The influencer and youngest documented transgender person in the US, Jazz Jennings, has spoken out about the harassment she has received on social media since the release of season 8 of her show, “I Am Jazz."
In the past few weeks, an extract from the reality show has gone viral on the internet, showing Jazz stating that she never feels like herself. This statement has led to conservative influencers attacking her, with many claiming that Jazz was manipulated by her parents to become transgender and will detransition soon.
Context
Jazz's journey, which was entirely documented on TLC and her YouTube channel, has attracted hundreds of thousands of followers. She underwent hormone blockers during her childhood, and a few years ago, she also went through a vaginoplasty, a gender-affirming surgery. Conservative commentators have attributed her recent mental breakdown and depression, documented on TLC, to this procedure.
The debate started when a short extract from her show went viral on social media, showing Jazz crying and stating that she never feels like herself. Several controversial YouTubers from the right, such as Matt Walsh, shared their opinions, claiming that her trans identity is a "false identity that was imposed on her." Sydney Watson, an Australian conservative political commentator, went beyond and linked Jazz’s depression to the surgery she went through, stating that puberty blockers and vaginoplasty are forms of punishment.
Jazz’s Response: Manipulation of Images and Transphobia
Recently, Jazz responded to what she perceives as an attempt to twist her words, stating on her YouTube channel, "I don’t know where people are coming up with this idea that I regret my transition, I am a proud woman, I have no regrets, I love being me, I love being a woman."
She also clarified that the depression she is going through has nothing to do with her recent surgery and that the video clip was misinterpreted. She affirmed, "I am me, I know who I am, and I don’t regret a thing."
Jazz ended the video by reaffirming her pride in being a woman and condemning the accusations made against her mother. She declared that her parents didn't encourage her to transition and just supported her to become the girl she already was. “That breaks my heart when people bring up my mother in a negative light, she is one of the most caring people out there, all she wants to do is see me happy and love myself (...) to see people saying that she abuse me, that’s just crazy to me, I was the one initiating my transition. My parents didn’t encourage me, they just supported me, they allowed me to blossom, to become the girl I already was, all parents should be this supportive,” she said.
Edited by Adedamola Aregbesola
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