Author Alex Myers, an award-winning author, teacher, consultant, and speaker, was the first out transgender student at Phillips Exeter Academy and Harvard University, and has worked as an advocate for transgender rights since 1995. In this revised edition of his 2021 title, he offers information and advice to help schools support transgender and gender nonconforming students—and create more positive, equitable spaces for all students.
Myers begins with a look at why schools should be doing this important work, and how they can conduct a “gender audit” to see where they currently stand. He looks at topics such as bathroom and locker room access, sports teams, dormitories and sharing rooms on school trips, single-gender institutions, censorship and libraries, and more. The chapters end with suggestions for reflection, research, and action.
Parts of the content, such as that about dormitories and single-gender institutions, seems targeted at independent/private schools. Some of his suggestions for action, too, seem to presume the sometimes-greater latitude private schools have for convening groups and making change without lengthy and laborious processes; there is little here about dealing specifically with public school boards and the laws and policies surrounding them. This sense of a private-school audience is reinforced by the four publisher’s blurbs, all from private school administrators. Some content feels useful for schools of all types, but public-school educators would do well to supplement this book with ones such as the Advocate Educator’s Handbook and Gender-Inclusive Schools, which offer more specific to their institutions.
I will note that Myers at one point discusses his own identity and asserts that although he has been on testosterone, he remains “mostly female in body” and “I don’t understand myself to be a man.” Far be it from me to question how he feels about himself—but this assertion may confuse readers who hear other trans people assert, “Trans men are men” or “Trans women are women.” As I read it, however, Myers is talking about sex here, not gender; elsewhere, he writes of standing in front of his former teachers as “a man,” which feels like he’s referring to his gender. Granted, I’m a cis person and could very well be wrong in my interpretation, but regardless, a little more explanation here about how he and other trans people may use these terms would have been helpful.
Overall, though, the information in this volume feels useful, and Myers’ personal experiences as a trans person are invaluable. The other two titles above, however, put more structure around their suggestions and often go into a further level of detail; they may be better for educators seeking a little more handholding as they engage with the work of trans inclusion, particularly in public schools. Myers explores some topics related to private schools, though, that the others don’t go into and that private-school educators may particularly appreciate.
