Being Jazz

Being Jazz

YA/adult memoir
"When did you first know?
I get asked a lot of questions about my life, and that's the one
that comes up the most. The answer is easy. Ever since I could form
coherent thoughts, I knew I was a girl trapped inside a boy's body.
There was never any confusion in my mind. The confusing part was why
no one else could see what was wrong."
Jazz Jennings knew quite early on that her inner self and
outward appearance did not match. Recall years ago we looked at a
picture book, I Am Jazz? Her Being Jazz takes readers from her early
years into her later teens.
Jazz quickly caught on to the discrepancy between her self
identity and that inscribed on her birth certificate. One day as a
toddler she asked her mother how long she'd have to wait for a fairy
godmother to turn her penis into a vagina. Luckily her mother didn't
write her question off as a phase. She began to do research. Jazz
was allowed to be her true self at home.
"No matter how hard I fought, my parents weren't ready for me to
socially transition in public yet. It was infuriating to me at the
time, but I can appreciate now what they were going through. There
wasn't any sort of transgender visibility back then. They were on a
road with no map, and terrified of not just screwing me up, but of
putting me in danger in a world where people wouldn't understand me."
As Jazz came put more publicly there was misunderstanding and
meanness mixed in with a lot of acceptance. Prejudice was systemic as
well as individual. Her parents had to fight for years to get the
rules changed so transgender youth could play soccer on teams of their
identity gender. And there were the bathroom battles.
Jazz's coming out didn't end with her neighborhood. Through
national media her story went viral, helping to make a better world
for other transgender people.
If you're craving a true life inspiring story you'll find Being
Jazz to be an excellent choice.
On a purrrsonal note, well it has been a nice quiet week. My
daffodils are coming up now. They are about thumb high. I so look
forward to their beautiful blossoms. I got a 93 on my latest
statistics assignment. With just three more to go, my average is
93.74. Spring cleaning is going well. Emily came over today with
more wonderful library books. (Jules)
Not sure I like the idea of a giant rabbit hopping around the
neighborhood. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to you, our readers.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway


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