Jazz Jennings has spent her entire life on a journey. Assigned male at birth, Jazz felt she was in the wrong body practically her entire life. Her parents, Greg and Jeanette Jennings, have acknowledged that Jazz expressed wanting to be female from the time she began talking. Her story first went public in a 20/20 special about LGBTQ youth in 2007. Jazz is one of the youngest people to ever identify as transgender.
Jazz's story has been chronicled on TLC's I Am Jazz since 2015. In the fifth season, which aired in 2019, Jazz underwent the final steps of her transition. She underwent gender confirmation surgery. The procedure featured a number of complications, requiring her to have a follow-up procedure. Ultimately, it was a success.
Jazz reflected on her transition over the last decade, both in the physical sense and as she enters the world of adulthood. During that reflection, she shared photos of her scars from the surgery and celebrated every part of what has brought her to where she is today.
Jazz Jennings is a well-known advocate for transgender youth and the LGBTQ community as a whole. From the time she could talk, Jazz knew that she did not feel like a male, which is the gender she was assigned at birth. By the age of 5, Jazz became one of the youngest people to identify as transgender.
Jazz' journey has been very public. She began speaking out on what it's like to grow up in the wrong body from a very early age. Her goal was always the same. She wanted to help other transgender youth know that they are not alone, while taking pride in her own journey.
She even cowrote a children's book that tackles the topic. The book is called I Am Jazz. The book explains what it is to be transgender from a child's perspective in a way young children can easily understand.
Jazz's journey has also been chronicled on her TV reality series, also called I Am Jazz. In the show's most recent season last year, Jazz prepared for her gender confirmation surgery. The surgery was performed about a year and a half ago.
Just like many others, Jazz has been reflecting on what her decade has been like. In looking back at the last 10 years, she reflected on her gender confirmation surgery and the aftermath in a series of emotional posts. "#2018 was a rough year in my life," she shared. "I experienced a major complication with my gender confirmation surgery and wound up back in the OR one week after the initial procedure."
"It was a tough journey, but experiences like that one only make us stronger in the end," she continued.
"Though it can be hard at times, a positive mindset and the support of those around you can help you conquer any challenge. Thank you to all my fans who have supported me throughout the years!"
Jazz shared photos of herself in a bathing suit. They proudly display her scars from gender confirmation surgery. "These are my scars on full display in #2019. I'm proud of my scars and love my body just the way it is," Jazz wrote.
"I call them my battle wounds because they signify the strength and perseverance it took to finally complete my transition."
Jazz has been spending the year focusing on self-care. She was accepted to Harvard and deferred her acceptance to take some time for herself. She shared the reasoning behind her decision in an Instagram announcement last October.
"I wanted to share some news. After careful consideration, I have decided to take a break before starting at Harvard," Jazz wrote. "It wasn’t an easy decision but it is the right one for me. These past few years have been so full and busy that I realized I could use some time to refocus and recenter to be the strongest version of myself."
Jazz's family supports her in her decision. The school is willing to accommodate it as well.
"I am so grateful to have the support of my parents and Harvard in making this decision and look forward to focusing on some self-care and getting prepared to start this exciting next chapter in my life❤️."
Jazz spoke about some of her concerns heading into her freshman year of college in an interview with Thrive Global.
"I feel like college is going to be a great place for me to step out of my shell, be independent, and build new routines and habits and ways of living. But it’s also a place where I can feel that anxiety and depression to an even greater degree than I do now, because there’s so much going on all the time," she explained.
"You want to be involved in everything, but school’s stressful in and of itself," she continued. "I’ll be studying for tests and exams and trying to be the best I can be. In high school, I always got straight A’s, because I put that pressure on myself. But going into college, I want to focus on taking care of myself, and building good habits — that’s really my focus."
When Jazz does get to Harvard, she plans to focus on social sciences. She also plans to continue her advocacy work and outreach to trans youth. "I’m planning on majoring in Gender, Philosophy, and Religion," she revealed.
"Right now I’m focusing on sharing my story as a trans queer person, and really just breaking down the gender binary," she noted. "I know that’s a big thing to talk about, but gender, while it does exist, it also doesn’t exist at the same time."
"Yes, we have physical bodies. Yes, we have genitalia, and we can look at ourselves and say, 'Oh, there’s a man and there’s a woman.' But you can’t define someone by their physical anatomy."
