Once you know to start looking, resources abound. This list is merely the tip of the iceberg. It is designed mainly for educators and those who attended my webinars or lectures.
For specific suggestions in classrooms and schools, see also here.
Enjoy!
Organizations and General Resources
Global Gender Gap Report – 2023(World Economic Forum) – a font of useful data. Updated annually.
Glossary: PFLAG One of many comprehensive and useful glossaries of terms related to gender.
Glossary of Terms: Human Rights Council’s glossary, also very useful.
Harvard Implicit Bias Tests– I’m not a huge fan of these tests, but I know many find them illuminating. There are a couple of different ones pertaining to gender.
XY Online – one of the best compilations of resources and articles, especially addressing issues of men and masculinities.
Equimundo – premier global organization promoting nurturing, equitable, non-violent masculinity. Fantastic reports.
Gender Equality Attitudes Study 2019 – 10 Countries, thanks to UN Women
Inequality.org – All kinds of inequality.A project of the Institute for Policy Studies.
25 Organizations Fighting for Gender Equality
A Call to Men: programs, education, corporate trainings about a new masculinity; special focus on men and families of color and racial issues and gender equality.
How Hidden Gender Biases Harm the LGBTQ Community
The Gendered Brain: The New Neuroscience that Shatters the Myth of the Female Brain. Gina Rippon
Gender Bias Learning Project – Run by Joan Williams, a lawyer and expert on work/life/family balance at the Center for Work-Life Balance at UC Hastings
Tomboy: The Surprising History and Future of Girls Who Dare to be Different. Lisa Selin Davis.
PFLAG: Support organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) people, their parents and families, and allies, with national and international chapters.
Recommended Books Related to the Growth, Development, and Socialization of Girls and Women. Huitt, William G. Educational Psychology Interactive. Valdosta State University. A bit dated (1997) but a very interesting short compilation.
Especially for Educators
Gender Equity in the Classroom: What it Looks Like and What You Can Do – my 2020 article in Montessori Leadership Magazine
PFLAG: Cultivating Respect: Safe Schools For All
It Begins at 10: How Gender Expectations Shape Early Adolescence Around the World. Journal of Adolescent Health. October 2017
Roots of Empathy: Programs for children, training for volunteer instructors. Award-winning. Builds on principle that empathy is critical, can be taught, and starts early.
Gender Bias in the Classroom – excellent simple 3-page tool with indicators and tips on avoiding bias (Delaware State Education Association)
Gender Bias in Elementary Schools: An Examination of Teacher Attitudes – Thesis, Lori Melissa Slater
Creating Gender Inclusive Classrooms – film
Responding to Questions (from www.welcomingschools.org)
A Mighty Girl – claims to be the largest collection of books, articles, magazines, and movies for smart, courageous girls. Regularly posts interesting articles on girls’ growing up.
How Gender Socialization Impacts Your Child NWPC Blog. Guidance on parenting from a private medical practice.
Welcoming Schools – managed by the HRC Foundation, this site has a wealth of information including guides for administrators, lesson plans, book lists for all ages, a summary of laws in different states in the US and more.
Can we stop mass shootings if we won’t talk about the crisis of America’s young men? Will Bunch, Philadelphia Inquirer, April 2021
Socialization of Gender Stereotypes Related to Attributes and Professions Among Young Spanish School-Aged Children. Solbes-Canales, Irene; Valverde-Montesino, Susana; Herranz-Herandez, Pablo.
Think or Blue – feminist parenting ideas but useful for educators too!
Note: these booklists will just get you started. The resources above include more and of course, public searches on GoodReads, AbeBooks, and other sites will provide up-to-date offerings.
Gender Diversity
Glossary of Terms, Human Rights Campaign
Reimagine Gender (Helping organizations, families and communities reimagine gender.)
