how many would of liked to start off life with the opportunity like Jazz

[stephaniec]

I keep looking at Jazz the teen trans. She's really adorable. She's got such a great opportunity in life. She will be followed as she grows. Personally when I was that old I was way too shy maybe because of what I was hiding I don't know. I think though what is so appealing to me is the fact she's able to transition at the right time. She was able to do what I fantasize I could of done. Good for her , but I'm so jealous not for her career , but for her transition at so young of age.

[Zoetrope]

I would not have been mentally prepared for it when I was a teenager, nor would I have appreciated the psychological journey like I have now ...

So for me it's hypothetical. I'm not interested in measuring my success against others.

[Rejennyrated]

I did! 

Went a bit awry in my teens thanks to no blockers in those days - so had a period of forced reversion until I could be treated as an adult - but still I do genuinely think it helped me.

[stephaniec]

It's just one of the things I deal with on a daily bases. Nothing can be done for me to correct it , I just enjoy the present , but I do cry inside how wrong I lived when I was young. I accept my past I just think how beautiful it would of been to be me both inward and outward. We move on and make the best of what we have though..

[CollieLass]

I did! 

Me too!!! 

[herekitten]

I did and so did one of my best friends.  And another mutual friend. It's rare, but not that rare from my perspective. There were little blurps of silly boy things (for me it was third grade UGH!, and for her it was her graduation pic - haha we laugh), but it did not scar us. We're all fine and doing good. Back in those days -- you know the days -- when you walked a mile to school in the snow, uphill both ways --  there were no hormone blockers that I know of.  The Doctor just gave you a lot of estrogen (oral and injected) to suppress the testosterone.  Growing up, some people knew and most did not. I thank God for watching over us -- it could have been a different existence.

[.Christy]

Not at that young of an age tbh. When i was around her age i was busy with recess and having fun in elementary school!! There would be no way i would be able to wrap my head around the complex continuum of gender, much less trying to convince and educate my parents. Im kind of a late bloomer and i dont really fit the typical trans narrative, but if i had the opportunity i would have liked to transition back when i was 17. However im getting good results with hrt at 22 so im not regretting it at all. 

[iKate]

I mean Jazz is cool and all and I am very happy for her but I would have rather been born cis.

I would have liked to go through a cisgender girlhood, including natural female puberty and first period. I mean, who doesn't? I would have liked to go to an all girls school (instead of an all boys one) and wear a girl's school uniform. Even take home ec and play netball.

But I think that given the opportunity as she was I would have taken it in a heartbeat. There were so many things I did in secret as a child, I was literally dying. The way Jowelle was treated by people when she first came out at 17 I don't think I could have handled that. But today I think I would have fared much better. My mom even said that she would have helped me if she was closer to me and I had come out to her when I was a teen.

But as for the publicity and media attention, no thanks.

[stephaniec]

the media thing I really doubt I could handle because I was so shy although now it would be fun

[Lady_Oracle]

yes definitely, my parents would of dropped everything and gotten me the help I needed asap. I was just too afraid to say anything growing up.

[runaway]

My mother blames herself somewhat for failing to notice my gender issues in childhood, and I believe she would have tried to help me then. The caveat is that I think her idea of help would have been learning to "accept" it without medical intervention, because HRT is "unnatural".

I was also in denial about it, and I only stopped doing that when I'd tried everything to "fix" myself without success, so I kinda had to walk my path to get to where I am. I may not have repressed it as deeply and dealt with it sooner, had I not grown up in a more accepting and open environment, but such is life.

It's a nice hypothetical situation to fantasize about as Zoetrope said, but it's unrealistic to compare our paths with those of others. Dwelling on the what-ifs only leads to bitterness, and I need all the positivity I can get now.

p.s. Christy, you look a lot like this Hong Kong actress, Christy Chung! I just noticed, and had to mention it. I had a preadolescent/teenage crush on her years ago, and she still looks just as pretty as she did then.



Sorry for the off-topic post-script!

[Northern Jane]

The very concept of having any kind of support is beyond my comprehension! In the 1950s and 60s I had to fight every step of the way against ignorance and prejudice. Through shy and compliant by nature, I had to learn to stand up for myself, to speak out, and to not take "no" for an answer - and that didn't come until puberty when I became desperate to be heard! It was a DAMNED tough road back then!

