Avery Jackson, the burnt out star of trans activism

In 2017, Avery Jackson, a transgender 9-year-old appeared on the cover of National Geographic as part of a special gender-focused issue titled "Gender Revolution," which aimed to explore the evolution of the understanding of gender identity around the world.

In the cover photo and accompanying article, Avery Jackson expressed pride and confidence in this identity, stating that "the best thing about being a girl is, now I don't have to pretend to be a boy." From that moment on, Avery became a tool used in the debate on transgender rights, while facing a variety of reactions, including support and controversy.

Avery Jackson: "A stupid, dumb mistake"

In 2020, HBO released the documentary "Transhood," filmed over the course of five years, the film follows the lives of Jackson and three other transgender children in Kansas City, Mo., in a period spanning the Barack Obama and Donald Trump administrations.

During a scene in the film, Avery expresses what appears to be major dissatisfaction with being in the public eye due to transgender activism and the book tour, claiming it "ruined my life."

"I just don't want to even have a book. I've done too much in this world. It's ruined my life enough, and now everyone in this world is going to know ... and it's just going to make my life worse," Avery says regretfully.

"A couple of years ago you wanted people to know," the mother replies.

"Yeah, I did, but now ... that was [a] really stupid, silly mistake, and now I don't."

A different life

In 2023, Avery's family decided to leave Missouri because of state laws against medical care for trans minors and moved to another state seeking a more suitable environment for the boy.

That same year, according to The Kansas City Star, Avery, then 16, used the pronouns they/them, and still identified as transgender and non-binary.

According to the newspaper, Jackson just wanted to be a normal teenager who hangs out with friends and plays video games.

EDITORIAL NOTE: A French media outlet, Le Média en 442, reportedly provided news on the Avery Jackson case, which we shared because it included quotes from Jackson. However, said media outlet pulled the story from its website without any explanation, so we proceeded to remove those quotes. We apologize to our readers.