Transgender Teen Jazz Jennings Makes A Breakthrough In A New Clean & Clear Ad Campaign [Video]
Jazz Jennings is only 14-years-old and already she is becoming a household name, thanks in part to Johnson & Johnson’s Clean & Clear product line. Jennings attracted public attention when she contributed to Clean & Clear’s #SeeTheRealMe ad campaign, which asks people to share their coming of age stories.
Jazz submitted a video of herself talking about what growing up and understanding her own gender identity has been like for her, according to USA Today. Choosing a transgender teen for their new ad campaign has cast Clean & Clear in a positive spotlight with much of the media comparing the bold move to CoverGirl’s decision to cast Ellen DeGeneres in their own ad campaigns.
“I’ve always known who I am,” Ms. Jennings said in the video. “I was a girl trapped in a boy’s body. Growing up has been quite a struggle being transgender — especially in middle school… sometimes, I’ve even been called an ‘it.'”
Although Jazz is happy to be chosen for the Clean & Clear campaign, she admitted to being very low maintenance where her makeup usage is concerned. Jennings admitted to using Clean & Clear Deep Action Exfoliating Scrub, but otherwise said that she uses very few cosmetics.
Jazz admits that, although she was born a male, she had known from a very young age that she was female and that she felt alienated by her own body. Ms. Jennings began transitioning from male to female at the age of six, though she stated that she had feelings that she wasn’t male much earlier than that.
Clean & Clear isn’t the only project Jazz has been pursuing recently. Additionally, Jazz was also named one of Time Magazine’s most influential teens of 2014, and she has published I Am Jazz, which is the story of a transgender child, based on the real experiences of Jazz Jennings herself.
TLC has also just signed Ms. Jennings to star in a new series about her life, All That Jazz. The show, picked up for 11 episodes, will focus on Jazz Jennings’ life as she approaches her teens and deals with dating, school, and sleepovers as a transgendered girl.
“Jazz’s story is universal, yet unique, and we’re proud to partner with her family to share it with TLC’s audience,” stated TLC’s Nancy Daniels. “Jazz may be known as an author and activist, but she’s first and foremost a teenage girl with a big, brave heart, living a remarkable life.”
Jazz Jennings credits her confidence in knowing who she is as a person for her success as an author, activist, and spokesperson for the transgender community.
