S04.E07: Hungry for Acceptance

[msrachelj]

On 2/14/2018 at 1:43 PM, keetmommy said:

I mean this as  polite as I can ... Is Mikela transgender or what is her story, she is way to old to try to be besties with  Jazz

i'd like to know also. they never explained that.

[SunnyBeBe]

I find the time line, assuming they were consulting with Dr. Bowers about the surgery, sometimes around Sept of 2017, a little confusing.  So, that would mean that they were thinking about scheduling the surgery in Sept of 2018, right? Since that would be a year down the road. However,

Spoiler

someone posted on these boards, who knows Jazz, that it was scheduled for May of this year.  Anyone know?

Please respond to this to me by PM or put in spoiler tags, since it hasn't happened on the show yet. 

Edited February 17, 2018 by SunnyBeBe

[missnoa]

I rewatched some of this season's episodes and I really do feel like Jazz was starting to self-sabotage. Like if you watch them all together and get rid of the trappings of the radio show appearances and vacations, I wonder if what's happening is that somewhere inside her, she's terrified of going through the actual surgery - both because of the surgery itself and because if she has it and all her problems aren't massively solved, then she's not going to be instantly happy and that "perfect" person. She has a lot of issues that aren't going to magically go away after the surgery - social anxiety, depression, not wanting to talk about or deal with her issues, self esteem issues, I'm not sure how she'd handle going off to college and not having her mom around 24/7...I hope that when the surgery comes she's truly ready for it.

[mythoughtis]

On 2/13/2018 at 9:09 PM, Concerned said:

The show seems to be slowing down, almost idling as a decision has been made to postpone surgery until 18 or 21 and they plan to slow roll until then. Frankly, Jazz should ignore the worriers and have the surgery soon so we don’t have to wait four seasons. They need to do the surgery and show the recovery and most of us don’t want to wait years. Enough talk, just do it.

‘Most of us’ aren’t the one that has to live with the consquences of this action for the rest of their lives. I think they should wait until Jazz is really mature enough to make a decision like this. We don’t even let people drink till they  are 21.  For Jazz, she may be mature enough about age 40.  It should definitely be well after the show is cancelled. Reality TV shouldn’t be an influence.   

[janedi]

6 hours ago, missnoa said:

I rewatched some of this season's episodes and I really do feel like Jazz was starting to self-sabotage. Like if you watch them all together and get rid of the trappings of the radio show appearances and vacations, I wonder if what's happening is that somewhere inside her, she's terrified of going through the actual surgery - both because of the surgery itself and because if she has it and all her problems aren't massively solved, then she's not going to be instantly happy and that "perfect" person. She has a lot of issues that aren't going to magically go away after the surgery - social anxiety, depression, not wanting to talk about or deal with her issues, self esteem issues, I'm not sure how she'd handle going off to college and not having her mom around 24/7...I hope that when the surgery comes she's truly ready for it.

 

Not to mention the recovery from the surgery will be gruesome. And the maintenance will be time consuming and never ending. Jazz seems to think she will only have to dilate for 1 year, nope its for life. In addition, it needs to be thoroughly cleaned consistently, because unlike a natural vagina which is self cleaning, a surgically created one will not clean itself. Jazz barely ever washes her hair, so good luck with that.

Then you have to think about the fact that its very likely that there will be complications, especially with surgical method that's being done on Jazz. The doctor in New York said the results were mixed and out of the 15 he's done some weren't very successful.

Edited February 18, 2018 by janedi

[Maricopa]

I've had hypnotherapy, which was incredibly helpful and comforting after the death of a parent. But Jazz's experience was absolutely nothing like mine -- although maybe it's true for others. Mine was being bundled up in and warm and happy while you drift off and someone reads and speaks personalized quotes and ideas to you. I can't imagine responding. It's not like the movie "you are getting sleepy" thing. It's a delicious rest where someone is validating you and helping your mind go in more positive directions. It just seemed ridiculously scripted. I can't imagine how anyone could possibly respond or say anything during the process.

