Making the decision to change your gender is one you’ll live with for the rest of your life, at what age are you really prepared to make a decision like that?

NEW BRUNSWICK - The recent sponsoring and debut of "I am Jazz: A Family in Transition" by the OWN network is one that has caused controversy across the nation.

The documentary, which features an eleven-year-old boy, Jazz being raised by his family as a female, has grabbed the attention and concern of many of its viewers.

Throughout the course of the documentary, Jazz and family discuss the trials and tribulations of growing up transgender. While many have found it to be remarkable that a family can deal with such a heavy subject and make such serious decisions in such a simple way, others don’t feel so lightly about the subject.

Many transgender stories have been aired on various networks, but what is causing so much debate is the child’s age.

“He’s too young to make decisions that he is to live with for the rest of his life,” Psychology major Jahiyah Field says. “At eleven years old you’re not prepared to make decisions that will affect you forever.”

In an interview, Jeanette, Jazz’s mother tells of the signs she started seeing from Jazz at a young age that led her to seek help for what she believed was a gender identity disorder. As early as two-years-old, Jeanette says Jazz would refer to himself as a girl and even correct her when saying things such as “good boy.”

Now, only nine years later as puberty is approaching, Jazz is faced with the decision to go through with the different treatments that will prevent his male production for the rest of his life and the issues that will arise as living as an adult female.

The permanence and seriousness of a decision like this is causing many to wonder how many other children are undergoing gender transitions and are they wise enough to make such drastic decisions at such young ages.

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