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[CCBC-Net] My bibliography of gender variance and transgression
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From: J Cothron <jcothron>
Date: Thu, 22 May 2008 23:15:30 -0700
Nancy--
There has been a long tradition in children's literature of both girls and boys disguising themselves as persons of the other gender in order to achieve safety or to accomplish a specific task. Although Huck Finn wore a dress once, he did it for disguise--in order to escape--not to access his feminine side. Tamora Pierce's heroine Alanna impersonated her brother in order to become a knight. She very clearly saw herself first as a girl and then a young woman, and chose to wear women's clothing when she was no longer hiding herself in order to fulfill her role of page and squire. Even Disney's Mulan chose to masquerade as a soldier in order to save her father. Although these may be wonderful stories, I do not see that they reflect questions about either gender identity or a transgender protagonist's quest to bring inner identity into congruence with external appearance. Instead, they often reflect the protagonist's rebellion against society's restrictions on the proper roles for persons identified as belonging to a specific sex.
I see a difference between books whose protagonists disguise themselves to accomplish a task and those whose identities do not fit their bodies' gender expression. The first seems to be an almost economic decision--the price one has to pay to accomplish a given task. On the other hand, a book such as Julie Ann Peter's Luna depicts a character who changes her appearance in order to attain congruence between her inner and outer realities. This I see as a question of personal gender identity. Similarly, James St. James' book Freakshow, depicts flamboyant drag queen Billy Bloom as he tries to survive life at a very conservative high school.
I was one of those children who grew up in the 1960's and 70's, one who haunted the library searching for a literary reflection of myself. The card catalog was useless--I didn't know the words to describe what I wanted to know, and I was not going to ask the nice librarians who were my mother's contemporaries. Dictionaries and the encyclopedia were either of little use or set forth frightening explanations. I finally found Patience and Sarah in the college library.
There has to be an easier way for young people to find reflections of GLBTQ realities in literature than searching the library book by book. Bibliographies are one answer, but I question the effectiveness of a gender variance bibliography watered down with books about the adventures of boys and girls in disguise. It is vitally important for publishers, booksellers, librarians, aunts, uncles, parents and teachers to locate and make available books which truly reflect GLBTQ lives. It is also important to accurately and honestly describe what is being offered.
I would appreciate comments and discussion of this topic. Thanks-- Jane Cothron Waldport, Oregon
Nancy Silverrod wrote:
>I want to make the point that not all the protagonists in these titles
>are LGBTQ. The books were chosen because the protagonists don't conform
>in significant ways to gender role stereotypes and expectations. In most
>of the books it remains unclear whether or not the character(s) will
>grow up to be heterosexual. In the books by L.A. Meyer, Jacky Faber is
>definitely heterosexual, and in My Last Skirt: The Story of Jennie
>Hodgers, Union Soldier, there is the hint of a heterosexual romantic
>relationship, but neither of the protagonists will live life as a woman
>all the time, or ever. The Princess Knight may very well get married,
>but only on her own terms.
>
>
>
>The point of, and need for this bibliography is to reach families and
>readers who are facing growing up with gender variance concerns. Some of
>them will grow up to be straight, some gay, but definitely a good number
>of them will grow up to be transgender.
>
>
>
>Nancy Silverrod, Librarian
>
>San Francisco Public Library
>
>100 Larkin St.
>
>San Francisco, CA 94102-4733
>
>415-557-4417
>
>nsilverrod at sfpl.org <mailto:nsilverrod at sfpl.org>
>
>
>
>
>
>Books are the bees which carry the quickening pollen from one to another
>mind. -James Russell Lowell, poet, editor, and diplomat (1819-1891)
>
>A closed mind is like a closed book: just a block of wood. -Chinese
>Proverb
>
>_______________________________________________
>CCBC-Net mailing list
>CCBC-Net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu
>Visit this link to read archives or to unsubscribe...
