Gender Expression

This Booklet Contains:

General information on the topic of Gender Expression

Background information on each book, why they were banned, and discussion questions for you and your child

More Information You can Find Online
(Use the included QR code or visit the FFPLTC website)

More recent books on the topics discussed above

Further resources for you to talk about tough subjects with your child

Your child might come up with a lot of ideas of what makes them “them.” They could talk about their body parts, the way they dress, talk, act, or maybe just how they feel. It’s more important to let them guide the conversation with you simply asking them “why” they feel that way rather than making them feel silly.

Some words for you to know include:

Sex at birth: When children are born, sex is assigned based on external genitalia. A child who has a penis is said to be male. A child who has a vulva is said to be female. A child who is born with reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn't fit the description of “female” or “male” is referred to as an intersex child.

Gender identity: Gender identity is “who you know yourself to be.” While a person’s gender identity can be masculine or feminine, it’s important to know that identity exists on a spectrum, and someone may identify as non-binary or in another way.

Gender expression: Gender expression is how you portray your gender. This can be done through behavior, clothing, hairstyle, the name you choose to go by, etc. Gender identity and gender expression may or may not reflect each other.

Transgender: This is an umbrella term (often shortened to “trans”) which applies when a person’s gender identity is not the same as the sex they were assigned at birth. For example, the character Jazz in I am Jazz was assigned male at birth but identifies as a girl.

Two-Spirit: Some cultures and Indigenous people use the term “Two-Spirit” to represent a person who identifies as having both a masculine and a feminine spirit. Two-Spiritedness can include cultural, spiritual, sexual and/or gender identity.

...Gender Expression

Banned Books about Gender Expression

I am Jazz by Jessica Herthel & Jazz Jennings

I am Jazz is based on the real-life experiences of Jazz Jennings, one of the co-authors of the book as well as a transgender YouTube personality, activist, reality TV star, and one of youngest known cases of an early transition from male to female. The book details Jazz’s likes and hobbies while introducing the concept of transgender identity in a simple way. The book also shows Jazz’s relationship with her family, classmates, and school through the misunderstandings and the good.

In April 2022, this book focusing on the life of a transgender child based on trans activist Jazz Jennings’ life, was “removed from Palm Beach County classroom and libraries in response to Florida’s new law, the Parental Rights in Education Bill [aka the ‘Don’t Say Gay Bill’].

Questions for I am Jazz

1. Jazz’s favourite colour is pink and she likes to dance and sing among other hobbies. What similarities do you have to Jazz? What differences?

2. Would you like to be friends with Jazz? Why or why not? Jazz talks about how, sometimes, people tease her about being transgender. How do you feel when people tease you?

3. What would you do if Jazz was in your class and you saw someone teasing her?

4. What do you think makes you a boy or a girl?

5. Do you like to use she/her, he/him, or other pronouns? [This question aids in normalizing 2SLGBTQ+ inclusive practices.]

Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress by Christine Baldacchino

Both Morris Micklewhite and My Princess Boy are about similar things, but from different perspectives. Morris Micklewhite is from the perspective of a child dealing with bullying because he likes wearing a dress to school while My Princess Boy is from the perspective of a mother of a boy who likes dresses. Both these books are like I am Jazz as they all discuss the main characters’ diverse range of hobbies and their lives beyond their preference for dresses. What makes them different from I am Jazz is Morris and the Princess Boy are not explicitly said to be transgender. Both still use he/him pronouns throughout the books.

My Princess Boy by Cheryl Kilodavis

In 2016, Morris Micklewhite was challenged by a parent of a child at Forest Hill Public School (in Ada Township, Michigan) because the book “promotes another lifestyle that goes against societal norms.” The school district retained the book.

Questions for Morris Micklewhite & My Princess Boy

1. Would you be friends with Morris or the Princess Boy? Why or why not?

2. Do you know anybody like Morris or the Princess Boy? Do you think there are some things only for girls or only for boys? Why?

3. Do you think it’s fair that people say “only girls can wear dresses” or “only boys play football?”

4. In Morris Micklewhite, Becky keeps saying that “boys don’t wear dresses.” Did Morris handle it well? What would you do if someone said you couldn’t wear what you wanted to?

Challenged by dozens of Hood County, Texas residents in 2015 along with This Day in June by Gayle R. Pitman. They wanted My Princess Boy fully removed from the library or at least removed from the children’s section. While the library director agreed to move This Day in June to the adult nonfiction section, she refused to relocate My Princess Boy.

The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch

The Paper Bag Princess, which was published in 1980, has been challenged and banned “frequently” due to it being “anti-family.” The titular princess is the hero who later decides not to live “happily ever after” with the prince.

Questions for The Paper Bag Princess

1. How is The Paper Bag Princess different from other fairy tales you’ve read?

2. Can you think of other princesses who were courageous and different like Elizabeth (i.e., Fiona from Shrek or Elsa from Frozen)?

3. If you were Princess Elizabeth, how would you have handled the dragon?

4. How do you feel about Prince Ronald’s response after being rescued?

5. Clothing is important in this book. What does the clothing the characters wear say about them?

6. What do you think Elizabeth, Ronald, and the dragon do after the end of the book?

The Paper Bag Princess flips the usual fairy tale on its head. While it starts at the beginning of the typical “happily ever after” with Princess Elizabeth trying to marry Prince Ronald, that quickly changes. Paper Bag Princess holds pedagogical significance, as teachers have used it for teaching critical literacy while also being a narrative with a courageous girl who is empowered to reject people who speak poorly to her.