Jazz Jennings is making history with the first-ever doll based on a transgender person.
Photo: Jazz Jennings via Instagram
Transgender activist and star of TLC's I Am Jazz, Jazz Jennings, has advocated so much for the LGBTQ community since she started her show. The teen already has two books under her belt, and now she's getting her very own doll! And according to Jazz, it's the first-ever doll to be based on a transgender person.
The excited 16-year-old announced the doll on her Instagram. The doll is super cute, too: she sports a white beret, a fuzzy white sweater, tulle skirt, thick tights, beige boots, and even rocks long, dark hair like Jazz. Standing at 18 inches tall (think American Girl), the doll was made by Tonner Doll Company and won't have any gendered markings (like genitalia or breasts).
"I hope that it can place transgender people in a positive light by showing that we are just like all other people," Jazz wrote in her Instagram post. "For those asking: the doll is considered to be the first "transgender" doll because it's based on an individual who is trans. Of course it is still just a regular girl doll because that's exactly what I am: a regular girl!"
Robert Tonner, the doll's designer and owner of Tonner Doll Company, had a lot to say about Jazz. "Jazz stands for everything I respect from a human nature point of view—she’s incredibly brave, intelligent, warm-hearted and creative,” he told the Associated Press.
The doll is going to be released in July and will retail for $90(USD). For now it will only be distributed to 20 to 50 specialty retail stores and sold on tonnerdoll.com, but the company says it will move it to more stores if it does well.
The past couple of years have seen more diversity within the doll market, but we're so happy that barriers are continuing to be broken and there are more dolls available for kids to play with.
Read more: Books about transgender kids What life is like for transgender children now 11 kids’ books that challenge gender stereotypes
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Emily is a content and social strategist, writer, editor and producer based in Toronto, Ontario. Her work can also be found in Chatelaine and on FLAREdotcom.