And online school is, simply, bullshit. I had a young relative who did it. They basically sign off on anything, whether you did the work or not. It's just a money mill for fake teachers.

On 2/17/2018 at 7:26 PM, janedi said:

Jazz barely ever washes her hair, so good luck with that.

I'm so with ya there. WTF? You wanna be a girly girl? Shampoo is a good start.

[Visaman666]

On 17/02/2018 at 3:24 AM, msrachelj said:

i'd like to know also. they never explained that.

She is a professional singer. She has no connection to Jazz outside of the show. She is on the the show to promote her anti bullying program.

[ItsHelloPattiagain]

Quote

"I wonder if the parents consulted with any professionals about the home school (they say virtual) thing. Allowing a child to do more self isolation when self isolation is already the problem sounds bizarre!  And what was that about her doing chores and exercising?  What does that have to do with being socially developed?  They are robbing her.  Too bad.  I hope they understand that she's not likely to ever want to attend college, because she will have no life skills.  Her parents just seem very unaware of how Jazz comes off in public.  It's sad really.  "

Just for the record - FL Virtual School is not the same as "homeschool". It's a program where students do school at home that is administered by the state of FL. Kids get assignments from certified teachers and have to complete them and turn them in for credit. My kids were homeschooled in the state of Florida. My younger daughter took classes through Virtual School and received HS credit. She also went to homecoming and participated in other school activities. Most HS kids are involved in other out of the home activities and aren't the stereotypical weirdos people think they may be. (mine weren't). However I wonder Jazz's motivation for doing virtual school - is it because she doesn't want to do the hard work it takes to get through high school? 

I haven't been watching the show carefully but Hurricane Irma was right around 09/10/2017 - and Jazz's family LIVES in south Florida so I don't understand how they could be "going to South Florida" to help victims of Hurricane Irma which was only a Category 2 storm here. (unless they were trying to go to the Florida Keys which got hit much worse - and nonresidents were not allowed down there for quite a while afterward).  There was a lot of debris down from the storm in the south Florida area, but I live in SoFL and didn't lose power the entire storm. Somehow I cannot see Jazz collecting debris along the side of the road and piling it up for bulk pickup. 

[gingerella]

I just watched this epi and FF'd through most of the fake BE You crap, but what struck me was this - why was most of that audience grammar school children They seemed waaaay to young to be there, and Michaela was talking way above their heads IMO, like she was as talking to HS kids, then they pan the audience and it's all little children...seriously TLC? that's the best you could fake?

[CousinAmy]

3 hours ago, ItsHelloPattiagain said:

Just for the record - FL Virtual School is not the same as "homeschool". It's a program where students do school at home that is administered by the state of FL. Kids get assignments from certified teachers and have to complete them and turn them in for credit. My kids were homeschooled in the state of Florida. My younger daughter took classes through Virtual School and received HS credit. She also went to homecoming and participated in other school activities. Most HS kids are involved in other out of the home activities and aren't the stereotypical weirdos people think they may be. (mine weren't). However I wonder Jazz's motivation for doing virtual school - is it because she doesn't want to do the hard work it takes to get through high school? 

I haven't been watching the show carefully but Hurricane Irma was right around 09/10/2017 - and Jazz's family LIVES in south Florida so I don't understand how they could be "going to South Florida" to help victims of Hurricane Irma which was only a Category 2 storm here. (unless they were trying to go to the Florida Keys which got hit much worse - and nonresidents were not allowed down there for quite a while afterward).  There was a lot of debris down from the storm in the south Florida area, but I live in SoFL and didn't lose power the entire storm. Somehow I cannot see Jazz collecting debris along the side of the road and piling it up for bulk pickup. 

I think the Virtual Home School is to have more time available for filming. With Jazz and Jeannette free during school hours, they get an extra 6 - 7 hours to use, rather than wasting all that precious time when the crew is idle. I know; I'm a cynic!

3 hours ago, gingerella said:

I just watched this epi and FF'd through most of the fake BE You crap, but what struck me was this - why was most of that audience grammar school children They seemed waaaay to young to be there, and Michaela was talking way above their heads IMO, like she was as talking to HS kids, then they pan the audience and it's all little children...seriously TLC? that's the best you could fake?

