B.J. Epstein
Lecturer in literature and translation, University of East Anglia
Dreaming of Dresses: Transgender Books for Children
Posted: 02/15/2012 3:03 pm
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bj-epstein/transgender-books-for-children_b_1278473.htmlYoung people are coming out as transgender ever earlier, which often means that they want medical treatment at younger ages. This is a thought that worries and bewilders some adults, in part because they do not believe that children can really know who they are or what they want but also in part because they simply don't have enough information about gender dysphoria.
These days, we see some trans and intersex people in the media, although there is often an emphasis on the problems they face. News reports discuss bullying and suicide. Films such as Boys Don't Cry or XXY depict struggles and pain. Novels often do a bit better in terms of nuance (such as Jeffrey Eugenides's Middlesex or Annabel by Kathleen Winter), but are not always easily available (one thinks here of Leslie Feinberg's Stone Butch Blues). So it's not surprising that adults don't always get accurate information or positive ideas about trans issues.
