Meet Jazz, An Impressive 11-Year Old Transgender Girl

Tonight a new documentary premieres on Oprah Winfrey’s struggling network, OWN, that actually looks like it might be good. It’s called I Am Jazz: A Family in Transition, and it tells the story of Jazz, an 11-year-old transgender girl. Jazz, seen above meeting her idol Chaz Bono, is wonderfully confident and simply tells people she has “a girl brain and a boy body.”

She started living as a girl when she was just a toddler, and her family has been very supportive in helping her make the transition. She’s gotten a fair amount of press in the past, and is far more poised than most girls her age. In a recent interview, the Advocate asked Jazz if she was excited about her show, and she had this to say:

I’m definitely excited to share my story, because I want to help other transgender people be true to themselves. A lot of transgender kids don’t have the support of a family like I do, and I just wanted to share that it’s OK to step out of their shadows and tell their parents how they really feel inside. So, I’m happy to tell other kids about my life and tell them that you can still be loved if you are transgender, and love yourself, too.

While Jazz is happy with who she is and has found plenty of acceptance and love, she still faces many challenges ahead. Foremost among them is the changes puberty will bring to her body:

One of my biggest fears right now, is facing puberty. Ever since I was younger I had nightmares about growing facial hair and having hair all over my body. Now that the time has come where this situation might occur, I’m getting nervous and desperate to take hormones to prevent puberty from happening.

The documentary will cover the family’s struggles with puberty and all the other issues Jazz has faced, but something tells me one hour won’t be enough. We’ll no doubt see more of Jazz again soon.