[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 6]
[House]
[Page 8041]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             ``I AM JAZZ''

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Speier) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I come to the House floor for the second 
year in a row to read the book ``I Am Jazz,'' a children's book about 
transgender youth cowritten by Jazz Jennings, pictured here, and 
Jessica Herthel.
  After an LGBT hate group forced a school to cancel a reading of this 
book 2 years ago, a movement was launched. Every year since, readings 
have been held across the country to increase understanding and to show 
young people that they are welcomed and loved.
  Last year I read this book from the House floor, and today I am proud 
to join this movement to read it again.
  ``I Am Jazz.''

       For as long as I can remember, my favorite color has been 
     pink. My second favorite color is silver, and my third 
     favorite color is green.
       Here are some of the many other things I like to do: 
     dancing, singing, backflips, drawing, soccer, swimming, 
     makeup, and pretending I am a pop star.
       Most of all, I love mermaids. Sometimes I even wear a 
     mermaid tail in the pool.
       My best friends are Samantha and Casey. We always have fun 
     together. We like high heels and princess gowns or cartwheels 
     and trampolines.
       But I am not exactly like Samantha and Casey. I have a girl 
     brain but a boy body. This is called transgender. I was born 
     this way.
       When I was very little and my mom would say, ``You are such 
     a good boy,'' I would say, ``No, Mama. Good girl.''
       At first my family was confused. They had always thought of 
     me as a boy. As I got a little older, I hardly ever played 
     with trucks or tools or superheroes, only princesses and 
     mermaid costumes. My brothers told me this was girl stuff. I 
     kept right on playing.
       My sister says I am always talking to her about my girl 
     thoughts and my girl dreams and how one day I would be a 
     beautiful lady. She would giggle and say, ``You are a funny 
     kid.''
       Sometimes my parents let me wear my sister's dresses around 
     the house, but whenever we went out, I had to put on my boy 
     clothes again. That made me mad. Still, I never gave up 
     trying to convince them. Pretending I was a boy felt like 
     telling a lie.
       Then one amazing day, everything changed. Mom and Dad took 
     me to meet a new doctor who asked me lots and lots of 
     questions. Afterward, the doctor spoke to my parents, and I 
     heard the word ``transgender'' for the very first time. That 
     night at bedtime, my parents both hugged me and said, ``We 
     understand now. Be who you are. We love you no matter what.''
       This made me smile and smile and smile. Mom and Dad told me 
     I could start wearing girl clothes to school and growing my 
     hair long. Then they even let me change my name to Jazz. 
     Being Jazz felt much more like being me. Mom said that being 
     Jazz would make me different from the other kids at school, 
     but that being different is okay. ``What is important,'' she 
     said, ``is that I am happy with who I am.''
       Being Jazz caused some of the people to be confused, too, 
     like the teachers at school. At the beginning of the year, 
     they wanted me to use the boys bathroom and play on the boys 
     team in gym class, but that didn't feel normal to me at all. 
     I was so happy when the teachers changed their minds. I can't 
     imagine not playing on the same team as Casey and Samantha.
       Even today, there are kids who tease me or call me by a boy 
     name or ignore me altogether. This makes me feel crummy. Then 
     I remember that the kids who get to know me usually want to 
     be my friend. They say I am one of the nicest girls at 
     school.
       I don't mind being different. Different is special. I think 
     what matters most is what a person is like inside, and inside 
     I am happy. I am having fun. I am proud. I am Jazz.

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