Meet the 14-year-old changing the world for transgender youth

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10 Things You Need to Know About Transgender People
10 Things You Need to Know About Transgender People


Meet Jazz Jennings, the inspiring 14-year-old who stars in TLC's newest docu-series "I am Jazz."

This Youtube and TV star is changing the world for transgender children everywhere. When Jennings was just 3-years-old, she began to experience what is known as "gender dysphoria."

%shareLinks-quote="The condition of feeling one's emotional and psychological identity as male or female to be opposite to one's biological sex." type="definition" word="Gender Dysphoria" partofspeech="Noun" category="Medical Term"%

Jennings and her mother Jeannette both stress the importance of parental acceptance early on, at the beginning stages of their child's gender dysphoria. If the parent does not recognize and accept their child, the result could be tragic.​

%shareLinks-quote="The doctor spoke to my parents and I heard the word 'transgender' for the very first time. hat night at bedtime, my parents both hugged and said, 'We understand now. Be who you are. We love you no matter what'...This made me smile and smile." type="quote" author="Jazz Jennings" authordesc="I Am Jazz" isquoteoftheday="false"%

In fact, a study conducted by the National Center for Transgender Equality showed that, "41 percent of transgender and gender non-conforming people had attempted suicide, compared to a national average of just 4.6 percent."

Jennings and transgender advocates across the nation want to change these statistics.

"I am Jazz" premiered July 15 on TLC to astonishing success. This 11-part series is just another way to further integrate and normalize transgenders into our daily lives. Hopefully children and teens experiencing gender dysphoria will hear Jennings' story and talk to someone.

Jennings is especially active on social media as both an advocate and just your average teen:



More transgender activists that will give you inspiration:



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