Children are often protected from sexuality and gender debates, usually because of adults’ inability to frame things like sex and gender identity in a way that kids can understand and relate to. Any child that feels wrong in their body or grows up with feelings that fall outside what they’ve been brought up to consider normal, is then at risk of difficulties coming to terms with it in later life.
Sophie Labelle’s graphic novel for kids, My Dad Thinks I’m A Boy looks like it might be a great antidote for this. It’s about a little girl called Stephie, who knows she’s a girl and can’t understand why her father is convinced she’s actually a boy.
With an absence of accessible, sympathetic literature available for kids on this topic, My Dad Thinks I’m A Boy might be worth seeking out if you suspect your own kids might be questioning their gender, have friends in that situation or have just shown an interest in the issues.