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George is 10, loves to read and has a best friend named Kelly. Everyone thinks George is a boy, but she doesn't feel like one.

George is a transgender fourth-grader. She's the heroine of a new book intended for readers in grades 3 to 7 and published by Scholastic, one of the largest children's publishing companies in the world. Author Alex Gino started writing George well before transgender people began appearing as well-rounded characters on TV shows or the covers of major magazines - not to mention having much opportunity to tell their own stories within mainstream media.

Gino grew up on Staten Island, studied education at the University of Pennsylvania and taught elementary school briefly before becoming a test prep coach and author. Gino prefers using the pronoun "they" rather than "him" or "her" when referring to themself. (The singular "they" is unconventional, rather than wrong. It can be found in the Oxford English Dictionary, as well as in the works of Chaucer and Shakespeare. And nobody else has to use it to refer to themselves if they don't want to.)

Conventional gender pronouns just don't work for Gino, the author says. Oh, and here's Gino's Twitter bio: "Fat queer trans activist, glitter liberationist, urban gardener, sourdough baker and then some."

"Someone this morning asked me online, 'Why do you identify as a fat queer, like, why do you label yourself, why don't you just be who you are," Gino sighs. "Well, I am a fat queer. I don't say that with shame. And I have no reason to think these are horrible things that I should be keeping secret. And there are plenty other fat queer urban gardener sourdough bakers who might like to know that they're not the only one."

Gino hopes George will help some kids know they're also not the only ones. Meanwhile, Scholastic believes the book is for everyone. The company is known for publishing the Harry Potter and Hunger Games series, massively popular books that sell millions of copies. With George, it settled on an initial press run of 50,000 copies. Editorial director David Levithan puts that number in perspective.

"Fifty thousand is pretty amazing for a debut author writing a middle grade book that isn't part of a series," he says. "No wizards, no Greek myths, no action adventure. It's just one girl's story."

Selling this particular girl's story to a mass market meant employing a similar strategy the company used with The Hunger Games. It's kind of crazy to remember now, but that book was initially seen as a potentially difficult sell. After all, it's about kids killing each other. But Levithan said that The Hunger Games is like George in that people may relate to the story more than they might think. "Once you read the book, you understand the book," he said. The trick was getting George into as many readers' hands as possible. The company sent it to 10,000 teachers, to children's librarians and took Gino around to major book fairs, including Winter Institute, run by the American Booksellers Association.

"All of the booksellers had a story to tell Alex about a trans kid that they knew, a trans kid in their family, a trans adult who worked in their store," Levithan recalls. "And it wasn't just the coasts, and it wasn't just sort of the liberal hotbeds. It was really booksellers from every state saying, 'Oh goodness. We need this book and I know exactly who I'm going to give it to.'"

Since 2000, hundreds of kids' books featuring transgender characters have come out. They're mostly self-published and mostly picture books or books for teenagers. There's virtually nothing in the middle, says j wallace skelton, who studies transgender representation in children's literature, works to prevent gender-based violence in public schools and is a transgender father of three.

Wallace skelton says calling the book George when the main character identifies as Melissa effectively reinforces a sense of the child as a boy, rather than the girl she knows herself to be.

It's not just, "This is a trans narrative." This is a narrative about a young person who is very much trying to become who they are.

Gino said they appreciated that point.

"If I were going to name [the book] now, I would not have done that," Gino says. "Because it is the assigned name, not her chosen name. When I started the book in 2003, the name of the book was Girl George - which was clearly an homage to Boy George. And then when Scholastic got it, one of the first things they did was, they cut off 'Girl' because they wanted to open up the audience. And I didn't even notice, in all of the things that happened, that I have effectively dead-named my main character."

By dead-naming, Gino means using the name that a person does not want used. "So I do feel conflicted about that."

Still, wallace skelton says he's a fan of George. He particularly liked how it handled violence toward its main character. Transgender people are still disproportionately marginalized, harassed, even killed. In George, the main character faces bullies, but she's not powerless in the face of their torment. And it's not what shapes her. Melissa plays video games with her brother, dreams about a starring role in the school play and visits the zoo with her best friend.

"It's not just, 'This is a trans narrative,' " wallace skelton says. "This is a narrative about a young person who is very much trying to become who they are."

Like much of the best children's literature, he says, George is about being true to who you are, being kind and learning about people both different - and maybe, similar to you.