I was watching to see if the little kids were in the same shots with Jazz and Co. on the stage - they weren't. Towards the end you can see the audience from the back - but those shots of them "watching" the performance could have been filmed at another time. I'm so darn cynical!

[gingerella]

Amy, when they showed the scene from the back of the room there were indeed small kids all up front. 

ETA: Thwt 'song' sucked. This show ain't doing Michaela any favors...

Edited February 22, 2018 by gingerella

[Treehugger]

13 hours ago, gingerella said:

I just watched this epi and FF'd through most of the fake BE You crap, but what struck me was this - why was most of that audience grammar school children They seemed waaaay to young to be there, and Michaela was talking way above their heads IMO, like she was as talking to HS kids, then they pan the audience and it's all little children...seriously TLC? that's the best you could fake?

Since the audience seemed to come from the Dance Gallery, the parents of the grammar school children must have elected to sign permission for the children to attend. Who knows what promises, I mean lies, were told by TLC about the Be You program?

[biakbiak]

On 2/21/2018 at 5:19 PM, ItsHelloPattiagain said:

unless they were trying to go to the Florida Keys which got hit much worse - and nonresidents were not allowed down there for quite a while afterward). 

They did go to the Keys.

[ItsHelloPattiagain]

Quote

Quote

I  think the Virtual Home School is to have more time available for filming. With Jazz and Jeannette free during school hours, they get an extra 6 - 7 hours to use, rather than wasting all that precious time when the crew is idle. I know; I'm a cynic!

 

My neighbor had her kids in FL Virtual School for one school year. She kept complaining to me that it was too much work. Her kids were actually doing school work and projects in the evening (homework from homeschool!!! ) Maybe that's why Jazz and her mom were complaining - they thought it would be easy and she would have loads of spare time. 

[Bridget]

On 2/21/2018 at 5:34 PM, gingerella said:

I just watched this epi and FF'd through most of the fake BE You crap, but what struck me was this - why was most of that audience grammar school children They seemed waaaay to young to be there, and Michaela was talking way above their heads IMO, like she was as talking to HS kids, then they pan the audience and it's all little children...seriously TLC? that's the best you could fake?

Exactly! No way that kids in that age range would know what the word "authentic" means. 

Her "message" isn't geared to such little ones anyway, so I wonder what the real deal was.

My theory is that Michaela rented the rehearsal space from the dance studio to rehearse for her real "shows." As Michaela and her guitar player were warming up, the regular dance classes were getting out while some parents were waiting to pick up their dancers. They probably saw the cameras & lights, wandered over and asked what was going on. Upon hearing the premise, and to show support for Jazz and the transgender community, they signed the release forms and sat through the rehearsal. That would explain the adults in the audience since M's show is geared to a younger demographic.

It's very common for an artist to invite people to watch a rehearsal, so that's probably why Grandpa Jack, Grandma Jackie & Jazz's parents showed up. Once they had an audience, it was "a gig." It might've been portrayed as a rehearsal had no audience been there.

I am so glad that the grandparents have been such staunch supporters of Jazz, even if it took them a little bit longer to come around and understand/accept what was going on (if memory serves me correctly), especially when we hear about younger parents (like Lynn's mom) living in complete denial about their child. I really hope Lynn has a back up plan to live somewhere when she turns 18 and/or starts her hormone treatments in case her mom kicks her out. That would be such a shame.

I wonder if Grandpa Jack having been a physician helped him to understand much more clearly what Jazz was going through in the early years? I'd like to think it did. 

Does anyone know why Greg's parents or other family members aren't mentioned? It might (sadly) be that they don't understand or agree with the choices Greg has made regarding Jazz.

[biakbiak]

16 hours ago, ItsHelloPattiagain said:

her mom were complaining - they thought it would be easy

Jeannette didnt want to do it because she knew it would be a ton of work for her, she definitely didmt think it would be easy.