It’s fairly obvious that information for transgender children, and their parents, is pretty scarce. And it’s also very obvious that that’s something that definitely needs to change. Because otherwise, kids who experience gender dysphoria feel like this:
“I didn’t know there was a word for what I was and I thought I was the only one.” – Evie McDonald, 10 years old.
Jo Hirst, an Australian teacher, experienced this with her son (who was assigned female at birth), and “didn’t have the language” to explain to her what he was feeling until he was about six years old. He hated wearing female clothing, always played with boys, and refused to answer to his female birth name, instead rotating through a number of male names.
According to The Age, Hirst’s son would ask her questions, and she knew she had to have correct and supportive answers for him:
“Can the doctor have made a mistake? Was I supposed to have been born a boy? Am I the only kid in the world like this?”
But, while Hirst searched far and wide to make sure she had all the information that her son needed, she was mortified to find that she couldn’t find the answers. So, she took matters into her own hands and wrote a book, called ‘The Gender Fairy‘.
The children’s book helps to explain what it means to be transgender in a child (and parent) friendly way. The book hopes to normalise some common feelings that transgender children may experience, and gives them the language to be able to properly describe their emotions.
Speaking to the ABC, Hirst explained that the message of the book was very simple:
“You are normal, you are not alone. Understand me. It’s as simple as that. That’s the simple message for the children.If we can give children the language to talk about gender then they can express themselves more freely and understand that they’re normal and not be frightened. Children deserve that.”
Honestly, we’re not crying. There’s just something in our eyes.
We can’t help but be reminded of the wonderfulness of children’s book ‘I Think I’m A Poof’ by Samuel Leighton-Dore, who we interviewed earlier this year:
The more children who feel informed and equipped to talk about their experiences and feelings as they enter the LGBTI community, the better. <3
Image: Eddie Jim via The Age.