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'George' Wants You To Know: She's Really Melissa

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George is 10, loves to read and has a best friend named Kelly. Everyone thinks George is a boy, but she doesn't feel like one. George is a transgender fourth-grader. She's the heroine of a new book intended for readers in grades 3 to 7 and published by Scholastic, one of the largest children's publishing companies in the world.

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Check out this article and video about two people in the United States who are transgender!

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This article was posted in Gender

Posted by Mey on

Jazz has been in national spotlight for a while. She's an incredibly bright, bubbly and brave fourteen-year-old girl who came out as trans and started transitioning before she was even in kindergarten. Since then, she's been just about everywhere, including the GLAAD Awards, her own documentary that aired on OWN, 20/20 being interviewed by Barbara Walters, the Advocate's "Top 40 Under 40" list and even recently Time Magazine's "25 Most Influential Teens of 2014."

Jazz's latest move is to help write and publish a children's book about her life. She hopes that this book, titled , which shows her early journey, including her diagnosis with gender dysphoria, her struggles at school and eventually her being able to grow into the person she is today, will help other trans kids, and just any kids who feel different, who are looking for someone who is like them.

I wrote this book so we could help educate other transgender youth and families that it is OK to be different. It's not just geared to LGBTQ people, but for everyone who is unique. And hopefully it can make a huge impact in letting everyone know that they have to accept each other because we're all part of the same society.

Jazz recently sat down with Katie Couric to talk about her book and what it's like being an influential trans teen in America. She and her mother want to get the message out that it's okay to be yourself, no matter what other people say. I Am Jazz, which was released in September, was co-written by Jazz and Jessica Herthel and features illustrations by Shelagh McNicholas. All the proceeds go to the TransKids Purple Rainbow Foundation to help trans youth.

Another trans teen who's stepping into the spotlight is thirteen-year-old Zoey, who appeared in the recent LOGO and MTV documentary Laverne Cox Presents: The T-Word. In the documentary she talked about how her mom helped her deal with bullying that not only came from other students after she transitioned at school, but from the school officials as well. Her scenes were some of the most inspirational and optimistic in the special.

Jazz and Zoey even appeared together during the Laverne Cox Presents: The T-Word post-show when Zoey and her mother Ofelia were talking about how to deal with bullying as a trans youth. Ofelia is an incredibly supportive mother, and seeing the two of them there standing together sent a powerful message. Zoey even says that "the biggest personal achievement was when my mom was like, 'What do you need? What is it that we need to do to make you happy?' I felt like my mom was there to love me and accept me," instead of being resistant to having a trans daughter.

After Zoey and her mother showed just how amazing a supportive family is to trans kids, Jazz stood up in the audience and answered questions about transitioning at an early age from Su-Chin Pak. Jazz's mother is also super supportive, and Laverne Cox pointed out just how important that is to being able to transition young.
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These kids are showing just how brave they are by going into the national spotlight and discussing these issues. Jazz doesn't have to speak in public and didn't have to write a book about her life. Zoey didn't have to go on national TV and tell her story in front of millions of viewers. But they did, and they continue to spread their messages of being able to be yourself and accepting others for who they are. They continue to stand up for trans rights and give trans kids a place where they can look and see themselves. The future of the trans movement is definitely bright as long as we have amazing trans kids like them.

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Check Out Two Trans Youth Who Are Changing the Way America Looks at Gender

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This article was posted in Gender Posted by Mey on Jazz has been in national spotlight for a while. She's an incredibly bright, bubbly and brave fourteen-year-old girl who came out as trans and started transitioning before she was even in kindergarten.

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What does it mean to be transgender?

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Usually, kids don't think too much about their gender. It feels normal and natural for many girls to be female and for many boys to be male. But that's not true for everyone. Transgender people who are born as boys feel they should be female, and those who are born as girls feel they should be male.

People who are transgender feel like they're living inside a body that's all wrong for them. They often say they feel "trapped in someone else's body."

What Being Transgender Means

When we think of ourselves as male or female, it's called gender identity. Everyone has a gender identity - the inborn sense of ourselves as being male or female.

Most people's gender identity matches their anatomy. But those who are transgender feel different from their physical appearances.

What society expects of men, women, boys, and girls also affects what we feel about ourselves. Every culture has "rules" about what is expected for men and what is expected for women. These expectations can include things like hairstyles, clothing, and jobs - and how people should act or behave.

Society doesn't have to state these rules because we see them all over. So most people grow up believing men should act a certain way and women should act a certain way without thinking about it much. Transgender people, though, have a very different sense of themselves.

