The Trans Generation: How Trans Kids (and Their Parents) Are Creating a Gender Revolution

Some “boys” will only wear dresses; some “girls” refuse to wear dresses at all. In both cases, as Travers shows in this fascinating account of transgender kids, these are often more than just wardrobe choices. From very early ages these children find themselves to be different from the sex category that was assigned to them at birth. How they make their voices heard—to their parents and friends, in schools, in public spaces, and through the courts—is the focus of this remarkable and groundbreaking book.

Based on over five years of research in Canada and the U.S., and interviews with trans kids and their parents, The Trans Generation offers a rare look into what it is like to grow up as a transgender child. Illuminating the day-to-day realities of trans kids who regularly experience crisis as a result of the many ways traditional sex categories regulate their lives, Travers offers an essential and important new understanding of childhood.

 

Travers is a Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Simon Fraser University. They are the co-editor of Transgender Athletes in Competitive Sport.