Author: Alex Gino
Prior to Reading
-Where did your ideas about “gender” come from?
I think the majority of my ideas of gender have been transposed by gender expectations in society. It’s almost like an unconscious pressure that girls do this and boys do that. However, I believe that the concept of gender today is becoming more fluent and is in need of acceptance of individuals that feel they are misgendered.
-What aspects of “gender” stand out strongest in your mind?
More than anything I believe girls have long hair, pretty clothes, social media influence to be perfection, and makeup.
For guys I focused more on athleticism and gender stereotyped clothes since it was the first thing that came into my mind.
-Were there any elements of “gender” that were harder for you to think through or sketch? Why might that have been the case?
Well one thing I know for sure is that when I was sketching out the “boy” side, I was struggling to identify things that are representative of this gender. However, as I was looking at my girl side in terms of emotions, I was thinking, “well today they say ‘a real man shows his emotions” so I got confused on what or how to portray that.
What voices influence our ideas about “gender”?
I honestly think for myself that media today is a strong influence to young children in determining gender. Social media in particular is on the rise for younger children which I believe forces them to want to conform to popular posts and images of their gender they are outwardly appearing as.
-What are “gender norms”?
Gender norms are expected perceptions of someone based on their gender. One of the most common gender norm is the idea that females should be at home and not focus on careers over housework and motherhood. On the other hand, males are perceived and stereotyped to be the breadwinner whose role is to make an income for their household.
-IF you had a conversation with your peers, did this influence your perception of gender/original sketch? If so, in what ways?
I had a conversation with one of my managers at work about gender and gender stereotypes based on my drawings. My manager basically emphasized on certain aspects that I drew that are seen as being the gendered norm. However, like I have stated before, she pointed out that my original drawing of a boy crying with the phrase “don’t cry” was misguided because she believes that society is more open to men showing their emotions more. I think this has changed or has been influenced by social media and movies today.
This children’s novel is a must in a classroom that promotes a safe and positive environment in the classroom for students that identify in the LGBTQIA+ community. The Welcoming Project (the welcoming project.org) allows anyone to make a $1 donation in order to get a sign that says all are welcome with the LGBTQIA+ flag that can be displayed within a school, business, etc.
Alex Gino joins a loved and well known novel of Charlotte’s Web with the story of Melissa finding her true self and being accepted by those around her. Along with this, the book prompts discussions related to social issues of transgender individuals in receiving equal rights and representation in society. I was a proud reader in being able to read the journey of how Melissa was able to stand up for her true identity and being able to do this in front of a crowd playing Charlotte. Her empathy to the character Charlotte from her classroom reading seemed to be guidance for her role in promoting equality within the school and being a future mentor for others.
I will be continuing to use Melissa as the name of the main character even though throughout the book George is recognized with female pronouns. In the below video, Alex Gino describes that they wrote this book primarily for individuals to see themselves in a growing up time period (adolescence) where it is more difficult to form one’s identity and discusses the book title choice. More importantly, they discuss how they wish they had a book like this when they were growing up as a model of seeing a character go through the same experiences and struggles they went through. #OwnVoice
I even wondered why the book wasn’t named Melissa? By the end of the book, the reader is no longer reading the name George, but rather Alex Gino purposefully makes the main character’s true identity name Melissa for the rest of the book to be addressed as by other characters. Alex Gino describes how the title wasn’t original their idea but then discusses how the title reflects what trans individuals really have to go through in being continuously called the name that truly isn’t there’s and how it may make people discuss the “awkwardness” of George being the birth given name that doesn’t actually represent Melissa.
From the beginning of the book, Alex Gino I believe purposefully included multiple plot events that made it known that gender identity is a daily struggle for those in the transgender community. Specifically at school, Melissa struggled being told about the importance of being a boy or man that school staff believed she would be. Along with this, the teacher was strict in her policies of the classroom play to be separated by gender. For me, this part of the text brought to light what many educators do today, sometimes I believe unpurposefully in the classroom. For example, grouping students by gender for activities, plays, sports, games, and more affects individuals that are trying to find their true selves. Reading examples like these and how upset Melissa was in being continually told she was a boy caused her distress in a place that should make her feel safe and welcomed.
At home, Melissa was having the same daily struggles. The character of his mom was an interesting character to follow throughout the book and how she changed by the end of the book. At the beginning, Melissa’s mother was always comparing Melissa to her brother Scott. However, the climax in her and Melissa’s relationship was when she found Melissa’s girl magazines hidden in a bag. Her reaction was I believe a real life reaction to a child coming out as being transgender. She was hesitant, confused, and almost unresponsive at first. By the end of the book, she was welcoming of the concept of George being Melissa and I believe this was because of Melissa’s strength to portray her true self in the school play in front of everyone.
