TV's New Transgender Sensation is 11-Years-Old

Oprah's TV network, OWN, is premiering two new documentary specials on Sunday: Being Chaz (the follow up to Chaz Bono's award winning, Becoming Chaz, from last year) and I Am Jazz: A Family in Transition. The latter, stars Jazz, an 11-year-old transgender girl, her three siblings, friends and parents, as they navigate the world with a gender-variant kid and grapple with the possibility of hormone blocking therapy as she reaches puberty. Director Jen Stocks' doc is an engaging, heartwarming, and moving look at a trans kid. With her parent's support, Jazz has been living as a girl since she was a toddler. We caught up with her to find out about making the doc, meeting Bono, and life in middle school.

The Advocate: I love all your YouTube clips. How long have you been dancing and singing?
Jazz: Thank you. I've been singing, dancing and acting my entire life. Ever since I was about 2-years-old I would put on tutus and dance and sing around my house.

Are the other dancers in your class OK with you being transgender?
All my friends from my acting, singing, and dancing class are very accepting and understand my situation. If you watch the documentary you will see how we all enjoy what we do and hang out with each other.

You’ve said you tell people that you have a girl brain and a boy body. How do other kids react to you when you tell them that?
Most of my friends tell me that I'm the same person inside and they tell me that they still love me and are still my best friends.

When did you first realize you were a girl?
Ever since I was able to express myself, I always referred to myself as a girl. I went for the Barbies and the dresses and would avoid the boy toys. When I was 2, my mom would say, "Good boy" and I would say, "No, mommy. Good girl."

Tell me about your siblings. How helpful have your brothers and sister been?
First, I have twin brothers, Sander and Griffen, who are 13. Then, I have a sister named Ari who is almost 16. They are very supportive and protective of me. Every time somebody is whispering bad things about me, and the word gets to them, they will defend me. They go up to the person and tell them they shouldn't being saying bad things about their sister.