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A review by simonlorden
The Trans Generation: How Trans Kids (and Their Parents) Are Creating a Gender Revolution by Ann Travers
5.0
rating: 4.5 stars
I don't feel like I'm trapped in the wrong body. It's more that I'm trapped in other people's perceptions of my body.
When I wrote my BA thesis on a fictional genderfluid teen character last year, I looked into academic literature and all kinds of articles on transgender children. Maybe I was just looking in the wrong place, but I found that most of these articles were written /about/ transgender children, but from an outsider's perspective. In that regard, this book was refreshing for two reasons: it has a nonbinary author, and also many actual quotes from transgender and nonbinary teens and their parents. Most importantly, it lets the children use their own words to define their own identities. (One trans kid actually has a nonbinary parent and it's awesome!)
The other reason this book was incredibly refreshing is that it was published in 2018, when most other literature I found was published at least 10 years ago. The Trans Generation is so recent that it has a section on the first 10 months of Trump presidency, and how it changed the situation for trans people in the US.
This book focuses entirely on US and Canada, but it still does its best to interview diverse children of various identities and races. The author is white, but they consciously address their white privilege and talk about how they made steps to make sure their writing is inclusive.
Overall, I found this a really helpful overview on the situation of trans people in the US and Canada (as someone who doesn't live in either place). I also really appreciated the quotes from the actual trans children, and their self-definitions which were really interesting to read. Wish I was that confident in myself when I was 15 or younger.
I especially appreciated that there are sections that deal specifically with nonbinary people and how the issues they face are often different from binary trans people.
I don't feel like I'm trapped in the wrong body. It's more that I'm trapped in other people's perceptions of my body.
When I wrote my BA thesis on a fictional genderfluid teen character last year, I looked into academic literature and all kinds of articles on transgender children. Maybe I was just looking in the wrong place, but I found that most of these articles were written /about/ transgender children, but from an outsider's perspective. In that regard, this book was refreshing for two reasons: it has a nonbinary author, and also many actual quotes from transgender and nonbinary teens and their parents. Most importantly, it lets the children use their own words to define their own identities. (One trans kid actually has a nonbinary parent and it's awesome!)
The other reason this book was incredibly refreshing is that it was published in 2018, when most other literature I found was published at least 10 years ago. The Trans Generation is so recent that it has a section on the first 10 months of Trump presidency, and how it changed the situation for trans people in the US.
This book focuses entirely on US and Canada, but it still does its best to interview diverse children of various identities and races. The author is white, but they consciously address their white privilege and talk about how they made steps to make sure their writing is inclusive.
Overall, I found this a really helpful overview on the situation of trans people in the US and Canada (as someone who doesn't live in either place). I also really appreciated the quotes from the actual trans children, and their self-definitions which were really interesting to read. Wish I was that confident in myself when I was 15 or younger.
I especially appreciated that there are sections that deal specifically with nonbinary people and how the issues they face are often different from binary trans people.