Perspectives - April, 2009

These books have been read and reviewed by TransActive staff with an eye on the quality of writing, accuracy of information and specific relevance to gender non-conformity or transgender identity and expression in children & youth.

We rate the books as follows:

	Unsuitable or harmful to children, youth and their families. Avoid!
	Marginally supportive or focused on trans or gender non-conforming children & youth
	Worth reading. Look for a copy at your local library.
	Highly recommended and relevant. Buy it.
	Indispensible! Buy two copies in case you lose one.

10,000 Dresses
Story by Marcus Ewert, Illustrations by Rex Ray
Seven Stories Press - $14.95 (Hardcover - 40 pgs.)
ISBN 978-1-58322-850-0

"Bailey longs to wear the beautiful dresses of her dreams but is ridiculed by her unsympathetic family which rejects her true perception of herself."

There are so few storybooks written for or about children who experience or express their gender in non-stereotypical ways that one is tempted to heap unbridled praise on every offering that comes down the pike. "10,000 Dresses" by Marcus Ewert (pictured at left) is, in many ways, praise-worthy for more than the rarity of its subject matter.

Our hero, Bailey, is a female identified/male-bodied child. One of the things that makes Bailey so appealing as a positive role-model for children, is that Bailey is completely forthright about her feelings with regard to her gender identity. Despite the insistence of her unsupportive family that she is a boy, Bailey confidently, courageously and repeatedly tells them that she "doesn't feel like a boy."

Eventually, Bailey finds an ally in an older girl that lives down the street and together they explore not only their mutual love of designing and wearing dresses, but also their shared need to express their individuality.

I liked this book very much. More specifically, I would have LOVED this book if I'd been able to read it when I was a young, gender non-conforming child. In Bailey I would have found likeable, kind-hearted and self-confident hero who embraced her female identity and love for things that others deemed as too "girly" for someone they saw only as a "boy".

My enthusiasm for "10,000 Dresses" is tempered somewhat by the way in which Bailey's family is presented.

Their complete lack of support for Bailey's gender expression, while sadly representative of many (if not most) families, is probably not an accurate reflection of the families most likely to actually buy "10,000 Dresses" for their gender non-conforming or transgender child. And that may lead to a slight 'disconnect' for both children reading the story and for parents and caregivers who are considering giving their child this book.

It would be wonderful if unsupportive parents, siblings and extended family of children like Bailey would buy this book and realize the error of their ways, however that is, tragically, wishful thinking. Bailey's story, for me, would have been more effective and had broader appeal if Bailey had received the support of some or all of her family members and they worked together (with Bailey taking the lead) to find allies in the neighborhood or at Bailey's school.

In the end, and with those considerations in mind, I still strongly recommend this book. The illustrations by Rex Ray are colorfully drawn from Bailey's perspective and the dresses are, well...fabulous!

Bailey's dreams may be filled with visions of beautiful dresses, but if your gender non-conforming child is anything like I was, their dreams may be filled with the desire for a book that looks a lot like "10,000 Dresses."

reviewed by Jenn Burleton

Inside:

Back Issues