Kyle Lukoff, author of the Stonewall Award-winning When Aidan Became a Brother and the Max and Friends series (both about transgender boys), has just published his first middle grade novel. That in itself should be enough for you to go read it immediately. If you need more convincing, though, or just want to know a little more about it, however, here’s a review.
I first asked the titular question back in 2011, and more than 300 of you have responded over the years, along with lots of stories about how your parental names came to be—so here’s an updated summary of the LGBTQ Parental Names Project (and a chance to add your own names and story)!
Stacey Stevenson, the recently hired CEO of Family Equality, is serious about the work ahead. “This isn’t about a job for me; this is about survival,” she told me in an interview. “Through all of the adversity I have faced over the years, I feel I have been preparing for this role my entire life.”
While the current legislative season is seeing a horrifying record number of anti-transgender bills, there were three wins this week: the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a memo affirming that Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation, contrary to what the Trump administration had said; the governor of Arkansas vetoed a bill that would have prevented transgender minors from receiving gender-affirming medication or surgery; and the NCAA president has spoken in support of transgender youth in sports.
Today, my spouse Helen and I are celebrating our second anniversary in a pandemic and our 28th overall. I can’t think of anyone I’d rather quarantine with than you, dear—and that’s no April Fool’s joke.
Today is the Transgender Day of Visibility, so I’m celebrating by rounding up 25 (!) picture books with transgender and/or nonbinary characters that have been published in 2020 and 2021 alone. (I’ll also show you how to find older trans-inclusive kids’ books and ones for and about trans parents.)
A bill introduced in both houses of the Tennessee Legislature would prohibit public schools from using textbooks or instructional materials “that promote, normalize, support, or address lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) issues or lifestyles.”
In a new picture book by the real-life mother of a transgender daughter, a young boy isn’t quite sure what’s happening when his younger sibling, whom he thought was a boy, begins to want long hair and to wear dresses. The whole family learns together in this story that adds to the small number of picture books about transgender children and their siblings.
Passover, the Jewish holiday celebrating freedom from slavery, starts this weekend—and yes, there are a few (very few) queer-inclusive picture books about the holiday. There are none that I know of about Easter, alas (but I’ll share an idea for one)!
A new ad from Pantene, part of a series about LGBTQ families, stars a transgender girl and her two moms talking about the power of visibility. It’s a wonderful ad, not only for depicting a trans girl, but also for giving us representation of a queer kid with queer parents.
