Books
A few selected books on transgender youth.
The Gender Affirmative Model
Published by: Psychological Association. May 22, 2018. Editors: Colt Keo-MeierPh.D., Diane Ehrensaft Ph.D.
This warm and timely book provides mental health professionals with a guide to the Gender Affirmative Model, the leading approach for working with transgender and gender expansive children and their families. Using an easy-to-follow framework, readers will learn how to facilitate and enable children to live in their authentic gender with necessary social supports. The authors describe how to address distress and build resilience within children and families, while also strengthening awareness of the complex interplay of cultural factors with gender. They also address the complex psychological, social and community challenges faced by transgender and gender expansive children, as well as the potential mental health struggles that can arise as a result of bullying and more subtle forms of societal discrimination.
Trans Bodies, Trans Selves: A Resource for the Transgender Community 1st Edition
Published by: Oxford University Press. June 10, 2014. Editor: Laura Erickson-Schroth, MD.
Trans Bodies, Trans Selves (Oxford University Press, 2014) is a resource guide for transgender, gender expansive, and non-binary populations, covering health, legal issues, cultural and social questions, history, theory, and more. It is a place for transgender, gender expansive, non-binary, and gender questioning people, their partners and families, and others to look for up-to-date information on life under the trans umbrella.
Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out
Published by: Candlewick. March 10, 2015. Author: Susan Kuklin.
A groundbreaking work of LGBT literature takes an honest look at the life, love, and struggles of transgender teens.
Author and photographer Susan Kuklin met and interviewed six transgender or gender-neutral young adults and used her considerable skills to represent them thoughtfully and respectfully before, during, and after their personal acknowledgment of gender preference. Portraits, family photographs, and candid images grace the pages, augmenting the emotional and physical journey each youth has taken. Each honest discussion and disclosure, whether joyful or heartbreaking, is completely different from the other because of family dynamics, living situations, gender, and the transition these teens make in recognition of their true selves.
The Gender Creative Child: Pathways for Nurturing and Supporting Children Who Live Outside Gender Boxes
Published by: The Experiment. April 15, 2016. Author: Diane Ehrensaft.
In her groundbreaking first book, Gender Born, Gender Made, Dr. Diane Ehrensaft coined the term gender creative to describe children whose unique gender expression or sense of identity is not defined by a checkbox on their birth certificate. Now, with The Gender Creative Child, she returns to guide parents and professionals through the rapidly changing cultural, medical, and legal landscape of gender and identity.
In this up-to-date, comprehensive resource, Dr. Ehrensaft explains the interconnected effects of biology, nurture, and culture to explore why gender can be fluid, rather than binary. As an advocate for the gender affirmative model and with the expertise she has gained over three decades of pioneering work with children and families, she encourages caregivers to listen to each child, learn their particular needs, and support their quest for a true gender self.
The Gender Creative Child unlocks the door to a gender-expansive world, revealing pathways for positive change in our schools, our communities, and the world.
Some Assembly Required: The Not-So-Secret Life of a Transgender Teen
Published by: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. December 29, 2015. Author Arin Andrews.
Seventeen-year-old Arin Andrews shares all the hilarious, painful, and poignant details of undergoing gender reassignment as a high school student in this winning first-of-its-kind memoir. Now with a reading group guide and an all-new afterword from the author!
In this revolutionary first-of-its-kind memoir, Arin Andrews details the journey that led him to make the life-transforming decision to undergo gender reassignment as a high school junior. In his captivatingly witty, honest voice, Arin reveals the challenges he faced as a boy in a girl’s body, the humiliation and anger he felt after getting kicked out of his private school, and all the changes—both mental and physical—he experienced once his transition began.
Some Assembly Required is a true coming-of-age story about knocking down obstacles and embracing family, friendship, and first love. But more than that, it is a reminder that self-acceptance does not come ready-made with a manual and spare parts. Rather, some assembly is always required.Now with a reading group guide and an all-new afterword from the author!
In this revolutionary first-of-its-kind memoir, Arin Andrews details the journey that led him to make the life-transforming decision to undergo gender reassignment as a high school junior. In his captivatingly witty, honest voice, Arin reveals the challenges he faced as a boy in a girl’s body, the humiliation and anger he felt after getting kicked out of his private school, and all the changes—both mental and physical—he experienced once his transition began.
Some Assembly Required is a true coming-of-age story about knocking down obstacles and embracing family, friendship, and first love. But more than that, it is a reminder that self-acceptance does not come ready-made with a manual and spare parts. Rather, some assembly is always required.
