An alphabet book offering names and definitions for 26 different gender identities and associated words, from “agender” to “ze/zir.” If you have even a passing familiarity with LGBTQ terminology, you will know many of the terms here—“transgender,” “cisgender,” “female to male” (and “male to female”), “gender fluid,” “intersex,” and more—but some will likely be new to many: “horogender,” “juxera,” “kynigender,” “libragender,” “venngender,” and “witchgender,” among others.
Dalal explains in an introduction that “This book is meant to accompany adults as they approach the topic of identity with children and open up a wider conversation about diversity, acceptance and equality. It hopes to help children navigate their individuality and empower them with the confidence to be themselves.” The adult engagement is key to understanding this book—the definitions in it don’t seem geared to children, or at least not to young ones. “Kynigender,” for example, is “Someone who is unable to pinpoint their gender due to the stress of the questioning process.” The vocabulary level of other definitions (“fluctuating,” “third person” (in the grammatical sense)) also means adult assistance may be necessary to understanding.
A Guide for Adults at the back, by Michele Angello, a psychologist who works with transgender youth, offers a little more information about the difference between sex and gender and between gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation—but it still feels like even an adult without a greater knowledge of these topics might be a little lost starting with this book and trying to understand the differences, say, between being “libragender” (“Someone who is agender but has a strong connection to a different gender”) and being “pangender” (“Someone who identifies with more than one gender at the same time.”) Yes, there is a difference; it just may be hard for some to grasp—and the book offers no assistance about which terms one is more or less likely to encounter.
Angello suggests having discussions with children about these identities—asking if they’ve heard of them, know anyone who identifies as them, or if they’ve ever felt like them themselves. This may be useful for children at some point in their exploration and understanding of gender, but doesn’t seem like the best place to begin—and the book never makes that clear. (Try It Feels Good to Be Yourself: A Book About Gender Identity, instead, if you want a good starting point that discusses basic gender concepts in an interactive way.)
I should note, too, that “Yinyang Ren: A Chinese gender term for someone who identifies equally with male and female,” is the only non-Western term used, which feels odd. Perhaps breaking away from the “one term per letter” alphabet format would have allowed the book to be more inclusive of some additional terms from various cultures around the world.
While this book is therefore notable for showcasing some of the lesser-known gender identities, it is neither pedagogically simple and explanatory enough to be a primer for young children nor detailed enough to be helpful for adults new to the subject. It may, however, be a useful reference for those who already know something about gender identities and want to get a better sense of the many different genders out there.
