The world’s first transgender doll has finally arrived

And she’s our glimmer of hope

7 years ago

American YouTube personality, spokesmodel, television star and LGBTQ rights activist Jazz Jennings was just five when she announced to her parents that she identified as female.

This weekend, The Tonner Doll Company debuted the world’s first transgender doll at the New York Toy Fair — a Jazz Jennings doll.

This is the first transgender doll on the market, and guess what?! It's ME!!!?? @tonnerdoll did a great job of creating this beautiful item! It will be available in July, and I hope that it can place transgender people in a positive light by showing that we are just like all other people? 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!?

A post shared by Jazz Jennings (@jazzjennings_) on Feb 10, 2017 at 5:53pm PST

The announcement is an exciting one, and it couldn’t have come at a more opportune moment.

Yesterday, Trump rescinded Obama’s directive on bathroom issues, allowing transgender students to use the bathroom that corresponds with their own gender identity — and did so despite reservations from Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.

We only hope that we will see more symbols of acceptance such as this one popping up in the coming months. Yesterday, DeVos released a statement in which she wrote that she believes in a “moral obligation” for schools in America to protect their students against any form of discrimination and harassment. We agree.

The doll comes in two versions: one in full-glam and one casual, and will be available in stores this July.

Caroline Phinney

Babe
US