The Children's Book Council Diversity Committee Addresses Transgender Kid and Teen Fiction

In Diversity 101: The Transgender Perspective, Author Cris Beam explores issues of speaking out / speaking for, transgender stereotypes, and suggested titles.  Here are a couple of gems from the article:

"One of the most common lines I hear (and one that’s perpetuated by well-meaning books and documentaries) is that transpeople are “born in the wrong body.” (Or worse: they’re “trapped.”) Bodies aren’t wrong. While some transpeople may feel this way, others believe that men and women (and boys and girls) should be allowed to have different body parts even when they identify as the same, or similar, genders. In other words, it’s society that’s “trapped” in rigid, binary thinking."

and

"...the truth is, there aren’t just two genders—there are many shades of expression and identity and the earlier we can support kids who experience this, the better. And they do experience it early. Unlike feelings of homosexuality, which tend to sneak up on us around puberty (I still remember those first terrifying crushes in seventh grade), kids start understanding their gender at around age two or three"

It's well worth reading.  I'm so glad to see attention brought to including more transgender and gender variant and gender queer characters in children's and teen lit.

My thanks to Greg for sharing this with me so I could share it with all of you!