Jazz Jennings, the star of TLC’s show I Am Jazz, planned a party to say goodbye to her penis ahead of her gender confirmation surgery – but things didn’t go quite to plan.
The 18-year-old reality star could be seen planning her ‘farewell to penis’ party with her parents in the latest episode of the show.
And while her mum, Jeanette, was an advocate of the idea – she even came up with the suggestion – Jazz’s dad was a bit more unsure, preferring to keep things ‘low-key’.
In the episode, which aired on Tuesday (January 15) in America, Jeanette is talking to her husband about ways in which they could celebrate their daughter’s upcoming surgery.
She then comes up with the idea of a ‘farewell to penis party’, to which Jazz’s dad laughs uncomfortably in response, while saying ‘oh my God’.
Jeanette explained her reasoning behind the idea, stating:
I wanna do this party because I wanna have fun with the idea that Jazz is having surgery. This is not fun, there’s nothing fun about this, but laughter is the best medicine.
Jazz is having the surgery, let’s not freak out. Let’s say goodbye to her old penis.
While her dad may not have been keen on the idea – asking why the family couldn’t have a ‘hello to vagina’ party instead – Jazz was all ears and couldn’t wait to start planning the party.
She said excitedly:
I wanna do this. This sounds fun.
Getting into the spirit, Jazz then suggested writing a eulogy to her penis which she could read out at the party. Jeanette got involved, giving her a few pointers on what she could say.
Despite all of this talk, Jazz’s dad still looked uncomfortable, and didn’t seem too keen on Jeanette’s plans to get a penis-shaped cake and piñata.
Jazz didn’t mind though, admitting she loves making her dad feel uncomfortable:
This quirky and fun idea seems like a cool thing, but also I love making my dad uncomfortable, and if this penis party is gonna do just that, then we gotta have a penis party!
He didn’t seem too put out by the whole thing though. He said he’d ‘show up’, but wouldn’t take a bite out of the cake.
The operation actually took place in June last year (2018) and was successful, however the Daily Mail reports it wasn’t all smooth sailing. While a psychic advised her not to go through with the surgery so soon, she didn’t take the advice and things didn’t go exactly to plan.
A doctor called her ‘the most difficult case that I have encountered,’ due to a complication during surgery. Jazz told ABC’s Nightline this was because ‘things came apart’ during the operation.
She said:
There was just an unfortunate event and setback where things did come apart, and there was a complication. I had to come back in for another procedure, but it was just all part of the journey.
The good thing though is that it was only cosmetic and external so it wasn’t too dramatic.
Thankfully, the surgery was a success and the new season will focus on the lead-up to her operation, as well as her journey afterwards.
I Am Jazz airs Tuesdays on TLC.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues, and want to speak to someone in confidence contact Mindline Trans+ on 0300 330 5468. The line is open Mondays and Fridays, 8 pm to midnight and is run by trans volunteers.
A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).