Monday, February 11, 2013
Diversity 101: The Transgender Perspective
Contributed to CBC Diversity by Cris Beam
http://www.cbcdiversity.com/2013/02/diversity-101-transgender-perspective.html (http://www.cbcdiversity.com/2013/02/diversity-101-transgender-perspective.html)
I was honored when I was asked to write a Diversity 101 post about transgender identity. Honored and a little daunted. Because while I've written two books on the topic, I'm not transgender—and speaking about always ends up becoming speaking for. Which is part of the problem with gender representations in general: who gets to speak for whom? Especially in children's literature where gender variance is, well, not so variant yet, I know I'm walking into hot water. The scarcity of GLBT (accent on the T) depictions yields strong opinions as to how we should talk—and write—about the few transgender characters we have.
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My Personal Connection
I wrote my two books (Transparent and I Am J) about very specific people in very specific places; I have a transgender partner and a transgender daughter and the books were, in a way, love letters to them. So whether you're a teacher, writer or librarian looking to expand your understanding of trans issues, just know there are a lot of ways of looking at an elephant (and the elephant might not even identify as an elephant). I can provide one perspective, but the conversation is growing, mighty and loud. It's very exciting to listen in, and there's more to learn every day.