Read With Conina

Trans-cendent: Embracing Inclusive Gender Expression Beyond Tokenism or Issue Books

Panel included:
Ani Rosa Almario, VP, Adarna House; Co-founder, Director, The Raya School
Chiara Gregori, gynecologist, sexologist, author
Marie-Aude Murail, author
Edward van de Vendel, author, publisher, Uitgeverij Blauw Gras
Moderator: Lawrence Schimel, author, translator

I really loved my fourth session of the day, as well. I didn’t take as many notes during this session as I was enamored by the speakers, especially Marie who shared a personal story of her life. Marie identifies as a woman with she/her pronouns, but she believes that if there were more books about gay, trans, and nonbinary people when she was young, that may not be the case. While she didn’t quite feel like a woman growing up, she didn’t have the knowledge that transness existed; she just felt weird.

Edward spoke a little about how most gay stories are sad – death, breakups, bullying, AIDS. There need to be more happy books about being queer – and he uses his writing to do just that.

Chiara, who is a gynecologist and sexologist, spoke a lot about how having nonfiction books on the subjects of gayness, sex, and intimacy are important. People need the tools to understand what they are going through – as well as to know they are not the only one going through it. Chiara wants kids to enjoy books about queerness and for parents to use the books to “develop a vocab of identity,” so that they can deliver more acceptance and love. Right now, we need books that are explicitly gay. We need ones that share pride in identity, share the experiences queer people go through, share queer love stories with happy endings. One day, the goal would be that we don’t have to have stories “motored by identity,” but we are still a long way from that.

I enjoyed this panel, and I was happy to hear that there is currently a push for more queer books as I am passionate about this subject. Beyond what all the panel members said, and Marie’s personal experience, there is also so much evidence on the positives of having queer literature available for ages. Also, there is a need for nonfiction books about sex, sexuality, gender, and intimacy for all ages. Though these subjects are taboo in some countries, these topics must be accessible to all; the language and depth of topic can be scaled to any age range, children included. If people are not aware of what is going on with their body, emotions, or identity, they may struggle with acceptance of their selves and fulfillment in their lives.