'A is for Agender, B is for Bigender and C is for Cisgender. Welcome to the ABC of Gender Identity!
'This bright and playful A - Z introduces young readers to 26 gender identities to help raise awareness and acceptance of different genders. Gender identity is an important part of who we are, and how we express ourselves in the world, and this book aims to help children better understand themselves and those around them.
'With simple explanations, a helpful guide for adults, and a diverse cast of illustrated characters, this is the perfect book for exploring diversity, acceptance and equality with children age 5+.'
Thankfully the world is starting to understand that gender isn't just fixed to what people assume you have when you're born, and that it's extremely possible for children to know about gender from a very young age, and more importantly, if that gender doesn't fit what they were assigned at birth. However, we still like in a world where many, many people will hate you if you show any kind of gender variance, or stray from 'the norm'. Transphobia is an increasing problem, and education is one of the best ways of dealing with this.
This is what The ABC's of Gender Identity is trying to do. It's a bright and colourful resource for parents and their young children that's designed to let kids know that there's more to the world than boys and girls, that gender is a spectrum rather than a binary.
The book goes through 26 different gender identity terms and gives a simple sentence or two about them so that kids can understand what they mean. I say gender identity terms rather than gender identities like they do in the introduction, because a few of these terms have a lot of overlap, and some of them seem to be using different terms for the same kind of gender, as well as some pronouns, in order to find words for each letter of the alphabet. This isn't an issue, however, as different people will prefer different words to describe themselves, even if they're relatively the same thing, and learning that people can choose the terms that is most comfortable for them is an important lesson.
This isn't a book with a huge amount of information, it's not a resource that you're going to be turning to if you're looking to go in depth on the subject, but if you're simply looking to introduce the idea to kids, and perhaps help a child who feels unsure about their own gender it's a great resource, and hopefully one that will be included in many libraries and schools, helping to lessen the stigma trans issues.
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