The Minnesota History Center’s latest exhibit called “Girlhood (it’s complicated)” features a display about Jazz Jennings, a biological male.
“See how girls have spoken up, challenged expectations, and been on the front lines of social change throughout US history,” the Minnesota History Center’s website says. “Explore the ever-evolving concept of girlhood in the United States and how young women have influenced politics, education, work, health, and fashion.”
However, one person prominently featured in the exhibit isn’t a girl. One display is labeled “A Girl’s Life” and showcases Jennings, 24, a YouTuber who became famous when he transitioned. He was the topic of a TLC show called “I Am Jazz” that followed his transition into being a “transgender girl.” The show began in 2015 when Jennings was just 15 years old.
“By embracing themselves, girls break barriers every day to change our culture’s definitions of girlhood. For many, these rules just don’t fit,” the display says. “Jazz Jennings is one of those girls. She shares her girlhood with millions of Americans on television and reminds us that girls can be assigned male at birth and that girlhood comes in many forms.”
It goes on to explain that since he was a toddler, Jennings knew he “was a girl trapped inside a boy’s body.”
“Jazz was lucky because her family listened, learned, and supported her,” the exhibit reads. The piece being displayed is a mermaid tail made by Jennings.
“From the moment I could express myself, I gravitated towards mermaids. As a transgender girl I always felt a connection toward wanting to be a ‘mermaid’ because they don’t have genitalia, they have a tail,” Jennings said in a YouTube video.
“Mermaids are practically genderless. It’s really, really cool and fascinating,” Jennings said, saying that’s why many transgender people are “attracted” to them. He went on to explain that at the age of 12 he found a group online called “Mer Network” and they taught him how to make a silicone mermaid tail, which is the one currently on display.
“At the center of my girlhood will always be mermaids,” the caption to Jennings’ YouTube video reads.
The exhibit is displayed in partnership with the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service. The display has been traveling to different museums since 2020.
“I feel honored to have my mermaid tail featured at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. It’s part of the Girlhood … It’s Complicated Exhibit, which celebrates women’s contributions to society! I’m so proud to be a woman,” Jennings wrote in an Instagram post.
The exhibit will be at the Minnesota History Center until June 1, 2025 and is sponsored by United HealthCare, Securian Financial, and the Women’s Organization of the Minnesota Historical Society. The listed media partners for the display are WCCO, MPR News, and The Minnesota Star Tribune.