In my tweet this week, I quoted about Melissa and Kelly becoming girl best friends. I talked about how I hope that my future students love, encourage, and accept each other the same way that Kelly did for Melissa. She is a definition of a true friend and go along with the theme of being an ally for a marginalized individual (Anti-Defamation League, 2016). With Kelly’s final act of having her and Melissa dress up to go to the zoo, the Anti-Defamation League has an optional extension activity that I believe will have students reflect on how Melissa would be acknowledged as a female after the zoo. ADL suggests having students write an additional chapter after the zoo trip that has them think about Melissa coming out as a transgender girl officially dressed as who she identifies as. This would also lead students to researching the term transgender and active social media influences such as Jazz Jennings and her journey of being a transgender girl throughout her childhood. With this research, students could do an inquiry project on a specific social issue relating to the transgender community. One that comes to my mind that has been in the media in the last couple of years are gender neutral bathrooms. In the book, we have seen Melissa’s struggles of not wanting to go to the boys bathroom, but then struggles being dressed as a girl and being uncomfortable at first going into the girls bathroom (Anti-Defamation League, 2016, p. 3).
Reading a book like this may cause some educators to be hesitant in reading aloud or with students at a school. Specifically first year teachers. It is one fear that I have previously had as well when reading books within this blogroll. I question how I can thoroughly teach these books with the possibility that they won’t be accepted by school staff, administration, or parents. According to Susanne Evans, Susan Gilbert, and Thomas Doyle (2017), “Teachers have the opportunity and responsibility to create classroom climates conducive to acceptance of all people, including people from different cultural or racial groups; people living in traditional and nontraditional families; and people demonstrating nonconforming gender behaviors or roles” (p. 1). With this quote, this book exemplifies the community of those that are “demonstrating nonconforming gender behaviors and roles”. Reading this book allows the teacher to guide students in discussions of what defines gender and how they have come to terms of what this definition is influenced by.
Within the classroom
“Only 18.5% of LGBT students surveyed in grades 6-12 reported having an LGBT-inclusive curriculum, even though attending a school with inclusive curricula means that students are less likely to hear homophobic remarks often or frequently, are less likely to miss school or feel unsafe at school, and are likely to feel more connected to their school community” (Hermann-Wilmarth, J., & Ryan, C., 2015, p. 437).
Reading this statistic above, I felt puzzled because I was wondering if this is the case, why are teachers so reluctant to include LGBT topics within curriculum if it makes that difference to the school community. Throughout undergrad, we are engraved withe the idea that the role of the teacher is to build a foundational relationship with students and the school community. This statistic shows the greatest effect of not following up on this educator promise.
“We want to move teachers from considering whether they can include particular lessons or particular texts in their instruction to how they might find multiple, even creative, ways to address the larger systems that enable homophobia and heterosexism in the first place” (Hermann-Wilmarth, J., & Ryan, C., 2015, p. 437).
Three Pedagogical Approaches in Introducing LGBTQ+ Topics:
-Just include LGBT Texts in the classroom
Include it in all different forms of genres and curriculum that doesn’t isolate it to be used just for one purpose
-Reading “Straight” Books through a Queer Lens
“This approach encourages teachers to read what might be called ‘straight’ books, or books without explicitly named LGBT characters, in ways that still address larger questions about gender, sexuality, and normative identities” (Hermann-Wilmarth, J., & Ryan, C., 2015, p. 438).
I believe with this strategy, it is very important for a teacher to understand terminology related to gender and sexuality in order to appropriately discuss it with their class
Be open as a teacher to questions students may have that may lead to more inclusive discussions and may even help students address their own biases
-Queering LGBT-Inclusive Texts
This strategy basically means that educators will open discussions and point out social issues related to LGBT individuals in society today
Please visit: gendertextset.com for a text set that implements all three of these strategies!
References
Anti-Defamation League. (2016). Book of the month. Retrieved from www.adl.org/education
Evans, S., Gilbert, S., & Doyle, T. (2017). Discovering Their Identity. Retrieved from literacyworldwide.org
Gino, A. (2015). George. New York: Scholastic Press.
Hermann-Wilmarth, J., & Ryan, C. (2015). Doing what you can: considering ways to address LGBT topics in language arts curriculum, 92 (6), pp. 436-443.