Transgender Teen Update
When Julia was 7 years old, she had a life-changing conversation with her mother. She told her mother she felt like a boy trapped in a girl's body.
For 14 years, Julia lived as a female, but then, after discovering the meaning of transgender, she told her family she wanted to transition into Jake. "I wanted to be the dad. I wanted to be a positive male role model in someone's life," Jake told Oprah in 2007. "That's when I knew that there was a difference between being a lesbian and who I was."
At 15, Jake's physical transformation from female to male began. Jake underwent a full mastectomy and injected himself with male hormones twice a week. "Julia was never there, I don't think," he says. "I think I was always Jake, just with a different name [and] different body."
As Jake embraced his new male identity, his younger brother, Jason, struggled with their new family dynamic. "I miss my sister. I never thought that my dad would be teaching my sister how to shave before me," Jason said. "It's been hard on me too, because for the past couple years, they've really been focused on her. So it's like, I've been kind of pushed off to the side."
Now, three years later, Oprah checks in on Jake and Jason to see how they've adjusted.
For 14 years, Julia lived as a female, but then, after discovering the meaning of transgender, she told her family she wanted to transition into Jake. "I wanted to be the dad. I wanted to be a positive male role model in someone's life," Jake told Oprah in 2007. "That's when I knew that there was a difference between being a lesbian and who I was."
At 15, Jake's physical transformation from female to male began. Jake underwent a full mastectomy and injected himself with male hormones twice a week. "Julia was never there, I don't think," he says. "I think I was always Jake, just with a different name [and] different body."
As Jake embraced his new male identity, his younger brother, Jason, struggled with their new family dynamic. "I miss my sister. I never thought that my dad would be teaching my sister how to shave before me," Jason said. "It's been hard on me too, because for the past couple years, they've really been focused on her. So it's like, I've been kind of pushed off to the side."
Now, three years later, Oprah checks in on Jake and Jason to see how they've adjusted.
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