WEBSITES:
TransKids Purple Rainbow Foundation is dedicated to funding research and education about transgender issues to build a brighter future for all TransKids.
Our children aren’t pink or blue – but rather – various shades of purple.
PFLAG TNet (Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays Trans Network)
PFLAG’s eTransParent Newsletter
HOW YOUNG IS TOO YOUNG? by Reid Vanderburgh, MA
BOOKS:
Our Trans Children (Downloadable)
The book is an introduction to trans issues especially for parents of “children” of all ages.Contents include commonly asked questions, commonalities and differences between sexual orientation and gender identity, issues of transgendered youth, and transgender and the law. This is an excellent educational tool for families, friends, employers, and the larger community.
Carly: She’s Still My Daddy By Mary Boenke with illustrations by Dolores Dudley
A skillfully crafted 20-page booklet for children of transgender persons. It is appropriate for elementary school children either to read themselves or have parents read to them. This is a story from a child’s point of view about his father’s transition from Carl to Carly. It also introduces the reader to other trans persons — female to male, intersex, crossdressers, and those who live in the middle. The reactions of playmates, grandparents, and the child’s mother are represented. Benchmarks of Carly’s full transition are built into the story. More difficult words are capitalized for emphasis, but most children will get a good sense of the meaning from the text. Illustrations on every page are simple and appropriate and the story is realistic and positive.
Trans Forming Families, Real Stories About Transgendered Loved Ones By Mary Boenke
The best first book for parents and others struggling to understand. Here is a compilation of stories by parents of young TGs, parents of adult TGs, spouses, partners, grandparents, siblings, and friends describing their respective journeys from bewilderment to acceptance of their transgendered loved one. It includes brief auto-bios by transgender people themselves, trans experiences as parents, articles by therapists who work with trans persons and parents, trans glossary, trans/family bibliography, and a list of TG organizations.
10,000 Dresses by Marcus Ewert and Rex Ray
Every night, Bailey dreams about magical dresses: dresses made of crystals and rainbows, dresses made of flowers, dresses made of windows. . . . Unfortunately, when Bailey’s awake, no one wants to hear about these beautiful dreams. Quite the contrary: “You’re a BOY!” Mother and Father tell Bailey. “You shouldn’t be thinking about dresses at all.” Then Bailey meets Laurel, an older girl who is touched and inspired by Bailey’s imagination and courage. In friendship, the two of them begin making dresses together. And Bailey becomes the girl she always dreamed she’d be! This gorgeous picture book—a modern fairy tale about becoming the person you feel you are inside—will delight people of all ages. (ages 4-8)
In this picture-book biography, she introduces stagecoach driver Charley Parkhurst, whose astonishing secret was revealed after death: Hold your horses / Huge surprise . . . / He’s a woman in disguise. Rhyming couplets follow Parkhurst from orphaned stableboy to Old West legend, known for coarse behavior and consummate driving skill. The pace is sometimes jarring, but Kay admirably distills the facts with the fewest possible words. Young people will quickly understand the unusual freedoms Charley enjoyed, in contrast to those of other women: They were bound by / Petticoats. / Couldn’t drive or / Cast their votes. Realistic, oil paintings evoke the period and create a strong character in rough, formidable Charley. A final, innovative spread places chronological facts onto a U.S. map. Although particularly appropriate for sharing during women’s history month, this accessible, rapid read-aloud will spark kids’ curiosity throughout the year. (ages 9-12)
Mom, I Need to Be a Girl by Just Evelyn (downloadable)
The true account of a mother’s struggle to support her transitioning teen and the struggles they encounter with professionals, schools, and the rest of the system.
More reading resources available here: http://www.imatyfa.org/services/recommendedreading.html
MOVIES:
Gender Matters: Expression and Identities Beyond the Binary
Six short films about transgender & gender non-conforming youth adults.