Ackerman Institute for the Family, Gender and Family Project
Raising a Transgender Child, The New York Times, January 21, 2017
The Struggles of Rejecting the Gender Binary: New York Times Magazine, June 4, 2019
Documenting a Trans-Child’s Poignant Revelation: The New Yorker, June 16, 2021
Gender Revolution: National Geographic Special Issue, January 2017
Supporting Your Young Gender Non-conforming Child, Human Rights Council resources
TransYouth Project and Gender Development – Research, Princeton University Human Development Lab
Title IX Protections Extend to Transgender Students, Education Dept. Says, The New York Times, June 17, 2021
Special Issue: Gender Revolution, Discussion Guide for Parents and Teachers, National Geographic, January 2017
Mental Health of Transgender Children Who are Supported in Their Identities, Pediatrics, March 2017
Some L.G.B.T. Parents Reject the Names “Mommy” and “Daddy,” New York Times, April 26, 2018
What do You Say to “That’s So Gay” and Other Anti-LGBTQ Putdowns?, Welcoming Schools, Human Rights Campaign
Where in the World are All the Trans Children? Everywhere. New York Times, June 23, 2021
Gender Dysphoria: A Review Investigating Genetic Influences and Brain Development, NIH, US National Library of Medicine
Boys, Men, and the New Masculinity
XYonline. Online community focusing on men, masculinity, and gender politics.
Traditional Masculinity Can Hurt Boys, Say New APA Guidelines New York Times, January 10, 2019
Gender Roles Trap Boys in a Suffocating Box of Masculinity. Matty Ennis. Youth Journalism International. December 6, 2021.
Mass Shooters Are All Different. Except for One Thing: Most are Men. New York Times, February 17, 2018.
A Call to Men. The Next Generation of Manhood, including resources for boy moms, information on the Man Box, and resources on healthy manhood.
Promundo. Global organization dedicated to advancing gender equality and preventing violence by engaging men and boys in partnership with others. Many useful reports, resources for educators.
Manhood 2.0. A curriculum promoting a gender-equitable future of manhood. Free download.
Boys and Sex: Young Men on Hookups, Love, Porn, Consent, and Navigating the New Masculinity. Peggy Orenstein.
A Book of Dares: 100 Ways for Boys to be Kind, Bold, and Brave by Ted Bunch and Anna Maria Johnson Teague.
Michael C. Reichert, PhD. Includes links to his books, including How to Raise a Boy: The Power of Connection to Raise Good Men, podcasts and talks, and other resources.
Man Enough. Video series hosted by Justin Baldoni; he speaks with other men about societal expectations for men in America. Great insights into the Man Box in their own words. All available on YouTube.
Boys Don’t Try? Rethinking Masculinity in Schools. Matt Pinkett, Mark Roberts.
Books For Children
Great book lists, many with lesson plans, are at Welcoming Schools “Diverse Children’s Books to Creat Gender Expansive Classrooms and Support Transgender and NonBinary Students”
- Jamie is Jamie by Afsaneh Moradian
- Neither by Airlie Anderson
- It Feels Good to Be Yourself by Theresa Thorn
- Who are You? The Kid’s Guide to Gender Identity by Brook Pessin-Whedbee
- When Aidan Became A Brother by Kyle Lukoff
- Introducing Teddy by Jessica Walton
- My Rainbow by Trinity Neal and DeShanna Neal
- Not Quite Narwhal by Jessie Sima
- Red: A Crayon’s Story by Michael Hall
- They, She, He, Me: Free to Be! by Maya Christina Gonzalez and Matthew SG
- A Book of Dares: 100 Ways for Boys to be Kind, Bold, and Brave by Ted Bunch and Anna Maria Johnson Teague
Books For Adolescents
- Beyond the Gender Binary by Alok Vaid-Menon
- King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender
- 30 Essential Books for LGBTQ+ Teens
- Pet by Akwaeke Emezi
Books For Adults
- The Gender Creative Child by Diane Ehrensaft
- Black on Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity by C. Riley Snorton
- Histories of the Transgender Child by Julian Gill-Peterson
- A Quick & Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns by Archie Bongiovanni and Tristan Jimerson
- Raising My Rainbow: Adventures in Raising a Fabulous, Gender Creative Son by Lori Duron
- Raising Ryland by Hillary Whittington
- Becoming Nicole by Amy Ellis Nutt
- The Transgender Teen by Stephanie A. Brill and Lisa Kenney
- The Transgender Child by Stephanie A. Brill and Rachel Pepper
- Raising the Transgender Child by Michele Angello and Alisa Bowman
*Thanks to WBUR, Boston, for their also useful Resources for Kids and Parents: Understanding Nonbinary Identities