Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen

Autobiography

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"I have a girl brain and a boy body. I think like a girl, but I just have a boy body. It's different from you." -5 year old Jazz

Justification: I selected this title because it was featured in a LGBTQ+ display at my library and I'm interested in learning more about transgender people. Before reading this book, I only had cursory knowledge about what transgender is in the most basic sense; I had not previously had the opportunity to read about someone's first hand experience. I was curious and wanting to learn more about a previously unexplored topic. I also thought that this text was a good choice for an autobiography/memoir so I could recommend it to young adults (which I will).

Response: I was really surprised a teenager could write as eloquently as Jazz does. I have never read a memoir written by a young adult and so I don't know what I was expecting--something a little more juvenile, perhaps? This is definitely a young woman who has found her voice and knows who she is. Her work demonstrates this well. Jazz was assigned male at birth but identifies as female. What does this mean? Basically, her internal gender identity does not match the sex she was born with. Jazz's preternaturally upbeat and positive spirit exudes from almost every page; she handles teasing, ignorance, and even bullying with aplomb. I was so impressed with how Jazz could readily set aside people who were afraid of her or wouldn't get to know her because of fear or ignorance. I connected with Jazz in unexpected ways: she's living her life as a teenage girl much as I did. She plays soccer, has sleepovers with friends, and spends a lot of time with her loving family. However, life isn't always easy for Jazz; she's had to take on the state soccer association of Florida in order to be able to play girl's soccer. It took two years for the United States Soccer Federation to lift the ban--even after she presented her new passport (with F as her gender), social security card, and letters from her doctors affirming her gender.

One of the more poignant moments of her story is when Jazz talks about what she believes is the reason for her lifelong obsession with mermaids. (She even makes and sells her own silicone mermaid tails for swimming!) Jazz says, "Someone once told my mom that it's really common for transgender kids to be into mermaids, because they don't have genitals. I guess the idea is that for trans children, having no genitals is better than the wrong genitals." (p.17).

I especially learned a lot about the processing of transitioning from this book. Jazz explains that as a toddler "what made me comfortable was wearing a dress" (p.5). First Jazz transitioned socially, at the age of five. She adopted the pronouns and style of dress of her authentic gender. She also changed her name from Jaron, her birth name, to Jazz. At the age of eleven, as Jazz began approaching adolescence, she obtained puberty-blocking drugs in the form of an implant in her arm. These drugs prevented her from developing an adams apple, facial hair and arrested her voice deepening. As she entered her teen years, Jazz started taking estrogen to aid her in developing secondary sex characteristics in line with her gender identity.

Conclusion: The book is heartwarming in so many ways. Jazz's parents and siblings affirm her every step of the way in her journey to transition. Many parents, as well as clinicians, still deny the possibility that transgender kids and teens exist. In vast swaths of the United States, kids coming out as trans are much more likely to be met with hostility and ignorance rather than recognition, and their parents are more likely to lack the willingness or the resources to find them the care they need. Jazz is extremely fortunate that her parents have the resources, including health care coverage to support Jazz in her endeavor to transition. This book really opened my eyes to the realities of being a transgender teenager. I learned so much from this memoir--not just about gender, gender identity, and gender dysphoria, but about loving acceptance and tolerance. I will recommend it to any young adult reader.

APA Reference: Jennings, J. (2016). Being Jazz: My life as a (transgender) teen. New York, NY: Penguin Random House, LLC.