Transgender at 11

Part two of our series surrounding Jazz, a young transgender girl who has know her gender identity since she was only a child. How will puberty affect Jazz's quest to live as a girl?

Like many teenage girls her age, Jazz Jennings spent time at the beach this summer and loves playing soccer with her friends, but she’s about to face a new challenge when she starts high school in the fall. “I’m a little bit worried because I’m not sure if people are going to be fully accepting,” she said. “I’ve noticed that boys are less accepting than girls.”Jazz is transgender, and at just 14 years old, she is staving off puberty and medically transitioning her body to female, the gender she identifies as, by taking estrogen and puberty blockers.

The LGBTQ community is becoming a more vocal minority, looking for equal treatment on issues from marriage equality to anti-discrimination in the workplace. Watch stories about how the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer population aims to address stigma, discrimination and prejudice. See stories of hate crimes, health disparities, and violence against their marginalized groups. Turn to ABC News for the latest gay news, breaking stories on transgenders, and discussions on gender dysphoria. Join the discussion and find more about issues of sexual orientation, gender inequality and gender identity. Stay up to date with these videos and view all photos and more with with ABC News.

[chaosysbitch]

Her at 11: *mature*
Me at 16: *pretend I'm a vampire with my french fries*

[dottiedottiedot]

her at 11: _mature af_


me at 16: *do deaf hear their thoughts?*

[hookemhorns]

Trans at 11?
Me same age: still pretends I’m freaking Indiana jones with my belt.

[BUISCH_]

me at 11 was me investigating trying to be an investigator figuring out how animals died in the forest in my backyard like deer and foxes figuring out how they got killed. i miss those days. now i’m a detective. not an investigator but i think i got what i wanted and i’m grateful

[lizaomeagher]

She's really open to her parents, I'm not 😂

[jnvoisn]

Her at 11: *super mature*


Me at 19: *closing the fridge door slowly to check when the light turns off*

[ialamm]

If someone is not old enough to decide their bedtime, how can you let them decide their gender???

[leilam]

watched this video when it first came out, i was about the same age, coming back in 2024 surprised to see the comments aren’t off 😭✋🏽

[kinglife]

Boy: Dad I have a girlfriend
Dad: ok cool

Girl: Dad I have a boyfriend
Dad: loads shotgun where is he

[oliviajakepaultookurplacec]

I'm 13 right now

If my parents found out I was texting and crushing on boys at 11

I would have not been alive to comment this

[zan.]

Bro I DIDNT EVEN KNOW THAT GAY IS A WORD UNTIL I WAS 13

[cyka]

Okay, so she’s transgender at 11… But what they didn’t talk about was that video of her from when she was 7 years old! I’m torn, because if she knew she was a girl from that young then it must be true, right? But at the same time, I can’t fathom that a child that young could possibly know enough to be able to determine or decide that on their own. When I was 11 (coincidentally) I wished that I had been born a girl, and this persisted for years. I kept it a secret and never let it show, but eventually I grew out of it. The fact that a large majority of my friends were girls played an important part in it. Today, I know I’m just androgynous, I’m a guy but I also have a lot of feminine qualities. I can’t help but ask the same questions here, what pressures are making her feel this way? What other solutions are there that are safer and less life-changing? Why is it so important to identify as a girl? Can’t you just be a very feminine boy? What do pronouns and a name and labels have to do with how you feel inside? Why are labels so important?
I’m sure there are people who are truly transgender, I just wonder how many of them are just unable to come to terms with the fact that it’s okay to be a mix of both, or even to just be a “girl in a boy’s body”. Being a “girl in a boy’s body” doesn’t mean you’re a girl, it just means you’re a very feminine boy. You can still be a guy who is almost totally feminine, you don’t need to erase that fact by rewriting your whole identity or taking drugs and going through surgeries.
I think part of the problem is that our society has made gender roles so rigid and mutually exclusive. Gender dysphoria is when a person feels shame, anxiety, depression, and confusion because their “gender” doesn’t align with their body. That’s the problem right there. They believe that because their internal gender doesn’t match their external sex, they must have been born into the wrong body. This is the mistake. Gender is seen as so rigid that the possibility that a boy could be 100% feminine but still a male is seen as impossible. What we really need to teach is that everyone is a different mix and that a person’s body has no bearing on their gender. I came to that conclusion years ago and I’ve been happy ever since. For a long time I used to wish and fantasise about an alternate reality in which I’d been born a girl, just so I could fully express myself. But honestly, if I had been born a girl, I’d no doubt be having dreams of being born a boy. I understand not everyone is androgynous, and for some it’s much more binary, but I really believe that gender dysphoria is based on a lie. Because of our rigid view of gender, millions of people, even children, feel as though they’ve been born in the wrong body. The lesson here is that everyone should be able to express themselves and their gender without feeling the need to go through surgery and drug treatments.

[morisilverback]

I wish my parents were that cool with me texting boys but NOPE

[ashleylizeth]

Her: mature





Me: worried about spilling milk out the bowl

[shubhrajit]

I still don't get it... What does it even mean to think like a girl? Like wearing makeup? That's okay for men in South Korea. In Arab men kiss to greet. Some men like to have pony tail, some women may like pixie cut. How can that decide someone's gender?

[borkluchtalarm]

Jeez, she's very mature for her age! I hope she does well and lives a good life!

[bennywall]

I couldn’t even choose the clothes I wanted at age 11

[LiuXingzaiXiaWeiYi]

Her at 11: mature
Me at 14: sticks charger in my nose to get superpowers

[Justplainstrange-xyxj]

Her at 11: fairly mature
Me at 20: Watching the moon follow me when I am in the car

[lol]

bro at 11 years old you shouldnt even know about this kinda stuff. when i was 11 i was playing minecraft with my friends all day 😭😭