David Edwards, a career educator, queer person, and the father of a transgender girl, has written a practical guide full of tips and advice to help answer and take action on the question: “What do gender-expansive students need from their school communities to thrive?” While the book is aimed primarily at educators, it will also be useful for any adults in a school community, including parents.
In creating this informative and helpful volume, Edwards draws on his own experience with discrimination against his daughter, hundreds of trainings and consultations he’s given, and the work of many students, educators, parents, community members, advocates, and researchers. The introduction includes some basic terms and definitions, as well as a “Gender-Inclusive Practices Assessment” that schools can use to see where they stand. The first two chapters then discuss the two guiding principles: “Support happy and healthy kids” and “Protect privacy and confidentiality,” and explain some general approaches for responding to challenging questions and comments.
The next eight chapters explore topics including social transitions, facilities access, sports and activities, names and pronouns, visible support (including safe-space language and visibility that is “celebratory and affirming, not just focused on the impact of historical marginalization”), daily gender-inclusive practices, and gender-inclusion policies (including a model policy to use as a starting point).
One chapter also covers medical transitions. Much of the chapter was written by Dr. Kade Goepferd, medical director of the Gender Health Program and Chief Education Officer at Children’s Minnesota, who affirms that “access to developmentally appropriate, evidence-based, essential health care can be lifesaving for TGD [trans and gender diverse] kids,” but also emphasizing that not all TGD kids need medical interventions and that surgeries for TGD youth are extremely rare. There’s enough here to give readers a sense of what types of care may be available, but Edwards notes, “This chapter intentionally limits discussion of medical transitions to communicate respect for gender-expansive people’s right to privacy and autonomy.” That feels appropriate.
Every chapter ends with a “check-in” on how the chapter aligns with the guiding principles; specific suggestions for responding to challenging questions and comments related to the chapter’s topic; and questions for review and reflection. Sprinkled throughout are relevant quotes from gender-expansive students themselves.
Overall, Edwards’ advice feels thoughtful and student-centered, with a sense of the everyday realities that educators face (though I recognize my limitations evaluating this as a cisgender non-educator with a cisgender child). For example, he explains that “Teachers sometimes feel as if they are on their own in defending their LGBTQ+ students.” That’s where gender-inclusive policies come in, he says, because “Communities need to lift the burden of defense from educators and empower them to communicate that gender-expansive kids are valued.”
Edwards packs a lot into just over 100 pages, but admits that this “is not a comprehensive textbook or handbook that addresses every important aspect of creating such [gender-expansive] spaces.” I found The Advocate Educator’s Handbook, by Vanessa Ford and Rebecca Kling, to be a little more thorough in its framework for creating gender-expansive school communities, covering additional topics like curriculum and creating GSAs (Genders and Sexualities Alliances). Nevertheless, Edwards’ more streamlined guide also has a lot to offer, particularly in its suggestions for how to respond to challenging questions while keeping the guiding principles in mind. Gender-expansive students deserve our support, and anyone seeking to offer it should be grateful to have a growing number of helpful guides.
