Jazz Jennings Is "Doing Great" After Gender Confirmation Surgery

17-year-old star of TLC's I Am Jazz, who was born male, underwent a procedure that would give her female genitalia

By Corinne Heller Jun 29, 2018 4:46 PMTags

Transgender TLC star and LGBTQ rights activist Jazz Jennings, 17, finally underwent the gender confirmation surgery she has wanted for years and says she is "doing great."

Jazz, one of the most famous and youngest transgender celebs in the world, has documented her life and transition on her show I Am Jazz. She was born male and identified as female from an early age.

"I'm doing great, thanks for all of the love and support," she wrote on Instagram on Thursday, alongside a photo of her smiling while lying on a hospital bed, her hair styled in a braid.

Jazz has for years taken different medications to suppress the production of male sex hormones in her body while also adding female sex hormones, which have helped her develop breasts. She has long wanted to undergo gender confirmation surgery, or bottom surgery. In a YouTube video posted on June 1, Jazz said she was set to undergo the procedure on June 26 and that she was "so looking forward" to it.

"It's crazy to me. I'm going to have new genitalia," she said. "Like, penis to vagina. That's some serious s--t, y'all. I am just...I can't believe it. I'm going to have a vagina."

Instagram

Years ago, Jazz was fitted with a puberty blocker, an implant with hormone suppressor medication. In 2017, she revealed that the medication suppressed the growth of her genitalia because it was given so early and that doctors were concerned that they would not have enough tissue for them work with for the gender confirmation surgery. In the YouTube video, she said doctors decided they could overcome the hurdle by extracting part of the lining of her peritoneum, which is regenerative and is located in the abdominal cavity, via laparoscopic surgery and using it to help graft a vaginal canal.

The procedure is relatively new, having been used for less than a decade for both gender confirmation surgeries for transgender patients and other vaginoplasty operations.

Jazz said the "only bad thing" about getting the surgery was that she would not be able to pee standing up anymore.

"Peeing standing up is something really cool and I don't think I appreciated it enough that I've been able to pee standing up and now I'm not gonna be able to pee standing up. Sorry if that's TMI, but like, honestly, when you wake up in the morning and you're lazy as hell and tired, it's the most convenient thing to do."

Jazz also expressed excitement about being able to wear leggings and different pants.

"Sweatpants I couldn't really wear because I hated tucking and I would never do that," she said. "I like comfort, so I wear dresses with shorts underneath and whatnot."

Jazz said she has thought about gender confirmation surgery her entire life.

"Even at like, age 3 years old, I knew that...like, my therapist put up two dolls. It was a doll of a boy with a penis and a doll of a girl with a vagina and she's like, 'Which one do you have now?' and I pointed to the penis. She's like, 'Which one do you want now?' Guess where I pointed to. Vagina! And guess what. Now I'm getting a vagina!"