to playing school sports -- she's tackled some of the most divisive issues for trans kids head on.

"From the time I was six years old, I've been sharing my story. And you know at first I thought, 'Okay, this is all going to come to an end one day and then I'll be able to live my life.' But more and more I realized that I was given this platform for a reason and that I have a strong and powerful voice," Jazz said.

Emma McIntyre/Getty Images

When asked about whether living her life in the public has made it easier or harder to be a trans teen, Jazz said, "It just depends."

"I think for me, I've always been so honest about who I am as a person. And being transgender, I feel like it's something that I couldn't hide no matter what. Don't have to explain myself or the fact that I'm transgender to people who haven't met me before. So it's kind of-- I like that about being public," she said.

Her journey has been documented on her award-winning TLC reality show, "I Am Jazz," which returns for a fifth season on Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2019.

She shared when she, along with her parents, decided to medically intervene with hormone blockers when she was 11, pausing any male development. And then, when she was on the verge of high school, she began taking the female hormone, estrogen.

"I have no regrets because it allowed me to prevent myself from going through male puberty," Jazz said. "I feel like that's why my dysphoria hasn't been so bad is because I look in the mirror, and I see the girl that I am on the inside. But not every transgender person has the opportunity to do that."

In many ways, her journey has all led up to this moment. For Jazz, her gender confirmation surgery is what she says is "the final step of transitioning."

"This is really the last thing that will validate my identity as a woman. There is nothing else after this. I just get to be myself, be in the body that I've always wanted. And then I can live my life as just Jazz," she said.

For years, Jazz's willingness to share intimate details has been her calling card, and this milestone is no different.

"I've been criticized for sharing too much information, and yeah, it is personal and uncomfortable for some individuals. But how are we going to learn if someone doesn't step up to the plate and share their story and personal details," Jazz said.

ABC News

When she first shared her story with ABC News' Barbara Walters in 2007, Jazz was just 6 years old and one of the youngest documented cases of an early transition from male to female. Jazz started her transition at the age of five.

The Jennings family, who have three older children, were already at the time facing backlash for allowing Jazz, at such a young age, to present herself as trans. Ten years later, the family said they still find themselves defending that decision.

When asked how she would respond to people who might think her parents brainwashed her or that she was too young to know, Jazz said, "I really, really hate it."

"And hate's a strong word. But I hate it when people are, like, 'My parents abuse me into being transgender because they wanted another girl, not a boy.' And no, that's not how it was. This was all me. This is how I felt. And I was the one telling them that, 'I'm a girl, I'm a girl,'" Jazz said. "They just embraced and loved me for who I was. And they didn't force me to do anything. They never force me to do anything."

In the upcoming season of "I Am Jazz," viewers will get to see major milestones in her life, including Jazz attending her first prom, celebrating her 18th birthday and the final steps of her transition.

The surgery came with obstacles. Jazz said her doctor requested that she lose 30 pounds before the surgery.

"And that was really, really challenging because I had an addiction to food. And it was something that gave me comfort. And I had to let that go because the surgery is so much more important to me than any slice of cake or pizza," Jazz said.

The surgery was also complicated by Jazz being at the forefront of so many medical options now available to transgender kids, like the hormone blockers and hormone therapy she said helped save her life.

"Being on the blockers is something that I don't regret at all. But the only, you know, downside to it was that I didn't have enough growth down below. So there wasn't enough tissue to work with when it came to the surgery," Jazz said. "And it was very challenging to find a doctor, a surgeon who was willing to perform the operation on me just 'cause I'm such a difficult case."

Jazz and her family sought out a brand new, groundbreaking technique.

"They're using the tissue I have, the peritoneum, and also, they may take a skin graft as well. I say it's going to be like a patchwork vagina, Franken-vagina," she said laughing. "So yeah, as long as it's functional, that's all that matters."

She added, "And I want it to look somewhat pretty, just 'cause it's my body."

ABC News

"Nightline" caught up with Jazz nine weeks after her surgery. Though she was on her way to a full recovery, getting there wasn't easy.

"There was just an unfortunate event and setback where things did come apart, and there was a complication," Jazz said. "I had to come back in for another procedure, but it was just all part of the journey. The good thing though is that it was only cosmetic and external so it wasn't too dramatic."

"My life wasn't in danger. I had the guidance of two incredible surgeons, and they really just supported me throughout the entire process and took control over the matter," she added.

Jazz hopes her surgery will help pave the way for the next generation of trans girls seeking to have the same surgery. With the surgery behind her and now in her senior year of high school, Jazz's future is coming into focus for her, including what she wants to do after college.

"I've been thinking about that more and more lately. And I mean there's really no pressure for me to decide anything right now. However I'm thinking about focusing on like sociology and gender studies. I am finding myself becoming more and more passionate about the gender binary of this world and just the difference between gender and sex and helping people understand that so that all, you know, gender nonconforming individuals can be more accepted in this world," she said.

Jazz said she's thought more about continuing her advocacy.

"I think it really just depends on what direction my life takes. But more and more I'm thinking about just continuing my advocacy," Jazz said. "My passion is reinvigorated not just for trans rights but for equality for everyone and I really think that this world needs some changing, because we are not in a good place as a society right now, and I think if people could open their eyes and realize that if we choose a path of love, of accepting one another and embracing our differences."

Watch the full story on ABC News' "Nightline" TONIGHT at 12:35 a.m. ET.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Trans teen on sharing the final steps of her transition: gender confirmation surgery

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
It's a dream she's had since she was 2 years old. "When I was 2 years old, I went up to my mom and asked her, 'When is the good fairy going to come with her magic wand and change my penis into a vagina?'" Jazz Jennings, 18, told ABC News' "Nightline" co-anchor Juju Chang.