Jazz Jennings

[[File:Jazz Jennings 2016.jpg|right|thumb|165px|Jazz Jennings at the NYC Pride Parade in 2016]]
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'''Jazz Jennings''' {{lived|October 6th, 2000}} is an American [[YouTube]]r, and [[transgender]] activist from South Florida. She is a [[pansexuality|pansexual]] woman, and has been making videos from as early as 2009. She has been known for being one of the youngest documented cases of being transgender. Her YouTube channel has about 537,000 subscribers as of September 2018.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/user/jazzmergirl/about Jazz Jennings]</ref>

She has appeared in multiple media outlets including ABC News,<ref>[https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/tlcs-jazz-jennings-speaks-derick-dillards-transgender-comments/story?id=49034486 TLC's Jazz Jennings speaks out following Derick Dillard's transgender comments]</ref> Mashable,<ref>[https://mashable.com/2016/09/19/lgbtq-media-social-good-summit-2016/ How activists like Jazz Jennings, Ingrid Nilsen see LGBTQ media representation]</ref> ''Cosmopolitan'',<ref>[https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/tv/a40068/jazz-jennings-internets-most-fascinating Jazz Jennings: The Transgender Teen and Wannabe Mermaid the Internet Needs]/</ref> and ''Glamour''.<ref>[https://www.glamour.com/story/jazz-jennings-penned-a-powerful-letter-to-her-5-year-old-self Jazz Jennings Writes Powerful Letter to Her 5-Year-Old Self and Other Trans Youth]</ref>

==Trans activism==
Jazz has been involved in trans activism since age 6 when she went on ABC News to share her story of being a transgender girl and it made big waves in American culture when it came to [[LGBT]]+ visibility. She also wrote a children's book, which her mom Jeanette helped create, which sparked controversy among conservative parents. During middle school, Jazz was once banned from playing girls soccer due to her being assigned male at birth, despite the fact that she started her medical transition at age 11. Eventually, her parents got the ban rescinded through effective lobbying efforts with an LGBT+ advocacy organization. Jazz has effectively utilized media to promote LGBT equality through social media, and television through guest appearances and her own reality TV show titled ''I Am Jazz''.<ref>{{wpa|I Am Jazz}}</ref>

==New age spirituality and Judaism==
Throughout her TV show, Jazz has discussed her spiritual beliefs. In one episode, Jazz sees a [[hypnotherapist]] that tries to induce hypnosis to a "[[Hypnosis#Past life regression therapy|past life]]" and has said that she believes in past life regression, even though there has been no evidence to prove that past life regression is actually effective. In addition, in an episode of her reality TV show Jazz seeks a [[psychic]] [[fortune-telling| fortune teller]] to tell her that she will one day have gender confirmation surgery, and Jazz believes it even though many people have heard of her. Jazz has also said in a video that was taken down that she believes in psychics even though she claims that she "is a [[Skepticism|skeptic]] and that there are a lot of fakes out there".

In terms of familial upbringing, Jazz is [[Judaism|Jewish]] since her mom Jeanette has said that the family's actual last name is a "very Jewish, long last name". Despite having Jewish heritage, she doesn't seem to talk about it that much on her TV show or on her YouTube channel. It might be because she may not be a religious Jew, or it might be the fact that she doesn't want to alienate LGBT people who had a negative experience with religion, or perhaps she just prefers to remain private about her religious beliefs. In a recent video she made in sponsorship with Womaze, Jazz talks more about her spiritual beliefs. When it comes to the meaning of life, she makes the claim that our purpose is to "enjoy all that is around us". In addition she believes in the concept of "Heaven on Earth", that humans are [[Dualism|"non-physical beings" living in "physical bodies"]].

==External links==
*[https://www.youtube.com/user/jazzmergirl/ Jazz Jennings's YouTube channel]

==References==
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[[Category:Authors]]
[[Category:Florida]]
[[Category:Jews]]
[[Category:LGBTQ people]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:YouTube]]

Categories: Authors, Florida, Jews, LGBTQ people, Living people, YouTube