This is a well-intended book, written by the mother of a trans boy, and translated from Swedish, but there are a few flaws that could be showstoppers for some. Part of the Perfectly Me series, this is the first-person story of a White transgender boy who shares his journey to being accepted as his true gender. We see the child get “sad and angry” when his mother buys him dresses and skirts, tries to put his hair in girls’ styles, and calls him “Emma.” When he asserts that he wants boys’ clothes and short hair and to be called “Linus,” though, his parents and friends are accepting, and his school even throws him a party for his new name. We see his school change the name label on the coat rack and other places. “Now I feel I’m really me!” Linus concludes.
On the very first page, however, we read, “My name is Emma! I am a boy even though I am a girl!” This feels like an unnecessary use of a trans character’s deadname (the name given at birth rather than the name they want to reflect their real gender). The author does later show how the character changed his name to “Linus”—but if Linus is the name he wants, it doesn’t jibe that he would introduce himself with his deadname (at least without immediately indicating that he doesn’t want it). Additionally, the second sentence implies that trans boys are somehow both boys and girls. This just isn’t true unless they’re nonbinary (which this child is not; there’s another book in the series that stars a clearly nonbinary child).
The book goes on to explain that “Everybody thinks I am a girl because my body looks like a girl” (and we see an image of Linus looking at his naked body in the mirror) but readers may still be thrown by the first page. The naked image, while cartoony, also clearly shows Linus’ genitals, and feels unnecessary. We shouldn’t be focusing on trans people’s genitals. And the idea that that body “looks like a girl” may unintentionally reinforce the incorrect assumption that genders are determined by bodies.
Linus also dons a police outfit at one point. While presumably intended as a dress-up costume, this feels like a bad choice for the U.S. edition of the book, given the often hostile attitudes towards trans people that many police officers have here. (I can’t speak to the situation in Sweden, where the book was originally published.)
While clearly meant as a positive portrayal, there are better books about trans children.
(Thanks to Seth Day of Rad Child Podcast for sharing some of his thoughts about this book with me. Any errors remain my own.)
