
Jazz Jennings’ Mom Remembers ‘Placing Out Fires’ and Encouraging Her Daughter to ‘Be You’ Since Pre-Okay
Jazz Jennings can continually count on her mom.
In PEOPLE’s outlandish sneak request at Tuesday’s episode of I Am Jazz, Jazz’s mother Jeanette opens up about taking a stand for her daughter from a younger age and turning into an point out for the transgender community.
“There’s going to be a board meeting this day to make a determination whether gender asserting care might per chance per chance be allowed within the command of Florida,” Jeanette shares. “And they need somebody to talk on behalf of the kids and toughen hormone blockers and I am that particular person.”
Kristina Bumphrey/StarPix/Shutterstock
Jeanette then gets emotional about advocating for Jazz, now 22, when she modified into a toddler.
“With Jazz, when she modified into runt or, you know, a minor, I modified into continually placing out fires earlier than she purchased burned,” she recalls. “I walked her into pre-college, each person modified into whispering and pointing fingers and factual looking down upon us.”
She continues, “I held my hand high and held my kid’s hand and I acknowledged, ‘We’re going to head in there and manufacture not care what the diversified children reflect and it is miles not always considerable what the of us reflect. You are special. You are queer. You are you and I am so at ease with you and I am so proud to be your mom,’ and I am asserting this to a 4-year-frail.”
She explains, “I had to converse this to her due to the she modified into upset that the diversified children be pleased been making fun of her for acting girly and I had to point out her, ‘It be OK, you be you. You attain you and we’re right here for you. We love you it is miles not always considerable what.'”
TLC
Jazz’s father Greg additionally shows his toughen for his partner and daughter, sharing, “Jeanette is a large point out and, you know, we’re at ease with her for doing that. I’m in a position to’t continually be where she is however I am there in spirit. I reflect that is correct for the total family. On every occasion anybody of us are, whether we’re collectively or even handed one of us is there, we’re all on the identical net page fighting for the identical motive.”
The clip additionally shows Jeanette on the TransAction | Equality Florida rally, where she tells the crowd about how she supported Jazz in receiving gender-asserting care.
“We be pleased been told my clinical professionals that 40 to 50 percent of children esteem Jazz would strive suicide without their gender-asserting care,” she says. “Jazz herself has told us if she modified into compelled to fight by plan of male puberty, she would be pleased taken her life. As a younger child, she would be pleased nightmares about having facial hair.”
“After intensive guidance from clinical professionals, we promised we would attain the total lot in our vitality to make certain that Jazz would be in a jam to live as a girl,” she provides. “And she’s fulfilling her dreams of altering the enviornment on her grasp phrases, as a pupil at Harvard College. I such as you, runt one.”
TLC
In a confessional, Jazz shares that she is grateful for her mother’s toughen.
“I would not be the particular person I am this day if it weren’t for my mom,” she says. “She spreads so mighty unconditional wish to each person, and it be not factual her family — esteem, she is an point out, a vital force for the community. I am beyond blessed to be pleased my mom, and I am factual so, so at ease with her.”
By no technique scoot away out a sage — register for PEOPLE’s free day-to-day e-newsletter to not sleep-to-date on the correct of what PEOPLE has to provide, from juicy superstar news to forcing human hobby tales.
I Am Jazz airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET on TLC.