My History, My Gender, Me

Gr 5 Up–Ten brief and engaging biographies of real persons who have lived across millennia and in many parts of the world are presented, each in the first person, to highlight lived aspects of genderqueer diversity. These are featured alongside place- and period-specific cultural responses to their gender identities. Some, such as Marsha P. Johnson, famed for her role in the Stonewall resistance against transphobia, may be recognized by contemporary youth; the stories of others, including 18th-century Chevalier d’Éon, who won her court case to be recognized as female, and fifth-century Saint Marinos, who was assigned female at birth and became a monk, likely will surprise readers. Butterfly’s gorgeous and stylized watercolor illustrations include a thumbnail face accompanying a full-page contextualizing portrait for each person. Glossary and a wise author’s note on understanding culture within history add to this small book’s usefulness. However, some of the portraits are misleading, such as the misrepresentation of a Quaker meeting’s appearance, and there are textual and grammar oddities, such as incomplete sentences.