For Transgender Awareness Week, here’s a recap of some of the best children’s books published this year that have transgender protagonists or significant trans characters. Add them to your bookshelf or library for any day of any week!
Calvin is a gentle first-person picture book about a transgender boy who transitions with the love and support of his family, teachers, and friends. Vanessa Ford, who co-authored the book with her husband JR, said in an interview that the book “shows the necessity of having a community around trans youth, that when one child transitions, others transition alongside that child, and that it takes a community to ensure that they are safe and protected.”
Halloween is almost here, a celebration of all things scary. That means, of course, that we should be celebrating queer parenting, too, which brings with it no end of scary moments. Here are some I have had, along with a few thoughts on facing our fears.
A new, free, research-based poster series for American Indian families and communities is aimed at helping parents, families, and caregivers to support LGBTQ and Two Spirit (LGBTQ2S) children and youth, reducing health risks and increasing well-being.
Today is Spirit Day, GLAAD’s annual event to speak out against anti-LGBTQ bullying and stand with LGBTQ youth. Watch trans queer dad Reese Rathjen Amyx reading his toddler a sweet anti-bullying board book with a message of kindness!
Happy International Pronouns Day! My pronouns are she/her. To celebrate the day, here are some kids’ books, music, and games all about pronouns and how to use them respectfully—good for any time of year!
October is LGBTQ History Month, and I could write, as I have in the past, about the long history of LGBTQ parents, arguably going back to Sappho (7th-6th century BCE) and Alexander the Great (4th century BCE). This year, I instead want to remind us that we and our families are part of this long history, and to encourage us to think about how we can preserve our own family histories and pass them on to our children.
Coming out is often described as an ongoing journey. As parents, we take the journey with our children.
Pull up a chair and check out some of these great recent stories about LGBTQ families, including ones on donor kin, becoming a parent at an older age, and sharing household responsibilities!
It is many a queer parent’s nightmare: your child’s sperm donor sues for paternity. When it happened to Robin Young and Sandy Russo in 1991, it precipitated a landmark four-year court battle that indelibly marked 9-year-old Ry Russo-Young and her 11-year-old sister Cade. Yet Ry, now an award-winning filmmaker, had never really been able to process her feelings about what happened. Her attempt to do so, and to understand the other side of the story, led her to create Nuclear Family, a three-part documentary that premieres this Sunday on HBO.
