“T” is for “transgender”: an analysis of children’s picture books featuring transgender protagonists and narrators

ABSTRACT

This project examined 55 picture books featuring transgender, gender expansive or genderqueer protagonists or narrators published between 2008 and 2018. The purpose of the study was to determine how this genre of children’s literature supports and challenges four gender assumptions: the gender binary, gender essentialism, sex/gender congruency and gender stability. Additionally, this critical analysis explored misgendering within this genre and themes of social rejection and acceptance. Protagonists and narrators were permitted a degree of gender nonconformity, however, the majority of picture books missed opportunities for a more complete exploration of gender possibilities.

KEYWORDS:

• Transgender
• genderqueer
• gender expression
• gender identity
• children’s literature
• picture books

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jamie C. Capuzza

Jamie C. Capuzza chairs the Department of Communication at the University of Mount Union. Her work appears in journals such as Communication Quarterly, The International Journal of Transgenderism, and Communication Education. Her book, co-edited with Dr. Leland Spencer, Transgender Communication Studies: Histories, Trends, and Trajectories, won two National Communication Association awards and the Organization for the Study of Communication, Language and Gender’s Top Edited Book award. Capuzza was named Gender Scholar of the Year by the Southern States Communication Association (2018).