A new book about being transgender, aimed at primary school aged children, is causing uproar in some circles.
The book - Can I Tell You About Gender Diversity? - was written by LGBT activist CJ Atkinson, and tells the story of a fictional 12-year-old named Kit who is born female but later transitions to become male.
The book opens with the lines: "When I was born, the doctors told my mum and dad that they had a baby girl, and so for the first few years of my life that’s how my parents raised me. This is called being assigned female at birth. I wasn’t ever very happy that way.”
As well as discussing the emotional issues around being transgender, the book - which comes out later this month and will be used as an educational tool in some primary schools - also tackles the practical issues, such as name changes, hormone blockers, puberty, surgery, and how family and friends can help.
However some public figures, such as Former Chairman of the Conservative Party Lord Tebbit, have slammed the book, saying it’s “damaging to children to introduce uncertainty into their minds”.
Defending the book against these accusations, the author told The Guardian: “If you identify as a girl, assigned female at birth, and you like the colour pink, you like wearing dresses and sparkly things, that’s awesome. But if you are a boy who likes pink sparkly things that’s also awesome.”
CJ added: “The world is changing. A book like this is needed. People want to help. They want to know. They want to have conversations but they don’t know how. A lot of the time it is not being dealt with or talked about in schools.”
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