Some transgender people know they feel "different" from the time they're young children. Others start sensing it around puberty or even later. When people who are transgender become aware that they feel mismatched with their bodies, they may feel confused and emotionally conflicted.

Some decide to physically change their bodies - through surgery or taking hormones - to match the gender they feel they really are. Physically becoming the opposite gender can be a long, complicated, and expensive process.

Not all transgender people decide to get surgery or hormones, though. Some are most comfortable keeping their physical anatomy but dressing as the opposite gender. Some aren't completely sure what they want yet, but may start by asking to be called a new name and use the pronouns that go with that name (such as "Amanda" instead of "Anthony" and "she" instead of "he").

Once transgender people start living their lives as the opposite gender, many issues may come up - like how to fill out forms that require checking "female" or "male," and even which public bathrooms to use.

As with any group, not all transgender people want or think the same things. It all depends on what that particular person needs to feel most comfortable in both body and mind.

Transgender Terms

The word transgender doesn't only mean that a person identifies with the opposite gender. It also can be used by people who don't feel like they're either completely male or completely female.

In addition to transgender, people use other words to describe feeling different from the gender they were born with, such as gender variant, MTF (for male to female), or FTM (for female to male). Some don't want to be called by any of the terms typically used to describe people who are questioning their gender. They just want to be known as who they are, unique in their own special way.

Gender Identity vs. Sexual Orientation

Being transgender is not the same thing as being gay. Being transgender is about gender identity - the way people see themselves and the gender they identify with. Being gay or lesbian is about sexual orientation - the gender someone is attracted to.

Gay men are attracted to other men and lesbian women are attracted to other women. And most of the time, they're comfortable with the gender they are.

Because sexual orientation is different from gender identity, a transgender teen can be straight, gay, or bisexual - just like other teens can.

What Is Cross-Dressing?

People who dress in clothes usually associated with a different gender are sometimes called cross-dressers. Not all people who dress as the opposite sex are transgender. Some are, but many are making a clothing choice for fun, comfort, or as a way to express their personal style - not because they see themselves as the other gender.

What Causes People to Be Transgender?

Many health experts believe that being transgender isn't caused by any one thing. What makes a person comfortable or uncomfortable with his or her anatomy is unclear, but they believe it's the result of a complex mixture of biology, psychology, and environmental factors - and not simply a matter of choice.

Helping Transgender Teens

The idea that people can feel that they're in the wrong gender bodies is something that many people have never heard of or don't understand. Being transgender is something some people feel uncomfortable thinking or talking about.

For some parents, learning that their son wants to be a girl (or their daughter wants to be a boy) can be shocking. In the beginning, parents may feel a range of emotions, including disappointment and a sense of loss. Some parents, though, may have already suspected it and are not really surprised.

Even when the news is unexpected or difficult to hear, it's important for parents to react with love and understanding. Experts say that even a slightly accepting attitude is helpful. Since gender identity is not a choice, trying to force a child to change his or her gender identity is not helpful and can lead to problems.

If your teen is transgender and you are having difficulty understanding and accepting what it all means, consider meeting with a psychologist who specializes in supporting transgender people. Talking through your reactions and receiving guidance can help you understand what is happening and identify ways you can best support your child.

For people who are transgender, the realization that they feel different from others also can be very difficult. They may face rejection, discrimination, and even anger from people who don't understand transgender identity, and it can be a challenge to deal with others' reactions. Not everyone is tolerant or accepting, and transgender teens can face situations that can feel hostile and be unfair. This may lead to feelings of depression and isolation.

Advocacy groups and a growing number of health professionals can help transgender people find acceptance, support, rights, and appropriate medical care. Many expert medical centers are available to help transgender people -and their families - address the complex physical and emotional issues they might face.

Like everyone, transgender people want to feel accepted, understood, and supported./p>

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Usually, kids don't think too much about their gender. It feels normal and natural for many girls to be female and for many boys to be male. But that's not true for everyone. Transgender people who are born as boys feel they should be female, and those who are born as girls feel they should be male.

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Read more about author, Alex Gino to gain background to how and why he wrote this book!

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George is 10, loves to read and has a best friend named Kelly. Everyone thinks George is a boy, but she doesn't feel like one.

