One of the enduring challenges we transpeople face is convincing people that we are not seeking to change our bodies for sexual purposes…i.e. that we are not going through our process in the interest of perversion.
There is a significant portion of the population who believe that transpeople are just a bunch of men hellbent on fooling heterosexual men into having homosexual sex and sneaking in to women's washrooms to violate girls.
Of course those viewpoints totally ignore the existence of transgender men (i.e. those born women transitioning to live as men). Imagine the horrifying panic if a couple of dozen transmen walked in to a women's restroom appearing as the men that they are.
And there is another thing. How would the people who view us transwomen in such a bad light care to explain the children who are now being discovered to be transgender as early as two or three years of age. Do people really think those children are making sexual plans bent on perversion at that age? Really?
Personally I find it incredibly difficult to impugn the motives of transkids. Young minds just aren't that sophisticated.
Not that transkids can't be highly intelligent and quite well-spoken. I just fail to locate the amount of guile needed to give any credence to our detractors.
Here's Jazz, as seen recently being interviewed by Barbara Walters:
Unfortunately this video does not work here.
Part 2 of the interview
The Mail Online did a story about the show, including some of the back story.
Jazz at 7:
Jazz has started a foundation to help transkids: TransKids Purple Rainbow Foundation
The foundation also has a Facebook page.
A year ago Jazz also appeared on the Rosie Show.
I'm not big on the "God made a mistake" language. That just gives the fundamentalists more reason to hate is (as if they wouldn't hate us even without a reason). Are we born this way? Possibly. Or maybe something happens between our births and the time we become self-aware.
Is there any functional difference?
I would have done anything to have been able to have had Jazz's childhood, but for most of us, we have to wait. And wait and wait and wait. First until we have the ability to express ourselves...then perhaps until our parents die (like I did)...or until we have established ourselves well enough financially that we can afford to do something.
It is not an easy road. I work so that it might get easier sometime in the future. I'm extremely pleased that Jazz also believes in helping other kids.