My New Gender Workbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Achieving World Peace Through Gender Anarchy and Sex Positivity
Published by: Routledge. April 19, 2013. Author: Kate Bornstein.
Cultural theorists have written loads of smart but difficult-to-fathom texts on gender theory, but most fail to provide a hands-on, accessible guide for those trying to sort out their own sexual identities. In My Gender Workbook, transgender activist Kate Bornstein brings theory down to Earth and provides a practical approach to living with or without a gender.
Bornstein starts from the premise that there are not just two genders performed in today's world, but countless genders lumped under the two-gender framework. Using a unique, deceptively simple and always entertaining workbook format, complete with quizzes, exercises, and puzzles, Bornstein gently but firmly guides readers toward discovering their own unique gender identity.
Since its first publication in 1997, My Gender Workbook has been challenging, encouraging, questioning, and helping those trying to figure out how to become a "real man," a "real woman," or "something else entirely." In this exciting new edition of her classic text, Bornstein re-examines gender in light of issues like race, class, sexuality, and language. With new quizzes, new puzzles, new exercises, and plenty of Kate's playful and provocative style, My New Gender Workbook promises to help a new generation create their own unique place on the gender spectrum.
“YOU'RE IN THE WRONG BATHROOM!”
And 20 Other Myths and Misconceptions About Transgender and Gender Nonconforming People
Published by: Beacon Press, May 31, 2017. Authors: Laura Erickson-Schroth, MD, and Laura A. Jacobs, LCSW-R.
From Laverne Cox and Caitlyn Jenner to Thomas Beatie (“the pregnant man”) and transgender youth, coverage of trans lives has been exploding—yet so much misinformation persists. Bringing together the medical, social, psychological, and political aspects of being trans in the United States today, “You’re in the Wrong Bathroom!”: And 20 Other Myths About Transgender and Gender-Nonconforming Peopleunpacks the twenty-one most common myths and misconceptions about transgender and gender-nonconforming people. Authors Laura Erickson-Schroth, MD, a psychiatrist, and Laura A. Jacobs, LCSW-R, a psychotherapist, address a range of fallacies:
Trans People Are “Trapped in the Wrong Body”
You’re Not Really Trans If You Haven’t Had “the Surgery”
Trans People Are a Danger to Others, Especially Children
Trans People Are Mentally Ill and Therapy Can Change Them
Trans People and Feminists Don’t Get Along
When Kayla Was Kyle
Published by: Avid Readers Publishing Group. April 9, 2013. Author: Amy Fabrikant, Illustrator: Jennifer Levine.
Kyle doesn't understand why the other kids at school call him names. He looks like other boys, but doesn't feel like them. Can Kyle find the words to share his feelings about his gender - and can his parents help him to transition into the girl he was born to be? When Kayla Was Kyle is a picture book children of all ages will want to read because it addresses the increasingly emerging ideas around Gender Diversity. Amy Fabrikant is a writer, literacy coach, and LGBTQ safe school consultant. She has worked with kids in schools for over 30 years and is the author of parenting and school based advocacy articles. Please visit www.WhenKaylaWasKyle.com for more information. Jennifer Levine is known and loved for her Princess Moxie performance and book series. Her theme-portraits and large-scale paintings on canvas and wood convey the same whimsical themes of her publications, recordings and performance art. She lives and creates in Montclair, NJ at her Church Street studio.
Theorizing Transgender Identity for Clinical Practice: A New Model for Understanding Gender
Published by: Jessica Kingsley Press. Author: SJ Langer
Providing new approaches for exploring gender identity and expression, this book is ideal for clinical practice with transgender and gender nonconforming/diverse clients. Importantly, it moves beyond the medical model to advance an understanding of transgender subjectivity as a natural variation of gender in humans.
The book deepens understanding of the developmental trajectory of trans and gender non-conforming individuals over their lifespan, before and beyond transition, by offering new theories on gender. Drawing on theories from a range of different fields including psychoanalysis, philosophy, neuroscience, consciousness studies, trauma therapy, sex therapy, gender theory, disability studies and trans studies, it illustrates how informed clinical practice can recognise the complexity of gender identity and expression. With chapters on the understanding of core gender through the Free Energy Principle, the foundations of gender in consciousness, a gender algorithm, trauma, mirroring, and sexual functioning, this book works to provide a superior method of clinical practice that can better serve trans communities and our understanding of gender across the population.
Transgender Emergence: Therapeutic Guidelines for Working With Gender-Variant People and Their Families
Published by: The Howorth Clinical Practice Press. March 4, 2004. Author Arlene Istar Lev, LCSW, CASAC.
