i am 17 and my parents are trying to hack into my email account without my permission is that legal?

At 17 years old, you are still a child.  Your parents are in charge of you, and do not need your permission to monitor your emails.  It is not only the right, but the obligation of your parents to monitor your actions online.  That is just good parenting.  It is very legal for them to monitor the email accounts of their minor children.  As your parents, they can also restrict you from having an email account at all.  You should appreciate that they care enough to try to protect you from the dangers that are lurking out there trying to get to you.  I’m sure that is not the answer that you wanted to hear, but since you are still a child, that is the only answer I can give you.