Transgender Awareness Week starts on November 13th and goes through the 19th, followed by Transgender Day of Remembrance on November 20th. According to GLADD, "Transgender Awareness Week is a week when transgender people and their allies take action to bring attention to the trans community by educating the public about who transgender people are, sharing stories and experiences, and advancing advocacy around issues of prejudice, discrimination, and violence that affect the transgender community."
Sharing stories, whether through books, movies, music, or conversations, is important for people. We want to see ourselves in the stories we share with each other, which is why positive representation matters. Growing up, I remember movies like Ace Ventura and The Hangover Part 2 depicting trans people as the target of a joke or the bad guy. On the other end of the spectrum, drama movies like The Crying Game included negative stereotypes and deceptive tropes regarding transgender individuals. Thankfully, over the last few years, there has been an increase in media featuring positive depictions of transgender people. There are even stories focusing on us as the main characters! My colleague Nina already created an excellent blog centering on Trans Joy that you should read! Building on her recommendations, here are some recent books for older teens and adults.
A list of recent books with transgender characters of various gender identities.
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