‘I Am Jazz’: Jazz Jennings Asks For ‘Respect’ Amid Medical Journey

“I Am Jazz” star Jazz Jennings just took to social media to ask for “respect” following the latest episode of her TLC reality series. The 17-year-old also maintained that she’s chronicling her medical journey on her show to educate other people about her condition.

In “I Am Jazz” Season 4, episode 3 viewers saw Jazz and mother Jeanette getting involved in a debate about a new research claiming that it isn’t right for children to have hormone therapy at an early age. The controversial study affected the mother-daughter duo as seen in the episode, with Jazz saying toward the end that it’s not OK for researchers to “prevent a transgendered child from doing what makes them happy.”

Jazz also took a firm stand in justifying why transgendered children should be allowed to receive hormone therapy. “When you said it’s preferable for transgendered people to go through puberty, I feel like that’s comparable to a form of torture. If I had to go through male puberty, I honestly don’t know where I would be. I’m not sure if I would be alive,” she said.

Knowing that not everyone is accepting of her medical journey that’s being chronicled on her show, the young LGBTQ advocate took to Twitter to send a strong message to everyone. “I am a transgender woman & it is my RIGHT to determine what medical steps I want to pursue in order for me to feel more comfortable in my own body,” she wrote.

She also voiced out in her tweet that she’s asking viewers to “respect” her experiences as she goes through her journey to fully transition. “I disclose my medical journey in order to EDUCATE but it’s still a personal process & I hope you all can respect my experiences.”

Meanwhile, a sneak peek at next week’s “I Am Jazz” Season 4 episode shows Jazz and her family heading to New York for another consultation. However, family drama will unfold when Jazz confronts her father about his opposing view on Jazz’s bottom surgery.

“Is it true that you don’t want me to get the surgery until I’m adult? Is it true?” Jazz asks Greg in the snippet aired following Tuesday night’s episode. The Jennings patriarch is then seen taken aback and at a loss for words by his daughter’s question.

“I Am Jazz” airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. EST on TLC.