More than just a woman

by Sara Ritsch
Staff Writer

Jazmynne Matthews, otherwise known as Lady Jazmynne, describes herself as a “female, who just so happens to be transgender.” As a vocalist, recording artist, actress, minister and advocate, her voice and talents have reached people from a spectrum of backgrounds.

Her own background though, comes with quite the journey. She has been performing since childhood; she was lead vocalist in her church choir at six-years-old and in a Pentecostal spiritual group trio at 16 called the Ambassadors for Christ, but in her adult life she began her real vocal pursuit at 22.

“Someone said, ‘You should try to be bigger than you are,’ and I didn’t know what that meant – I did not know what I was going to have to deal with. The journey,” Jazmynne says. “I’m still on that journey.”

Jazmynne began her transition at 15, when she began to present herself “in full female” and to go by her new name, no longer “BJ”. 

“I’ve always been feminine or girly, even as a child there was no doubt. You didn’t know? You were just blind. At 15, I had a friend living as female taking hormones. She dressed me up and I just felt like, ‘This is me! Wow!’ And I chose Jazmynne,” she says. “And I chose to spell it different – I’m a diva, I can’t have nobody the same way I spell it.”

Jazmynne’s mother was an open-minded Pentecostal minister who sadly passed away when Jazmynne was 12. Her mother’s opinion of the transition was, “You’re my child, I don’t care.” But after her death, Jazmynne was left to live with her militant and religious aunt and uncle in what she calls, “hell.”

“I couldn’t listen to pop, R&B, blues. ‘It’s not holy, it’s not holy, it’s not holy!’” she mimics. “Just ridiculous.” At 17, she crawled out the window and was thenceforth absolutely free. 

She describes her young life as “church, church, school and church” and still considers herself spiritual, despite her own strenuous times. “I fall in the category of a Christian, but,” she pauses for explanation, “I learn as an adult to embrace people as long as they’re not harming anybody else. When your belief harms another soul then I have a problem with that, but beliefs in general – we are all figuring things out.

“If you believe the fog sitting on the tree stump is your higher power, if that gives you strength, hope, whatever it may be, it’s about you, individually. I do believe in my higher power, but I also believe that that same power has given us the power to God over ourselves.”

Jazmynne now actively works for a myriad of movements, ranging from political to social to religious. She is a member of Las Vegas TransPride, serving as Entertainment Director. She not only fights for transgender rights, but also fights for causes such as youth homelessness, child abandonment, women with cancer and victims of domestic violence.

Her experience working with charities is what moves her. No matter sexual orientation or gender identity, she is willing to lend a helping hand. She is currently a board member of the Omni Center in Fayetteville. Their mission is peace, justice and ecology, and she is their event planner.

“My work isn’t focused on transgender issues,” she explains. “You should automatically be out there doing what you can to help anyone. Helping the homeless – that’s my next project here in Fayetteville.”

She is currently the community organizer for the LGBTQ social life in Northwest Arkansas – specifically Benton and Washington Counties – and a new operational volunteer for the Equality Center under Susan Hartman.

Jazmynne is known for her tributes to the legendary Miss Patti LaBelle, Whitney Houston, Natalie Cole, Chaka Khan and more. She is the first trans female to be featured in the hip-hop publication RudeBoy Magazine, as well as in BWD Magazine.

For performance dates and to learn more about the versatile and generous Lady Jazmynne, visit her website at www.LadyJazmynne.com or find Lady Jazmynne on Facebook.

The Gayly - 7/23/2016 @ 8:04 a.m. CDT.