18-year-old transgender reality star shares the lessons of her journey
“I'm not trying to make money, be famous, none of that... It's all about reaching other people with my story,” said Jazz Jennings, the star of reality television show “I Am Jazz.”
Jennings doesn’t view herself as a business — despite having a show, a book deal, and high profile endorsements, including being the first transgender model for Hollister.
“Any time I do some sort of ad-campaign or endorsement, it's solely… to increase trans-visibility and representation,” she said.
The 18-year-old Jennings recently published a memoir chronicling her life up to 2018. She writes about being an outspoken activist for the LGBTQIA+ community, and refuses to shy away from sharing even the most personal aspects of her life.
A 2018 Report from the Human Rights Campaign that surveyed 12,000 13-17 year-olds found that 70% of trans youth have been bullied at school because of their sexual orientation. The same data showed that 48% of LGBTQ youth out to their parents were made to feel negatively for being LGBTQIA+.
“Along my journey, I would definitely say the hardest thing for me to share was [my] gender confirmation surgery.” Jennings tells Yahoo Finance. “However, I think that education is important, and people have these questions.”
Her message to individuals in the LGBTQIA+ community? “Stay true to who you are no matter what. Have hope that the world will become a better place and always see the light in you and everyone around you.”
WATCH MORE: Parent's magazine editor reminds parents there's no one way to parent
Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, LinkedIn, YouTube, and reddit.
