Jazz Jennings ‘proud’ to show off gender confirmation surgery scars
Transgender activist and reality star Jazz Jennings says she is “proud” to show off scars from her 2018 gender confirmation surgery and post-procedure complications.
In an Instagram post on New Year’s Eve, the 19-year-old posed for two photos wearing a deep crimson one-piece bathing suit that revealed wide scars on her upper thighs, which she calls “my battle wounds because they signify the strength and perseverance it took to finally complete my transition,” without providing more details, though one of her doctors has said she needed more skin grafts. In October 2018, she told ABC News that while her “life wasn’t in danger,” the complication was an “unfortunate” setback and “was just all part of the journey. The good thing though is that it was only cosmetic and external so it wasn’t too dramatic.”
Jazz, who since 2015 has chronicled her transition in the TLC series “I Am Jazz,” previously posted that 2018 was a “rough year” for her because of “a major complication with my gender confirmation surgery.”
Jazz’s mother, Jeanette, responded to her most recent post with praise in the comments. “My sweet girl, you are the strongest and bravest of all the souls I’ve even known and I’m blessed to be your mom,” she wrote.
“Your scars are just as beautiful as you the rest of you. I love you with all that I am. You make me proud everyday,” she continued, adding three hearts to the end of her words. The younger Jennings’ big brother, Sander, also sent love, saying, “Thank you for continuing to inspire me!” and “You’re the strongest person I know.”
And Peppermint, who in 2018 was the first transgender person to originate a starring Broadway role in the Go-Go’s musical “Head Over Heels,” saluted Jazz in the comments, saying, “Work beauty! Body!”
When Jazz went through her initial surgery, doctors had to use a new technique because she started using hormones at such a young age, so she hadn’t developed enough tissue to construct a vagina.
“They’re using the tissue I have, the peritoneum, and also, they may take a skin graft as well. I say it’s going to be like a patchwork vagina, Franken-vagina,” she told ABC News. “So yeah, as long as it’s functional, that’s all that matters.”
She added that she wanted “to look somewhat pretty, just ’cause it’s my body.”
Jazz was assigned a male gender at birth but felt she was a girl at age 2 and was diagnosed with gender dysphoria at 5. With her parents’ approval, she started using hormone blockers when she was 11, according to ABC News, and started taking estrogen when she was in high school.
“I have no regrets because it allowed me to prevent myself from going through male puberty,” Jazz said of taking the female hormone. “I feel like that’s why my dysphoria hasn’t been so bad is because I look in the mirror, and I see the girl that I am on the inside. But not every transgender person has the opportunity to do that.”
In an episode of “I Am Jazz” early last year, she thanked her family for their lifelong support.
“Having my whole family with me throughout this entire journey has been so important,” she said. “From the beginning, they have just provided me with unconditional love and support, and the fact that they’re here on this day just signifies that we’ve come so, so far since the beginning of this journey. This is really the final step, this is the final transition, and I’m so glad that I have them by my side.”
Jazz, who has since published a memoir, “Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen,” had planned to start studying at Harvard last fall but announced in October that she put those plans on hold to “take a break” and focus on “self-care and getting prepared to start this exciting next chapter in my life.”