YouTuber Jazz Jennings proudly showed off her gender confirmation surgery scars while posing in a swimsuit more than a year after undergoing her operation.
The 19-year-old LGBTQ+ rights activist had the surgery in June 2018; a milestone she had been dreaming of since she was young.
Jennings, who also stars in award-winning TLC reality show, I Am Jazz, has been an advocate for trans rights for the last decade, using her platform to help educate and raise awareness.
She made sure to continue her work into the new year, and kicked off the decade by sharing a photo of herself standing in front of the ocean in a swimsuit, showing off the scars on her thighs.
The image is an empowering one for those in the same position as Jennings, or young people who may be struggling with ideas of body image in general, as it highlights the fact the scars are nothing to be ashamed of.
Alongside the image, Jennings wrote:
These are my scars on full display in #2019. I’m proud of my scars and love my body just the way it is. I call them my battle wounds because they signify the strength and perseverance it took to finally complete my transition.
The YouTuber received a wealth of praise from followers and fans, including support from her mum, who described the 19-year-old as the ‘strongest and bravest of all the souls’ she’s ever known.
The proud mother continued:
I’m blessed to be your mom. Your scars are just as beautiful as you the rest of you. I love you with all that I am. You make me proud everyday.
Jennings has previously described her gender confirmation surgery as being ‘like a dream’, telling ABC News it was a moment she’d ‘always envisioned’.
She continued:
Experiencing it was so surreal. I was like ‘I can’t believe this is happening’.
The 19-year-old explained she’d questioned her gender from when she was just two years old, when she asked her mum when the ‘good fairy’ was going to change her penis into a vagina.
Jennings began sharing her story more publicly from the age of six, when she spoke to ABC News’ Barbara Walters in 2007. The YouTuber started her transition when she was five years old in what was one of the youngest documented cases of an early transition from male to female.
Jennings believes her early transition allowed to be more comfortable in her own body, as she ‘prevented [herself] from going through male puberty’.
Though the teen has been criticised in the past for ‘oversharing’, she pointed out sharing details allows society a better understanding.
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Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.