Jazz Jennings Quotes

A qui écris-tu? -A toi. En fait, je ne t'écris pas vraiment, j'écris ce que j'ai envie de faire avec toi... Il y avait des feuilles partout. Autour d'elle, à ses pieds, sur le lit. J'en ai pris une au hasard: "...Pique-niquer, faire la sieste au bord d'une rivière, manger des pêches, des crevettes, des croissants, du riz gluant, nager, danser, m'acheter des chaussures, de la lingerie, du parfum, lire le journal, lécher les vitrines, prendre le métro, surveiller l'heure, te pousser quand tu prends toute la place, étendre le linge, aller à l'Opéra, faire des barbecues, râler parce que tu as oublié le charbon, me laver les dents en même temps que toi, t'acheter des caleçons, tondre la pelouse, lire le journal par-dessus ton épaule, t'empêcher de manger trop de cacahuètes, visiter les caves de la Loire, et celles de la Hunter Valley, faire l'idiote, jacasser, cueillir des mûres, cuisiner, jardiner, te réveiller encore parce que tu ronfles, aller au zoo, aux puces, à Paris, à Londres, te chanter des chansons, arrêter de fumer, te demander de me couper les ongles, acheter de la vaisselle, des bêtises, des choses qui ne servent à rien, manger des glaces, regarder les gens, te battre aux échecs, écouter du jazz, du reggae, danser le mambo et le cha-cha-cha, m'ennuyer, faire des caprices, bouder, rire, t'entortiller autour de mon petit doigt, chercher une maison avec vue sur les vaches, remplir d'indécents Caddie, repeindre un plafond, coudre des rideaux, rester des heures à table à discuter avec des gens intéressants, te tenir par la barbichette, te couper les cheveux, enlever les mauvaises herbes, laver la voiture, voir la mer, t'appeler encore, te dire des mots crus, apprendre à tricoter, te tricoter une écharpe, défaire cette horreur, recueillir des chats, des chiens, des perroquets, des éléphants, louer des bicyclettes, ne pas s'en servir, rester dans un hamac, boire des margaritas à l'ombre, tricher, apprendre à me servir d'un fer à repasser, jeter le fer à repasser par la fenêtre, chanter sous la pluie, fuire les touristes, m'enivrer, te dire toute la vérité, me souvenir que toute vérité n'est pas bonne à dire, t'écouter, te donner la main, récupérer mon fer à repasser, écouter les paroles des chansons, mettre le réveil, oublier nos valises, m'arrêter de courir, descendre les poubelles, te demander si tu m'aimes toujours, discuter avec la voisine, te raconter mon enfance, faire des mouillettes, des étiquettes pour les pots de confiture..." Et ça continuais comme ça pendant des pages et des pages...

I never would have been able to tell!” I was finally able to put my finger on it, and it’s something that anyone who is meeting a transgender person for the first time should keep in mind. Saying you “never would have known” is actually very rude. Being surprised that a person looks like the gender they are just reinforces a stereotype that transgender people aren’t usually attractive or able to pass, and worse, the stereotype that physical appearances even matter. A person’s true essence comes from within! I

Aranu’tiq” is a word that comes from an indigenous population in Alaska. It describes a person who embodies both a male and a female spirit, and Aranu’tiq people are considered very special because it means they can see beyond a lot of the normal boundaries of the world and view things in all sorts of different ways. “Two-Spirit” is a similar Native American term. Mom

The homicide rate for transgender women in America hit a historic high in 2015, according to the Human Rights Campaign, even with all the current support and visibility. Almost all of them were women of color, and the number killed was twenty-one as of November 2015—that’s basically two people a month, and the real number is likely to be even higher due to unreported cases. Worldwide it’s much worse: Between 2008 and 2014, there were 1,731 reported murders. That’s really terrifying, and a huge reason why I continue to be a public advocate and keep speaking out. Change happens through understanding, and one of my biggest hopes is that our next generation of kids will grow up in a world with more compassion.

I knew that getting angry was better than becoming depressed.

No one really knows why people are born transgender, but there are a few medical theories. The most talked-about one is that a hormonal imbalance during pregnancy might cause it. Some doctors believe it might be a brain structure thing. It’s even possible that it’s genetic. No one knows for sure, but whatever the reason, it’s real and no one’s fault.

When did you know? I get asked a lot of questions about my life and that’s the one that comes up the most. 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.

No matter how hard I thought, my parents weren’t ready for me to socially transition in public yet. It was infuriating to me at the time, but I can appreciate now what they were going through. There wasn’t any sort of transgender visibility back then. They were on a road with no map and terrified not just of screwing me up, but of putting me in danger in a world where people wouldn’t understand me.

I repeated the facts over and over to an empty hallway of sleeping hotel guests, singing them like they were the lyrics of a new Justin Bieber song. Jessica, thirty-two, studied business, likes jazz. (Jen certainly does not.) Jessica is in a long-term, long-distance relationship with a guy she met at Rutgers. Rose introduced them, and now they’re about to get engaged. (Jen is certainly not even close to getting engaged.)

Someone asked: If we were handed a magic wand and told we could suddenly not be transgender, and instead be placed directly into the body we desired, would we do it? The first guy on the panel, whose name was Adam, said yes, because he was a singer and had made the decision not to take testosterone because it would likely deepen his voice. The second person on the panel also said yes, because she wanted to have a baby someday but wouldn’t be able to because she wasn’t born with a uterus. I’d love to have a baby of my own someday, too, and the audience member’s question made me think of that old dream I’d had with the Good Fairy and her magic wand. But my life had changed so much since then, and all for the better. Before I knew what was happening, I started to tear up right there in front of the whole roomful of people. “I’d break the wand in half,” I said. “I’m proud of who I am.

Four-note chromatic enclosures We can take this idea a step further with four-note enclosures.

No matter what path I choose, I do know one thing. I will never stop fighting for transgender rights.