Meet Jeanette, Jazz Jennings' Mom, from I am Jazz
03/07/23 • 91 min
In today's episode, we’re thrilled to be joined by Jeanette Jennings, mother of the amazing spokesperson, YouTube and TV personality, and LGBTQ+ rights activist, Jazz Jennings. You may know Jazz and Jeanette from their popular award-winning docuseries, now in its 8th season on TLC, I am Jazz.
Jazz was diagnosed with gender dysphoria at age three and socially transitioned at 5. She is one of the youngest publicly documented people who have identified as transgender. In 2007, when Jazz was only six years old, her story caught mainstream media's attention when Barbara Walters interviewed her and her family for 20/20.
Throughout our conversation with Jeannette, we learn about the blessings and the most challenging parts of Jazz's journey as a transgender child, how Jeanette has fought for Jazz’s rights, and the support they received from friends and relatives. Jeanette also talks about how important it is for transgender kids' parents to set their egos aside and make informed decisions seeking the best for their children.
We also discuss gender-affirming care, the story behind the interview with Barbara Walters, an interview with Oprah, and tons of behind-the-scenes golden nuggets from Jazz's family reality show, I am Jazz.
In This Episode, You Will Learn:
A bit about Jazz's journey as a transgender kid (6:15)
A family in transition (10:47)
Jazz's experiences in kindergarten as a girl. How Jeanette learned to pick her battles (19:01)
The most challenging parts of Jazz's transition (28:27)
About the American states that don't provide gender-affirming care as a political decoy (42:43)
What we can learn from transgender people's life experiences (58:29)
Some behind-the-scenes stories from the show I am Jazz (1:09:13)
Resources:
Trans Kids Purple Rainbow Foundation
Interview with Barbara Walters
Follow Jazz on Instagram
The Jennings Family on Instagram
Connect with Jeanette:
Connect with Jackie and Bridget:
Transgender Support: Becoming a True Ally Video Course on Vimeo
Transgender School Patreon Membership with all exclusive content
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In today's episode, we’re thrilled to be joined by Jeanette Jennings, mother of the amazing spokesperson, YouTube and TV personality, and LGBTQ+ rights activist, Jazz Jennings. You may know Jazz and Jeanette from their popular award-winning docuseries, now in its 8th season on TLC, I am Jazz.
Jazz was diagnosed with gender dysphoria at age three and socially transitioned at 5. She is one of the youngest publicly documented people who have identified as transgender. In 2007, when Jazz was only six years old, her story caught mainstream media's attention when Barbara Walters interviewed her and her family for 20/20.
Throughout our conversation with Jeannette, we learn about the blessings and the most challenging parts of Jazz's journey as a transgender child, how Jeanette has fought for Jazz’s rights, and the support they received from friends and relatives. Jeanette also talks about how important it is for transgender kids' parents to set their egos aside and make informed decisions seeking the best for their children.
We also discuss gender-affirming care, the story behind the interview with Barbara Walters, an interview with Oprah, and tons of behind-the-scenes golden nuggets from Jazz's family reality show, I am Jazz.
In This Episode, You Will Learn:
A bit about Jazz's journey as a transgender kid (6:15)
A family in transition (10:47)
Jazz's experiences in kindergarten as a girl. How Jeanette learned to pick her battles (19:01)
The most challenging parts of Jazz's transition (28:27)
About the American states that don't provide gender-affirming care as a political decoy (42:43)
What we can learn from transgender people's life experiences (58:29)
Some behind-the-scenes stories from the show I am Jazz (1:09:13)
Resources:
Trans Kids Purple Rainbow Foundation
Interview with Barbara Walters
Follow Jazz on Instagram
The Jennings Family on Instagram
Connect with Jeanette:
Connect with Jackie and Bridget:
Transgender Support: Becoming a True Ally Video Course on Vimeo
Transgender School Patreon Membership with all exclusive content
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Previous Episode
Surprising Words That Can Hurt
A national Trevor Project survey of trans and nonbinary people found that being affirmed and having pronouns respected by most people in their lives dramatically reduced rates of depression, substance abuse, suicidal thoughts, and suicide attempts.
One of the most significant ways we can support LGBTQ+ community members is through effective, affirming communication. Words are incredibly powerful. Choosing our language carefully when speaking with trans and nonbinary people isn’t as difficult as many people seem to think; in fact, in many cases, it literally takes fewer words.
So, in today's episode, we go through some everyday words that when used in reference to trans experiences could be quite hurtful and disaffirming for trans people. We also cover terms that have recently been replaced, words that may once have been accepted, but are now completely outdated.
In addition, we address generational issues for certain terms, such as "sex change operation," which many trans people today would not feel comfortable with using or hearing. We’re sure you can understand why the term “gender confirmation surgery,” which is now widely used, would likely feel more accurate and affirming.
In This Episode, You'll Learn:
- How simple words can make a world of difference to someone else (4:32)
- What's wrong with the word "choice"? (6:05)
- Transition is not the same as change (7:18)
- What the word "preferred" implies when addressing a member of the LGBTQ+ community (12:23)
- Being transgender is never a "phase" (16:41)
- About the issues with the term "gender dysphoria" (24:12)
- Gender and the workplace (31:56)
Resources:
- Confronting Gendered Workspaces by Jackie Thornhill. Article
- National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health 2020
- Family Acceptance Project. San Francisco State University
- Family Acceptance Project Research & Recommendations Handout
Connect with Jackie and Bridget:
- Transgender Support: Becoming a True Ally Video Course on Vimeo
- Transgender School Patreon Membership with all exclusive content
- Transgender School on Medium
- Website
- Community Facebook Group
- YouTube
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Next Episode
Meet Joyful Trans Romance Author, London Price
In this episode, we are joined by the wonderful London Price. She is a queer, cisgender author who writes joyful trans romance. London has two beautiful kids and has been married to her transgender wife for 17 years.
As an avid reader, London felt frustrated whenever she wanted to read queer romance and stumbled upon gigantic trigger warnings and stories that didn't resonate with her and her reality. She felt there was enough trauma and misunderstanding within the queer community, so she decided to write transgender romance stories focusing more on the joy of being queer and being part of a harmonious queer family.
Throughout our conversation, London talks about her reasons for writing this kind of transgender romance, how she reacted when her wife, who used to present as male, came out to her as trans 3 years ago, and how her wife’s transition helped her learn new things about herself. We also discuss boundaries, consent, how transgender people are usually represented in the media, and much more.
In This Episode, You Will Learn:
- A bit about London's story and background (1:17)
- Lessons from the story of her wife coming out as transgender (5:09)
- How London decided to present transgender people in her books (10:46)
- The importance of thinking about how we teach our kids about boundaries and consent (16:13)
- About how London managed to create characters that are so relatable (23:29)
Resources:
- London Price's books
Connect with London:
Connect with Jackie and Bridget:
- Transgender Support: Becoming a True Ally Video Course on Vimeo
- Transgender School Patreon Membership with all exclusive content
- Transgender School on Medium
- Website
- Community Facebook Group
- YouTube
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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