George is a transgender fourth-grader. She's the heroine of a new book intended for readers in grades 3 to 7 and published by Scholastic, one of the largest children's publishing companies in the world. Author Alex Gino started writing George well before transgender people began appearing as well-rounded characters on TV shows or the covers of major magazines - not to mention having much opportunity to tell their own stories within mainstream media.

Gino grew up on Staten Island, studied education at the University of Pennsylvania and taught elementary school briefly before becoming a test prep coach and author. Gino prefers using the pronoun "they" rather than "him" or "her" when referring to themself. (The singular "they" is unconventional, rather than wrong. It can be found in the Oxford English Dictionary, as well as in the works of Chaucer and Shakespeare. And nobody else has to use it to refer to themselves if they don't want to.)

Conventional gender pronouns just don't work for Gino, the author says. Oh, and here's Gino's Twitter bio: "Fat queer trans activist, glitter liberationist, urban gardener, sourdough baker and then some."

"Someone this morning asked me online, 'Why do you identify as a fat queer, like, why do you label yourself, why don't you just be who you are," Gino sighs. "Well, I am a fat queer. I don't say that with shame. And I have no reason to think these are horrible things that I should be keeping secret. And there are plenty other fat queer urban gardener sourdough bakers who might like to know that they're not the only one."

Gino hopes George will help some kids know they're also not the only ones. Meanwhile, Scholastic believes the book is for everyone. The company is known for publishing the Harry Potter and Hunger Games series, massively popular books that sell millions of copies. With George, it settled on an initial press run of 50,000 copies. Editorial director David Levithan puts that number in perspective.

"Fifty thousand is pretty amazing for a debut author writing a middle grade book that isn't part of a series," he says. "No wizards, no Greek myths, no action adventure. It's just one girl's story."

Selling this particular girl's story to a mass market meant employing a similar strategy the company used with The Hunger Games. It's kind of crazy to remember now, but that book was initially seen as a potentially difficult sell. After all, it's about kids killing each other. But Levithan said that The Hunger Games is like George in that people may relate to the story more than they might think. "Once you read the book, you understand the book," he said. The trick was getting George into as many readers' hands as possible. The company sent it to 10,000 teachers, to children's librarians and took Gino around to major book fairs, including Winter Institute, run by the American Booksellers Association.

"All of the booksellers had a story to tell Alex about a trans kid that they knew, a trans kid in their family, a trans adult who worked in their store," Levithan recalls. "And it wasn't just the coasts, and it wasn't just sort of the liberal hotbeds. It was really booksellers from every state saying, 'Oh goodness. We need this book and I know exactly who I'm going to give it to.'"

Since 2000, hundreds of kids' books featuring transgender characters have come out. They're mostly self-published and mostly picture books or books for teenagers. There's virtually nothing in the middle, says j wallace skelton, who studies transgender representation in children's literature, works to prevent gender-based violence in public schools and is a transgender father of three.

Wallace skelton says calling the book George when the main character identifies as Melissa effectively reinforces a sense of the child as a boy, rather than the girl she knows herself to be.

It's not just, "This is a trans narrative." This is a narrative about a young person who is very much trying to become who they are.

Gino said they appreciated that point.

"If I were going to name [the book] now, I would not have done that," Gino says. "Because it is the assigned name, not her chosen name. When I started the book in 2003, the name of the book was Girl George - which was clearly an homage to Boy George. And then when Scholastic got it, one of the first things they did was, they cut off 'Girl' because they wanted to open up the audience. And I didn't even notice, in all of the things that happened, that I have effectively dead-named my main character."

By dead-naming, Gino means using the name that a person does not want used. "So I do feel conflicted about that."

Still, wallace skelton says he's a fan of George. He particularly liked how it handled violence toward its main character. Transgender people are still disproportionately marginalized, harassed, even killed. In George, the main character faces bullies, but she's not powerless in the face of their torment. And it's not what shapes her. Melissa plays video games with her brother, dreams about a starring role in the school play and visits the zoo with her best friend.

"It's not just, 'This is a trans narrative,' " wallace skelton says. "This is a narrative about a young person who is very much trying to become who they are."

Like much of the best children's literature, he says, George is about being true to who you are, being kind and learning about people both different - and maybe, similar to you.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
'George' Wants You To Know: She's Really Melissa

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
George is 10, loves to read and has a best friend named Kelly. Everyone thinks George is a boy, but she doesn't feel like one. George is a transgender fourth-grader. She's the heroine of a new book intended for readers in grades 3 to 7 and published by Scholastic, one of the largest children's publishing companies in the world.