This comprehensive book provides you with a clinical and theoretical overview of the issues facing transgendered/transsexual people and their families. Transgender Emergence: Therapeutic Guidelines for Working with Gender-Variant People and Their Families views assessment and treatment through a nonpathologizing lens that honors human diversity and acknowledges the role of oppression in the developmental process of gender identity formation.
Specific sections of Transgender Emergence: Therapeutic Guidelines for Working with Gender-Variant People and Their Families address the needs of gender-variant people as well as transgender children and youth. The issues facing gender-variant populations who have not been the focus of clinical care, such as intersexed people, female-to-male transgendered people, and those who identify as bigendered, are also addressed.
Complete with fascinating case studies, a critique of diagnostic processes, treatment recommendations, and a helpful glossary of relevant terms, this book is an essential reference for anyone who works with gender-variant people. Handy tables and figures make the information easier to access and understand.
Transgender Children and Youth: Cultivating Pride and Joy with Families in Transition
Published by: W. W. Norton & Company. May 2, 2018. Author: Elijah Nealy.
A comprehensive guide to the medical, emotional, and social issues of trans kids.
These days, it is practically impossible not to hear about some aspect of transgender life. Whether it is the bathroom issue in North Carolina, trans people in the military, or on television, trans life has become front and center after years of marginalization. And kids are coming out as trans at younger and younger ages, which is a good thing for them. But what written resources are available to parents, teachers, and mental health professionals who need to support these children?
Elijah C. Nealy, a therapist and former deputy executive director of New York City’s LGBT Community Center, and himself a trans man, has written the first-ever comprehensive guide to understanding, supporting, and welcoming trans kids. Covering everything from family life to school and mental health issues, as well as the physical, social, and emotional aspects of transition, this book is full of best practices to support trans kids.
Artistic Expressions of Transgender Youth
Published by: Tony Ferraiolo, LLC. 2015. Author: Tony Ferraiolo.
There are plenty of books in existence about transgender youth. There are a lot of good people, trying to give good information, and for the most part they are. But you might be asking yourself what makes this book different than the others. This book is different because you will be educated directly by transgender children and teens. Not by a medical professional. Not by a life coach. Not even by me. This book will illustrate how transgender children and teens feel and think about themselves, as told through their art. Each drawing is accompanied by a statement where each child describes what their art means to them.
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Trans (But Were Afraid to Ask)
Published by: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. November 21, 2018. Author: Brynn Tannehill.
Leading activist and essayist Brynn Tannehill tells you everything you ever wanted to know about transgender issues but were afraid to ask. The book aims to break down deeply held misconceptions about trans people across all aspects of life, from politics, law and culture, through to science, religion and mental health, to provide readers with a deeper understanding of what it means to be trans.
The book walks the reader through transgender issues, starting with "What does transgender mean?" before moving on to more complex topics including growing up trans, dating and sex, medical and mental health, and debates around gender and feminism. Brynn also challenges deliberately deceptive information about transgender people being put out into the public sphere. Transphobic myths are debunked and biased research, bad statistics and bad science are carefully and clearly refuted.
This important and engaging book enables any reader to become informed the most critical public conversations around transgender people, and become a better ally as a result.
Helping Your Transgender Teen, 2nd Edition: A Guide for Parents 2nd Edition
Published by: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. January 18, 2018. Author: Irwin Krieger.
Going through puberty and adolescence presents unwelcome changes for many transgender youth, and this book provides advice to parents of transgender teens to help them understand what their child is experiencing and feeling during this challenging time.
Addressing common fears and concerns that parents of transgender teens share, the book guides them through steps they can take with their child, including advice on hormones and surgery and how to transition socially. It addresses the recent increase in teens presenting with non-binary identities, and reflects major legal, social and medical developments regarding transgender issues. The author's insights are gained from his professional experience of providing psychotherapy regarding gender identity. He provides resources and further reading to help parents expand their knowledge.
Although aimed predominantly at parents, this book is useful for anyone working with teenagers and young adults as it provides many answers to common questions about adolescent gender identity.
The Gender Quest Workbook: A Guide for Teens and Young Adults Exploring Gender Identity Paperback
Published by: Instant Help. December 1, 2015. Authors Rylan Jay Testa Ph.D., Deborah Coolhart, Ph.D., LMFT, Jayme Peta MA, MS, Arlene Istar Lef, LCSW, CASAC (Afterword), Ryan K. Sallans MA (Foreword).
