Free to Be
Understanding Kids & Gender Identity
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
This authoritative guide to understanding and navigating gender identity from an acclaimed expert on the mental health of transgender and gender diverse youth is “a must-read for anyone seeking to better understand how we can truly help all our children thrive” (Chelsea Clinton, #1 New York Times bestselling author).
Kids today are more gender-fluid and expansive than ever before. In America, around two percent of teenagers (over 700,000) openly identify as transgender. As it becomes increasingly common for us to encounter and know transgender kids, as well as kids with expansive notions of gender, it is vital that we have the tools to truly see and support them.
Free to Be is a comprehensive deep dive by internationally renowned child and adolescent psychiatrist Dr. Jack Turban into the science, medicine, and politics of gender identity. You will be immersed in the lives of three trans and gender diverse youth—Meredith, Kyle, and Sam—as they navigate their gender identities, make decisions around gender-affirming medical and psychological care, and confront an overwhelming political and social terrain.
By combining the latest scientific research, stories of transgender children, and the intricacies of today’s political gender wars, Free to Be is an essential “resource that will empower trans and non-binary people everywhere, as well as those who love and want to support them” (Jazz Jennings, author of Being Jazz and star of I Am Jazz).
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Psychiatrist Turban debuts with a vital parenting guide for raising trans children. Writing for parents who may have little familiarity with trans terminology, Turban explains the basics of gender expression and the importance of using the right pronouns. A wealth of client stories addresses common questions and misconceptions. For instance, Turban pushes back against the fallacy that trans people are merely depressed by recounting how the poor mental health of one trans teen from a conservative Southern state was caused by her anxiety about coming out and improved substantially once she did. Delving into the science of gender affirming care, Turban explains how taking testosterone or estrogen changes the body and how puberty blockers fool the brain into ceasing the production of certain hormones. The numerous medical studies discussed make an airtight case for the benefits of such care (one paper found that taking puberty blockers while attending therapy improved trans teens' mental health significantly more than therapy alone). A bravura chapter forcefully debunks the premises of antitrans legislation, noting, for instance, a study that found "policies that force transgender youth to use the bathrooms of their sex assigned at birth were associated with dramatically elevated rates of sexual assault against transgender kids in schools." Thoroughly researched and buoyed by empathetic patient stories, this ranks among the best guides available for parents of trans children and teens.
