Jazz Jennings and Caitlyn Jenner have
responded to President Donald Trump's reported plan to eliminate
transgender recognition.
The proposed policy would require
gender recognition based on a person's genitalia at birth, according
to a report by The New York Times.
(Related: Trump
proposed rule change would “define transgender out of existence.”)
Jennings, the 18-year-old star of TLC's
I Am Jazz, underwent gender confirmation surgery in June. She
said on Twitter that she's “not afraid.”
(Related: Transgender
teen Jazz Jennings calls gender confirmation surgery “like a
dream.”)
“Us transgender and gender
non-conforming people have been declaring our existence for so long
and have only continued to grow stronger in our voices,” Jennings
wrote. “If we were ever going to be 'eradicated,' it would've
happened long ago.”
Jennings also recorded a short
44-second video in which she expanded on her response.
“That is not happening. We have been
declaring our existence for so many years. We're not going to let
this administration erase that,” Jennings said in the video. “I
was born biologically male but I've known I was a girl my entire
life.”
“It's not fair that we keep saying
that this is who we are and we are not hurting anyone and yet people
try to take away our rights. So, it's not going to happen and I'm
not worried about it, because we have been fighting this fight
forever and nothing is going to change that,” she added.
Jenner, who came out transgender in
2015, has said that she voted for Trump and is attempting to
influence the Republican Party about transgender rights from within.
“The Trump administration has
ferociously attacked my community again,” Jenner said. “Just as
an FYI, Mr. President – the military is the single largest employer
of trans people in the world. This leaked memo is an unacceptable
attack on my community. We will not be erased!”
Other transgender celebrities who have
spoken out include Laverne Cox, Chaz Bono and Janet Mock.
(Related: Laverne
Cox, Cher, Janet Mock, Peppermint react to Trump plan to end trasn
recognition.)