First Transgender Doll Based On Jazz Jennings To Be Released

The first transgender doll will be available in toy stores within weeks and is based on the likeness of the one of the world's youngest and most famous transgender people, Jazz Jennings.

Jennings, an LGBTQ activist, and star of TLC reality show I Am Jazz said she was excited to have a doll modeled on her. "Ever since I was little, I always loved playing with dolls," she said. "It was a great way to show my parents that I was a girl because I could just express myself as I am. So this really resonates with me, because it was something so pivotal in my own journey."

The doll will come with a pink shirt and jean shorts, mirroring the outfit that Jazz wears on the cover of her memoir, Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen and will cost $89.99. Robert Tonner, who sculpted the doll, says he hopes it will be picked up by "big-box toy stores" despite the expected pushback from conservative audiences. "I don't even know if the word 'transgender' will be on the package," Tonner said. 

Let’s take a look at Jazz’s journey from a child, who was certain she was born with the wrong genitalia, to a reality star, to an LGBTQ advocate with her own doll. And you wouldn’t believe how inspirational she’s been along the way. 

When did she first know? "I get asked a lot of questions about my life, and that’s the one that comes up the most," she said. "The answer is easy. Ever since I could form coherent thoughts, I knew I was a girl trapped inside a boy’s body." 

"There was never any confusion in my mind. The confusing part was why no one else could see what was wrong," she said. 

"When my mom, Jeanette, got pregnant with me, she was convinced she was going to have a girl," said Jazz

“Like any kid, I took a lot of baths with my brothers and sister, and I’d compare my genitals to theirs," she said. "My little penis felt so wrong on me. I wished I could take the sponge and wipe it off."

"It definitely bothered me, but I remember feeling frustrated and confused more than anything else," she said. "It was a strange growth hanging off me that didn’t look at all like it belonged there."

Jazz says the pivotal moment for her was going to a child psychologist.

“My parents were cool about it but drew the line at going out in public dressed in girls' stuff," she said. "Mom would put me in shorts styled for boys, and I’d scream and cry as she dragged me to the car.”

Jazz was taken to a child psychologist who pulled out two stuffed dolls — one was a boy and the other — a girl. “She asked what I had between my legs, and I pointed to the penis,” said Jazz. “She then asked what I wanted, and I pointed to the vagina.”

Barbara Walters interviewed Jazz on the ABC News program 20/20 in 2007. She was six at the time. It made Jazz a star and raised much-needed awareness to transgender children and teens. 

Jazz has written two books - a children’s book and a memoir. She is also the star of I Am Jazz, a reality show on TLC. And she has a massive YouTube following where she posts her speeches, DIY craft tutorials, and musings about being a transgender youth.

Jazz is looking for a boyfriend and to fall in love. 

Posting a photo of the doll on her Instagram page, Jazz wrote: "For those asking: The doll is considered to be the first 'transgender' doll because it's based on an individual who is trans. Of course, it is still just a regular girl doll because that's exactly what I am: a regular girl!"

Jazz was upset with President Donald Trump’s decision to revoke federal transgender bathroom guidelines. "I know that growing up, I had it really hard because I wasn't allowed to use the girls' restroom,” she said. "I faced discrimination at such an early age, and I didn't understand why I was being treated differently.”

"I know times are hard for our community, but if we just stay united, then we will one day achieve the equality that we deserve," she said. 

Jazz hasn’t yet had a boyfriend and wants to fall in love. “But boys are less accepting than girls,’ she said. "They think that if they date a person like me they’ll be called gay.”

Share with someone who will be inspired by Jazz's journey.