>http://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/mailman/listinfo/ccbc-net
>
>
>
>
Received on Fri 23 May 2008 01:15:30 AM CDT
Date: Thu, 22 May 2008 23:15:30 -0700
Nancy--
There has been a long tradition in children's literature of both girls and boys disguising themselves as persons of the other gender in order to achieve safety or to accomplish a specific task. Although Huck Finn wore a dress once, he did it for disguise--in order to escape--not to access his feminine side. Tamora Pierce's heroine Alanna impersonated her brother in order to become a knight. She very clearly saw herself first as a girl and then a young woman, and chose to wear women's clothing when she was no longer hiding herself in order to fulfill her role of page and squire. Even Disney's Mulan chose to masquerade as a soldier in order to save her father. Although these may be wonderful stories, I do not see that they reflect questions about either gender identity or a transgender protagonist's quest to bring inner identity into congruence with external appearance. Instead, they often reflect the protagonist's rebellion against society's restrictions on the proper roles for persons identified as belonging to a specific sex.
I see a difference between books whose protagonists disguise themselves to accomplish a task and those whose identities do not fit their bodies' gender expression. The first seems to be an almost economic decision--the price one has to pay to accomplish a given task. On the other hand, a book such as Julie Ann Peter's Luna depicts a character who changes her appearance in order to attain congruence between her inner and outer realities. This I see as a question of personal gender identity. Similarly, James St. James' book Freakshow, depicts flamboyant drag queen Billy Bloom as he tries to survive life at a very conservative high school.
I was one of those children who grew up in the 1960's and 70's, one who haunted the library searching for a literary reflection of myself. The card catalog was useless--I didn't know the words to describe what I wanted to know, and I was not going to ask the nice librarians who were my mother's contemporaries. Dictionaries and the encyclopedia were either of little use or set forth frightening explanations. I finally found Patience and Sarah in the college library.
There has to be an easier way for young people to find reflections of GLBTQ realities in literature than searching the library book by book. Bibliographies are one answer, but I question the effectiveness of a gender variance bibliography watered down with books about the adventures of boys and girls in disguise. It is vitally important for publishers, booksellers, librarians, aunts, uncles, parents and teachers to locate and make available books which truly reflect GLBTQ lives. It is also important to accurately and honestly describe what is being offered.
I would appreciate comments and discussion of this topic. Thanks-- Jane Cothron Waldport, Oregon
Nancy Silverrod wrote:
>I want to make the point that not all the protagonists in these titles
>are LGBTQ. The books were chosen because the protagonists don't conform
>in significant ways to gender role stereotypes and expectations. In most
>of the books it remains unclear whether or not the character(s) will
>grow up to be heterosexual. In the books by L.A. Meyer, Jacky Faber is
>definitely heterosexual, and in My Last Skirt: The Story of Jennie
>Hodgers, Union Soldier, there is the hint of a heterosexual romantic
>relationship, but neither of the protagonists will live life as a woman
>all the time, or ever. The Princess Knight may very well get married,
>but only on her own terms.
>
>
>
>The point of, and need for this bibliography is to reach families and
>readers who are facing growing up with gender variance concerns. Some of
>them will grow up to be straight, some gay, but definitely a good number
>of them will grow up to be transgender.
>
>
>
>Nancy Silverrod, Librarian
>
>San Francisco Public Library
>
>100 Larkin St.
>
>San Francisco, CA 94102-4733
>
>415-557-4417
>
>nsilverrod at sfpl.org <mailto:nsilverrod at sfpl.org>
>
>
>
>
>
>Books are the bees which carry the quickening pollen from one to another
>mind. -James Russell Lowell, poet, editor, and diplomat (1819-1891)
>
>A closed mind is like a closed book: just a block of wood. -Chinese
>Proverb
>
>_______________________________________________
>CCBC-Net mailing list
>CCBC-Net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu
>Visit this link to read archives or to unsubscribe...
>http://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/mailman/listinfo/ccbc-net
>
>
>
>
Received on Fri 23 May 2008 01:15:30 AM CDT
