Publisher's Letter: Talking with Kids and Teens about Transgender Issues

by Laura Matanah

Rainbow Rumpus is proud to serve kids and teens with trans parents, and trans parents themselves. We also recognize that there is a great deal of education to be done among people of all ages. If you’re just beginning to familiarize yourself with transgender issues and wondering how to talk with kids and teens about them, here are a few tips.

Start by educating yourself. Trans people, and especially trans people of color, must combat appallingly high levels of discrimination on a daily basis. In a large scale study on the experiences of transgender adults, over half of the trans people surveyed had been physically and sexually assaulted. They were four times more likely to have incomes of at least $10,000 less than the general population.

Encourage schools to step forward and educate. A study on the experiences of young trans people in schools concluded the following:

“If a school system tried to coerce any other group of individuals to become people they are not, to regard an inner core of their identities as illegitimate, and prevent them from expressing their identities freely, particularly from a very young age, it would be characterized as barbaric.... The [resulting] internalization of self-hatred, guilt, self-doubt and low self-esteem in childhood affects transgender people throughout their lives. Any education system, or indeed society, which allows this state of affairs to continue is neither fully inclusive nor fully humane.”

We can change this by beginning to talk about people who don't fit neatly into male and female categories in age-appropriate ways.

Introduce the concept of transgender people in a way that invites children and teens to ask questions. Reading books or stories is a great way to do this. The Rainbow Rumpus story Lost and Found is perfect for younger children. Rainbow Riot also has a set of two stories for teens. Still Me, Still You by Amy Emm introduces us to Nate, a teen having a rough time accepting his father's transition. (It also was the first fiction ever published about a teen dealing with a parent who is transitioning.) So. What., also by Emm, tells the story of how Nate deals with bullying at school. Teens can also read the recent Stonewall Book Award winner Almost Perfect by Brian Katcher or Luna by Julie Ann Peters, which tell the stories of teens who are themselves transitioning.

We'd love to hear about the conversations you have on our Facebook page.