The Greatest Superpower - 13 Year Old Jorge's Dad Comes Out as Transgender, Prompting Jorge's Re-Thinking Gender, Power, Loyalty, and Conformity.

The Greatest Superpower by Alex Sanchez

It's the summer before eighth grade, and thirteen year-old Jorge Fuerte wants nothing more than to spend his days hanging out with his fellow comic-book-obsessed friends. But then everything changes. Jorge's parents announce they're divorcing for a reason he and his twin brother, Cesar, never saw coming--their larger-than-life dad comes out as transgender.

Jorge struggles to understand the father he's always admired, but Cesar refuses to have anything to do with him.

As Jorge tries to find a way to stay true to the father he loves, a new girl moves into the neighborhood: cool, confident, quirky Zoey. Jorge must face his fears and choose between being loyal to his brother or truthful about his family's secret. Although he's no superhero, Jorge already has the world's greatest superpower--if he decides to use it.

I'm a big fan of Alex's work, and so excited that we'll be having a virtual conversation as part of the April 6, 2021 launch party for my No Way, They Were Gay?

Add your review of "The Greatest Superpower" in comments!

Gender 101 Episode 32 Redux: Nenu and Frankie on Being Gender Queer AND Persons of Color

Benji (a.k.a. Lucy) continues our discussions on gender, asking Nenu and Frankie to share about being both Gender Queer and People of Color.



What amazing latin@s!

Check out the original posting here.

Namaste,
Lee

Gender 101, episode #19 Redux: Meet Frankie

My Gender Queer friend Benji continues the conversation about gender by introducing us to Frankie Palacios.

They discuss identity, how gender is culturally defined - particularly in Latino/Latina culture, and the term "Macho Femme." It's a great introduction to another Gender Queer and very cool person, and I'm so delighted to meet Frankie. I think you will be, too.



Here are three comments from the original post, many of which reference the series' return:

ivanova said...
Awesome! I'm really excited we have another "semester" of Gender 101 and I hope Frankie will return.
February 22, 2012 at 6:19 AM

Lisa Jenn Bigelow said...
Oh yay, I was hoping there would be more of these! Awesome.
February 22, 2012 at 6:48 AM

Joanna said...
I love this series and was waiting for its return. Thanks Lee, Benjie and Frankie.
February 22, 2012 at 10:58 AM

Barriers To Love: Embracing A Bisexual Identity - A Memoir about coming of age and overcoming the struggle with family, society, Latino culture and self to accept one's bisexual identity

Barriers To Love: Embracing A Bisexual Identity by Marina Peralta

Set in Mexico and California, BARRIERS TO LOVE traces how early sexual abuse in Marina's childhood led to her sexual confusion in adolescence. Jilted by her first boyfriend, comforted by a lesbian girlfriend and controlled by her widowed mother, she married an emotionally detached man, only to find love with a woman later in life.

The author Marina Peralta is a San Diego-based psycho-therapist who specializes in the treatment of young adults, adults, and families dealing with sexual identity issues and abuse. In her memoir Marina employs her own compelling life story to address the myths and facts of bisexual identity and to explore the concept of sexual fluidity.

Add your review of "Barriers To Love" in comments!

Gender 101, Episode 32: Nenu and Frankie on Being Gender Queer AND Persons Of Color

Benji (a.k.a. Lucy) continues our discussions on gender, asking Nenu and Frankie to share about being both Gender Queer and People of Color.



What amazing latin@s!

Namaste,
Lee

Gender 101, Episode 24: Nenu's Gender Non-Conforming Heroes

Our Gender Queer friend Lucy, a.k.a. Benji, continues our conversation about Gender with Nenu Cruz, exploring Nenu's gender non-conforming heroes.



You can find out more about Frida Kahlo here.

And how awesome is it for Nenu to be able to refer to Nenu's grandmother as "bad ass?"

Namaste,
Lee

Gender 101, Episode 23: Meet Nenu

Our Gender Queer Friend Lucy, a.k.a. Benji, continues the conversation about gender with Nenu Cruz, who explains their own journey with gender, and introduces us to the term "Maribri."




Here's that amazing image of Maribri again, and my thanks to artist Cindy Segura for allowing me to share it with you all!

Maribri

"A Maribri is a hybrid that transforms into their own image without limits or expectations.  The mix of a Mariposa (butterfly) and Colibri (hummingbird).  The hybrid of masculinity and femininity and neither.  A third gender that wants to be liberated from the social construct roles and their own."
- Nenu

I'm so glad to have met Nenu!

Namaste,
Lee

ps- my apologies for the video quality being so inconsistent.

Gender 101, Episode 19 - Meet Frankie

Gender 101 is back on Wednesdays!

Today we're starting the Spring, well, we could call it a series, but I've been learning so much I think I'm going to call it our Spring 2012 Semester!

My Gender Queer friend Benji continues the conversation about gender by introducing us to Frankie Palacios.

They discuss identity, how gender is culturally defined - particularly in Latino/Latina culture, and the term "Macho Femme."  It's a great introduction to another Gender Queer and very cool person, and I'm so delighted to meet Frankie.  I think you will be, too.





Namaste,
Lee