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Jazz Jenningsis documenting herjourney to find loveon thelatest season ofI Am Jazz— but both Jazz and her motherJeanetteknow that entering the dating pool as a young transgender comes with an extra degree of difficulty.“She wants to meet her Prince or Princess Charming and fall in love,” Jeanette tells PEOPLE. “And I told her, it’s just not going to be like that.“Jazz, 22, previously told PEOPLE previously thatshe wishes others could be more “accepting” and “empathetic,“and Jeanette has seen her daughter’s ups and downs firsthand.“It’s harder for her [to date] being a trans woman,” Jeanette adds. “And then also if she says, ‘I’m a fat trans woman in the room; it makes me really uncomfortable,’ it can make her sad.“Jazz, who has openlyshared her struggles with binge-eating disorder, is continuously on what she calls her “health journey,” havingjoined the club lacrosse team at Harvard Universitylast spring to help her stay active.Jeanette doesn’t mince words when she advises Jazz to look beyond the places and events she attends “with athletes and cisgender men who are very macho, and honestly, not often looking for a trans woman, unfortunately.“She explains, “They are out there, and I don’t want to stereotype, but it makes it hard being in a room full of people that are all flirting and forming connections, and you’re just over there in the corner talking to a friend. So I just want to protect her, put her in a bubble from those situations.“Kristina Bumphrey/StarPix/ShutterstockThat said, Jeanette trusts her daughter “a lot to make smart decisions” and “not put herself in situations that could be harmful.““I think she’s really good at reading a room, engaging where she should go and shouldn’t go. But it’s the other people around her that are very unkind,” Jeanette explains. “It’s the rest of the world I don’t trust.“Given the unpredictability of new connections, Jeanette’s No. 1 concern remains Jazz’s safety.“It’s very dangerous out there for trans women,” she says. “Just protect yourself. Just be aware at all times where you are, what you’re doing.“But Jeanette also wants her daughter to remain open-hearted and sees untapped potential on campus: “‘You really need to dive into the queer community at Harvard’ — that’s my advice to her. She really has not done much of that. I think she will find love within the community because they’re much more accepting.“Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.I Am Jazzairs Tuesdays 10 p.m. ET on TLC.
Jazz Jenningsis documenting herjourney to find loveon thelatest season ofI Am Jazz— but both Jazz and her motherJeanetteknow that entering the dating pool as a young transgender comes with an extra degree of difficulty.
“She wants to meet her Prince or Princess Charming and fall in love,” Jeanette tells PEOPLE. “And I told her, it’s just not going to be like that.”
Jazz, 22, previously told PEOPLE previously thatshe wishes others could be more “accepting” and “empathetic,“and Jeanette has seen her daughter’s ups and downs firsthand.
“It’s harder for her [to date] being a trans woman,” Jeanette adds. “And then also if she says, ‘I’m a fat trans woman in the room; it makes me really uncomfortable,’ it can make her sad.”
Jazz, who has openlyshared her struggles with binge-eating disorder, is continuously on what she calls her “health journey,” havingjoined the club lacrosse team at Harvard Universitylast spring to help her stay active.
Jeanette doesn’t mince words when she advises Jazz to look beyond the places and events she attends “with athletes and cisgender men who are very macho, and honestly, not often looking for a trans woman, unfortunately.”
She explains, “They are out there, and I don’t want to stereotype, but it makes it hard being in a room full of people that are all flirting and forming connections, and you’re just over there in the corner talking to a friend. So I just want to protect her, put her in a bubble from those situations.”
Kristina Bumphrey/StarPix/Shutterstock
That said, Jeanette trusts her daughter “a lot to make smart decisions” and “not put herself in situations that could be harmful.”
“I think she’s really good at reading a room, engaging where she should go and shouldn’t go. But it’s the other people around her that are very unkind,” Jeanette explains. “It’s the rest of the world I don’t trust.”
Given the unpredictability of new connections, Jeanette’s No. 1 concern remains Jazz’s safety.
“It’s very dangerous out there for trans women,” she says. “Just protect yourself. Just be aware at all times where you are, what you’re doing.”
But Jeanette also wants her daughter to remain open-hearted and sees untapped potential on campus: “‘You really need to dive into the queer community at Harvard’ — that’s my advice to her. She really has not done much of that. I think she will find love within the community because they’re much more accepting.”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
I Am Jazzairs Tuesdays 10 p.m. ET on TLC.
source: people.com
