Diversity 101: The Transgender Perspective

Contributed to CBC Diversity by Cris Beam

I was honored when I was asked to write a Diversity 101 post about transgender identity. Honored and a little daunted. Because while I’ve written two books on the topic, I’m not transgender—and speaking about always ends up becoming speaking for. Which is part of the problem with gender representations in general: who gets to speak for whom? Especially in children’s literature where gender variance is, well, not so variant yet, I know I’m walking into hot water. The scarcity of GLBT (accent on the T) depictions yields strong opinions as to how we should talk—and write—about the few transgender characters we have. 

People used to say that transgender was an umbrella term to encompass all kinds of gender variance—from drag king to transsexual to the little boy who wears tutus to play with his trucks. While the umbrella concept’s fallen out of favor somewhat, the core idea is useful: there are a myriad of ways to express one’s sense of self.  Transgender is fundamentally an internal identity wherein one’s understanding of self is different from the body one was born with. The expression part is separate, and can range from wearing different clothing to undergoing medical procedures to doing nothing at all. The bottom line is, only transgender people can decide that they’re trans, and it’s up to the rest of us to support and celebrate that.

My Personal Connection

I wrote my two books (Transparent and I Am J) about very specific people in very specific places; I have a transgender partner and a transgender daughter and the books were, in a way, love letters to them. So whether you’re a teacher, writer or librarian looking to expand your understanding of trans issues, just know there are a lot of ways of looking at an elephant (and the elephant might not even identify as an elephant). I can provide one perspective, but the conversation is growing, mighty and loud. It’s very exciting to listen in, and there’s more to learn every day.
 
Stereotypes/Cliches/Tropes/Errors 
Whoo-eee, where do I start? Because I have two transgender family members, I’m hit with these every day. 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.

Interestingly, I’ve found that kids—especially young kids--have an easier time with this concept than the adults. Adults tend to believe that there are two genders, male and female, and if you don’t feel comfortable in one, you must want to “switch,” entirely, over to the other. (Hence the obsession with surgery: I can’t tell you the number of times people have asked me if my daughter has had “the surgery” to which I’ll politely query something about their own genitalia. Kids, thankfully, know that it’s rude to point at people’s underwear.) Children’s books, for instance, are replete with talking animals and time machines; I’ve found that kids routinely accept the boy who wants to be called Shemeka, and the character who “acts” like a boy but responds to feminine pronouns. (Remember Harriet the Spy?) And they can understand that some people feel like both boy and girl, or like something in between.

Because 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. This isn’t always the case, but often, I suspect because adults start parceling their world into “girl’s” clothes and “boy’s” clothes, “girl’s” toys and “boy’s” toys, kids this young know when they don’t fit in. And it hurts. This is why books like 10,000 Dresses are particularly important (and the more subtle It’s Okay to Be Different) for the younger set.

Unfortunately, there are far more books (and movies, like the lovely Ma Vie En Rose) about kids who are born male and express themselves in traditionally feminine ways than there are the reverse. This plays into the stereotype that there are more transwomen than there are transmen, which simply isn’t true. (The stereotype may be a function of misogyny: of course girls strive to be boys, but to act like a girl? Ewwww.) As we move into books for teen readers, we start to see stories told at a slant: many transgender narratives are told from the point of view of friends or family. In other words, how does a transperson affect everybody else? These are important but, when you find first-person perspectives (don’t forget the boys!) by all means, read them, teach them, share them far and wide.

What I'd Like to See
Because there isn’t yet a tremendous range of published children’s literature with transgender themes or characters, my hope is that teachers and librarians first incorporate the books that are available into their classrooms, but also integrate gender variance into everyday lesson plans. Does every anecdotal character need to be exclusively male or female? Can we challenge older kids’ assumptions about what it means to act like a sissy or a dude, a fairy, a butch, an intolerant fool? Because gender variance is like breathing—it happens everywhere, naturally, beneath and beyond our control. And if we treat it like that, the gender variant kids in our family rooms and classrooms will grow into adults confident enough to write even more stories of their own.

Suggested Reading
For Teen Readers:

Fiction

I Am J by Cris Beam

Parrotfish by Ellen Wittlinger

Luna by Julie Ann Peters

Putting Make-Up on The Fat Boy by Bill Wright

Happy Families by Tanita S. Davis

Nonfiction

Hello Cruel World: 101 Alternatives to Suicide for Teens, Freaks and Other Outlaws by Kate Bornstein

The Transgender Child: A Handbook for Families and Professionals by Stephanie Brill and Rachel Pepper

Transparent: Love, Family and Living the T with Transgender Teenagers by Cris Beam

For Younger Readers:

My Princess Boy by Cheryl Kilodavis, illustrated by Suzanne DeSimone

10,000 Dresses by Marcus Ewert, illustrated by Rex Ray

William’s Doll by Charlotte Zolotow, illustrated by William Pene du Bois

It’s Okay to Be Different by Todd Parr

Wandering Son by Shimura Takako, translated by Matt Thorn

Cris Beam is an author and professor in New York City. She is the author of Transparent: Love, Family and Living the T with Transgender Teenagers (Harcourt, 2007) and I Am J (Little, Brown, 2011). Her third book, To The End of June: The Intimate Life of American Foster Care, will be released by Houghton Mifflin-Harcourt in August, 2013.