Book Review: You Be You! By Jonathan Branfman
I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
You Be You! was written to introduce children to the concepts of sex, gender, sexual orientation, discrimination, and privilege. I have seen many books with a similar aim, but rarely find one I would read to my own kids -- not because of the content, but because I don’t think it was done well enough. As someone with an advanced degree in Women Gender and Sexuality Studies, I get a little picky. You Be You! however is one that I could see reading to my kids in a few years (it’s targeted to kids 5-10 years old -- I think it’s just too long for my 4 year old to sit through at this point).
The book is divided into chapters including “The Sexes,” “Gender,” “Gender Identity,” “Love and Attraction,” and more. Each chapter starts by referencing the social myth -- that there are only two genders, for example, or that everyone born with certain genitalia grow up to identify as a certain gender and fall in love with a different one -- and then gently breaks down the myth by explaining other ways these things can happen. Even if a baby with a vagina does grow up to identify as a woman, she might not fall in love with a man, or fall in love at all! After exploring some of the various ways people experience gender, sex, or attraction, each chapter ends with a version of “Whichever way you feel, that’s ok!”
While there are several chapters, each one is just a few pages with accessible language and colorful illustrations. What impressed me most about this book was how it took some difficult ideas like privilege and intersectionality and made them seem accessible to a young readership. Certainly most kids would need to follow it up with a conversation to really break down the ideas, but as the author notes, many people aren’t exposed to these ideas until college, or later. That’s not soon enough! So if an 8 year old reads this book, on their own or with a parent, even if they don’t understand it all at least a seed has been planted.
While I don’t think there is a perfect book for introducing these topics to young kids, this is the closest I’ve found yet. Definitely worth checking out if you have young people in your life! Heck, I know adults who could probably benefit from this book too!