TransKids Purple Rainbow Foundation

6 days ago

****A message from Jazz's mom****

I am reposting this drawing that Jazz created when she was six years old, approximately 20 years ago.

I saw the comments on the original post, and I was disgusted (but not surprised) by how hateful and cruel some of them were. People mocked the drawing, questioned its authenticity, and even suggested that I had somehow created the artwork myself. All lies. So, for clarity: the drawing is real, and it is Jazz’s original artwork. It is not recent, it is not a joke, and it is not AI.

The words at the top were added by me after I scanned the drawing, but they are Jazz’s exact words, which she verbally told me at the time:

“This is me in Pre-K when I had to dress like a boy.”

“This is me in Kindergarten, I look like a girl now.”

I added those words to give context to what she was expressing in her drawing. I was there. I heard her say them. And I witnessed the sadness she felt when she was expected to present as a boy and the happiness she felt when she was able to express herself as a girl.

This is one small piece of Jazz’s childhood, but it is an incredibly meaningful one. She was expressing her gender identity long before she was on television, had social media, or had any public reason to tell her story.

Jazz is transgender. She has always known herself to be a girl, and she expressed that from a very young age.

The cruelty in the original comments was deeply disturbing (but not surprising or new), which is why I am disabling comments on this post. I am sharing this because it is part of Jazz’s story, and because her childhood deserves to be remembered with honesty and respect. ... See MoreSee Less

TransKids Purple Rainbow Foundation

6 days ago

Go Jazz! 🏳️‍⚧️LGBTQIA+ Pioneer: Jazz Jennings (born October 6, 2000) is an American media personality and LGBT rights activist. Jennings is one of the youngest publicly documented people to be identified as transgender. Jennings received national attention in 2007 when an interview with Barbara Walters aired on 20/20, which led to other high-profile interviews and appearances. Christine Connelly, a member of the board of directors for the Boston Alliance of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Youth, stated, "She was the first young person who picked up the national spotlight, went on TV and was able to articulate her perspective and point of view with such innocence." Her parents noted that Jennings was clear on being female as soon as she could speak.

Jennings is an honorary co-founder of the TransKids Purple Rainbow Foundation, which her parents founded in 2007 to assist transgender youth. In 2013, she founded Purple Rainbow Tails, a company in which she fashions rubber mermaid tails to raise money for transgender children. Jennings hosts a series of YouTube videos about her life, titled "I Am Jazz." She stars in the TLC reality TV series, I Am Jazz, which premiered in 2015 and focuses on her daily life with her family and the challenges she faces as a transgender person.

Source: Wikipedia

Collage by Have A Gay Day
#TransHistoryMonth ... See MoreSee Less