Despite Derick Dillard"s worst efforts, I Am Jazz returns next month, continuing to document the life of well-spoken trans teen, Jazz Jennings.
We"ve seen a lot about her, her family, and her activism. It looks like this season is going to focus on some personal decisions and struggles: getting a tattoo, dating a girl for the first time, her weight, activism, and being in the path of Hurricane Irma.
In the first trailer, which we have for you below, you"ll see that and more as Jazz
Jazz Jennings" hit reality series is continuing to succeed where Caitlyn Jenner"s failed. Why?
Well, probably because Jazz is a better representative of the LGBT+ community. I Am Cait lost a lot of viewers, and you can"t help but wonder how much her affection for people like Ted Cruz and Donald Trump had to do with that.
Also, Jazz is in many ways more relatable to viewers, whether they"re trans or cis. Most of us can"t relate to being a millionaire Olympian. But a teenager with a teenager"s struggles?
We"ve all been there.
So, the first thing that we really get to see in the trailer is Jazz getting a tattoo.
Jazz only turned 17 last October, so we imagine that for at least most of this upcoming season of I Am Jazz, she"ll be 16.
For those of you concerned about a 16-year-old getting a tattoo, Florida law is fine with a 16- or 17-year-old getting a tattoo so long as it is with the permission of a present.
Here"s the tat!
Jazz shared that photo in November, so she may have only gotten it when she was 17 — we"re not sure.
It"s of a mermaid (and it"s beautifully colorful!), and we should note that mermaids — in addition to being, you know, neat in general — are sometimes symbolic for members of the LGBT+ community (particularly for trans folks).
In fact, when Hans Christian Andersen wrote The Little Mermaid, it was apparently symbolic of his desire to transform himself to be with the man whom he loved but did not love him back (Edvard Collin).
So a mermaid is an appropriate symbol for her.
And speaking of romantic feelings, the next item covered in the trailer is Jazz Jennings" love life.
In the video below, you"ll see her get set up with another girl and even go on what looks like a double-date.
Though Jazz came out as pansexual in 2014, revealing that she"s attracted to people regardless of their gender, she"s previously dated boys. This will be a big, exciting step for her!
(There is an awkward line about "now is a good time to experiment with bisexuality." While some people use bi and pan as interchangeable labels, it"s rude to use one label for someone who prefers another. Common courtesy, folks)
The next topic is a little tricky, because it"s Jazz"s weight.
It looks like she"s put on a few pounds (really just a few!); you"ll have to see for yourself in the video below if you agree with some of the voices describing Jazz as "fat."
While weight fluctuation is normal, especially for teens, it"s not a bad time to start getting into the habit of a daily exercise routine (we know that it"s hard at first and it"s never fun, but life is full of suffering anyway so you might at least be healthy while you suffer).
The line about Jazz"s unhealthy relationship with food is going to be almost painfully relatable to some viewers.
It looks like the brief montage of exercises that we see in the trailer are going to pay off, because recent photos of her show her having shed weight.
Her exercise isn"t just for the sake of a trim figure, however.
We see her nervously discussing gender confirmation surgery with her doctor. And apparently she needed to lose a few pounds in preparation for that.
It sounds like the doctors are discussing top surgery — what Jazz does or does not do to her genitals is absolutely none of our business (even if she weren"t a minor!).
After the surgery talk, we get to a much less comfortable subject: transphobes.
Facing bigots who think that you shouldn"t exist cannot be an easy task, but we"re glad that Jazz has a support system in place of family and medical experts.
Also, we should remember that Jazz first became famous at an extremely young age for being so well-spoken about her gender in an interview with Barbara Walters.
At 16 and 17, she"s been answering questions — some of them hateful — for almost all of her life. She shouldn"t have to face this kind of hate, but she"s totally got this.
The final portion of the trailer deals with Jazz dealing with her entire family being in the path of Hurricane Irma.
Jazz lives in Florida, folks. (Shall we joke and say that it"s her one big shortcoming, or is Florida too easy of a target?)
With all of the devastation in Puerto Rico — from which they are still recovering — and with fires raging in and around L.A. right at this very moment, you might almost forget about the damage and destruction wrought by hurricanes like Irma and Harvey.
It looks like we"re going to see the toll that Irma took, up close and personally.
At least we know that Jazz herself is okay.