When I see someone like Jazz getting the support they need, I take some solace in the fact that it was the transsexuals of my generation (those that survived and those that didn't) who broke down the barriers and spread awareness of a problem that needed to be addressed. I only hope that we continue to progress to the point where transsexualism is recognized as a valid medical condition and children can be supported and treated from the beginning.

[JynxRosalie]

I would have been much happier if I could have started to work on my gender issues and possible transition as a teen. As it stands, I'm just glad I've picked up on them at the age of 22, seems like there's a window of time for me to work things out while I can still consider myself young.

[Wild Flower]

I had to google her because I didn't know who she was......

Yes, I would wanted to be in her shoes to transition at a young age. At that age, I was focus on playing video games (as a girl character), trying my best to make it through school years, not really seeing the testosterone damage that was happening because I wasn't worried about it until I hit 16 years old. Didn't realize it. I didn't know better, I was innocent pretty much. Oh, I did get to be a girl for Halloween once.

I was doing all the typical transgender acts as a child/early teen though. I remember shaving my arm hair at 8, plucking my eyebrows around the same time, wigs/make-up in privacy, girly shows, girl toys... until I got a computer, and it kind of became my sanctuary.

Now---- does it make a big difference?

Yes, about $100,000 difference and a decade of my life (of my youth). If I had that much money, I could surely pass. I wouldn't had done a lot of stupid decisions in my life either... Not that I saved up that much money yet, or could even afford to fix myself and all that... but it's going to be an eventual cost. Joining the military, for college/change my life, yes turn to be the biggest mistake of my life thus far.... trying to please my family, always trying to make them happy, if I died today, I lived a false life in the vanity for my family. About 5% happy. The rest just escapism and misery.

And I got no supporters in life, except on this forum, I'm in the living dead-twilight zone-just living to live. I don't feel suicide because I don't believe in an after life.... so this is all that I have.

[Jill F]

Katie, if you have a problem with people like Jazz, don't even think of bringing it here.  This is the last warning you get.

[Dena]

Even when I had my surgery at age 30 you couldn't receive hormones until you reached 18. By the time I was 18 male had set in big time with a low voice and while tall, I hadn't hit my full hight yet. Blockers didn't exist for many years to come so to be Jazz would have been impossible for me even if my parents had the money for treatment and could have understood the concept of transsexualism. Many nights I laid awake wishing for an opportunity like jazz had only to wake up the next morning in the same male grind.

However, things have changed. All the adversity has shaped me into a far different person that I would have been if I were Jazz and I know that. Because of that, I am now glad I didn't have Jazz's life because my life is now so much fuller than it would have been had I taken the other path.

[Mariah]

 
Ok folks. Trans-phobic comments are against TOS 5 and 10 and will not be tollerated.
Mariah

5. The posting of messages on the chat or forums which are of a threatening tone; intended solely to communicate sarcasm, contempt, or derision; are intended to belittle or ridicule a person or group; to disgust the viewer; contain obscene or pornographic materials; which are intended to titillate; or which depicts/promotes illegal acts; will not be permitted.

10. Bashing or flaming of an individual or group is not acceptable behavior on this website and will not be tolerated in the slightest for any reason.  This includes but is not limited to:

• Advocating the separation or exclusion of one or more group from under the Transgender umbrella term
• Suggesting or claiming that one segment or sub-segment of our community is more or less legitimate, deserving, or real than any others
• Posting any messages that engages in personal attacks and/or is actively or passively aggressive no matter the provocation.

[Ms Grace]

I have no idea who this person is. Regardless, if I had the "opportunity" to start my trans life as a teen in the late 1970s I expect I would have had terrible medical care, been given the worst synthetic horse urine estro pills/injections on the market and received pretty much zero psych or emotional support. That is what the world was like then in my neck of the woods - and on top of that I probably would have been teased and bashed, Sydney wasn't very friendly towards gay people let alone trans people at that time. So yeah, in a fantasy land sure I would have liked to have started my transition as a 12 year old, I didn't, I couldn't, so why bother worrying about it. Good luck to Jazz and any other child or teen who is able to find the support and acceptance and treatment to transition early, doesn't make their journey any more or less valid than ours.

[RaptorChops]

I just want the money TLC pays her and the family :p

[Zoetrope]

I must say that over the past 13 months or so, one of the things that has surprised me most is to find out that trans-phobic transsexuals actually exist.