This one-of-a-kind, comprehensive workbook will help you navigate your gender identity and expression at home, in school, and with peers.
If you are a transgender and gender-nonconforming (TGNC) teen, you may experience unique challenges with identity and interpersonal relationships. In addition to experiencing common teen challenges such as body changes and peer pressure, you may be wondering how to express your unique identity to others. The Gender Quest Workbookincorporates skills, exercises, and activities from evidence-based therapies—such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)—to help you address the broad range of struggles you may encounter related to gender identity, such as anxiety, isolation, fear, and even depression.
Despite outdated beliefs, gender no longer implies being simply male or female, but rather a whole spectrum of possibilities. This fun, engaging workbook is designed specifically for teens like you who want to explore the concept of gender and gender identity and expression—whether you already identify as TGNC or are simply questioning your gender identity.
The activities in this book will help you explore your identity internally, interpersonally, and culturally. And along the way, you’ll learn how to effectively express yourself and make informed decisions on how to navigate your gender with family, friends, classmates, and coworkers. The book also includes chapters on sex and dating, balancing multiple identities, and how to deal with stressful challenges when they arise.
The Gender Quest Workbook also features a brief downloadable guide for clinicians that explains ways professionals can better serve gender-expansive youth. The guide will address ways to help youth working with gender identity build resilience against gender minority stress, among other topics.
Trans Forming Families
Published by: PFLAG Transgender Network. February 1, 2013. Editor: Mary Boenke.
A collection of positive short stories by parents, families, and friends of transgender people who have come to accept and embrace their transgender loved ones. It includes stories of male to female and female to male transgender sons and daughters of loving parents, siblings, grandparents, and friendswho have helped them on their journey. These are invaluable stories intended to help those struggling with misinformation, pain, anger, and fear for their loved ones.
The Transgender Teen: A Handbook for Parents and Professionals Supporting Transgender and Non-Binary Teens
Published by: Cleis Press. September 13, 2016. Authors: Stephanie A. Brill, Lisa Kenney.
What do you do when your son announces he is transgender and asks that you call her by a new name? Or what if your child uses a term you’ve never heard of to describe themselves (neutrois, agender, non-binary, genderqueer, androgyne…) and when you didn’t know what they meant, they left the room and now won’t speak to you about it? Perhaps your daughter recently asked you not to use gendered pronouns when referring to ‘her’ anymore, preferring that you use “they”; you’re left wondering if this is just a phase, or if there’s something more that you need to understand about your child.
There is a generational divide in our understandings of gender. This comprehensive guidebook helps to bridge that divide by exploring the unique challenges that thousands of families face every day raising a teenager who may be transgender, non-binary, gender-fluid or otherwise gender-expansive. Combining years of experience working in the field with extensive research and personal interviews, the authors cover pressing concerns relating to physical and emotional development, social and school pressures, medical considerations, and family communications. Learn how parents can more deeply understand their children, and raise their non-binary or transgender adolescent with love and compassion.
Affirmative Mental Health Care for Transgender and Gender Diverse Youth
Published by: Springer International Publishing. June 20, 2018. Editor: Aron Janssen, MD, Scott Leibowitz, MD.
This unique resource offers an in-depth, comprehensive look at different types of mental health needs of transgender and gender diverse youth, how these intersect with gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation, and provides practical information on how to ethically, responsibly, and sensitively care for these patients.
Affirmative Mental Health Care for Transgender and Gender Diverse Youth: A Clinical Guide begins with three introductory chapters which contain practical information regarding assessment, psychological interventions, and the potential medical and surgical interventions that are indicated for youth with gender identity concerns. The remaining chapters are illustrated by multiple cases build around overarching chapter themes. Each case chapter opens with broad questions applicable to clinical practices, while the cases themselves focus on a particular co-occuring mental health condition. The case chapters are structured with intersectionality in mind, including elements of ethnic, racial, and cultural diversity, and the patients range over the full developmental spectrum, from pre-pubertal children to older adolescents. Chapter cases range in complexity as well, to provide readers with the tools they need to evaluate patients, and to assist in the decision of which presenting factors to prioritize in treatment at which time. Ending each chapter are clinical take-home messages, closing with additional practical knowledge that can be applied to other cases providers may see in their own practices.
Written by expert clinicians in the field, Affirmative Mental Health Care for Transgender and Gender Diverse Youth: A Clinical Guide is an ideal resource not only for child and adolescent psychiatrists, but for clinicians across all mental health disciplines working with gender non-conforming youth, and who are interested in providing informed, affirmative, and intersectional care.