Beginning in 2009, March 31st was named the International Transgender Day of Visibility: a day set aside to bring awareness to and celebrate the lives of transgender people all around the world. Since that day was only last week, I decided to review a children’s chapter book called “Melissa” by Alex Gino, which tells the story of a young transgender girl navigating school, family, and her own journey of identity. Melissa was, until just this month, titled “George,¨ but was changed to give greater respect to the main character.
Since it is a children’s book, “Melissa” is a very short read. It’s funny, and heart wrenching, and sweet. Melissa is a young girl in elementary school who is growing up with expectations she can’t live up to and a body and name that isn’t hers. Melissa is known to the world as a young boy named George, but knows in her spirit that she is a girl. She feels pushed down and ignored by the people around her, as they expect her to act a certain way and care about certain things. A big part of the story revolves around Melissa wanting to play Charlotte in the school’s play of Charlotte’s Web, but because she presents as a boy, her teacher denies her the role.
One of the reasons I love “Melissa” so much is because of the author, Alex Gino. They are a trans person themselves and are an example of how important it is to allow people to tell their own stories. So often, people from marginalized communities are written about by people who aren’t a part of that community. That inauthentic storytelling can lead to a lot of misinformation. One trans person is not the spokesperson for every single trans person, as is the case in any community, but when we allow stories to come directly from people who have experienced these things, we open the doors for more and more stories. And not just more stories, but a variety of stories.
Gino doesn’t just tell the story of a trans character figuring out their trans-ness. They tell a story of a trans character who has other interests and desires and motivations, outside of their gender identity. This is so important when it comes to stories about marginalized people, as it allows their characters to be real, and not just a way to diversify the cast. Characters deserve to be complex and messy and confusing, because that’s what’s true to life.
