Youth With Gender Issues: Seeking Identity

by Kenneth McIntosh, Ida Walker

According to many experts, gender identity exists in the mind of the individual; it is a psychological concept not necessarily based on biological fact. If someone believes he is female, even though biologically he is male, then his gender identity would be female. This work helps you find our more about this confusing condition.

128 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2007

About the author

Kenneth McIntosh is a writer, educator and spiritual mentor. As a child he became fascinated with the Celtic legends of his heritage. Degrees in English and theology combined with travels in the Middle East and the Celtic lands of Ireland, Scotland and Wales inspire his writing.

He is best known for his book Water from an Ancient Well: Celtic Spirituality for Modern Life. In addition, he has written dozens of other books--mostly non-fiction. He lives in Flagstaff, Arizona with his wife and pets. In addition to writing he teaches Comparative Religions at a community college and serves as pastor for a progressive Christian church. His hobbies include hiking, investigating rock art and archaeological sites, labyrinth building and fixing vintage Volkswagens.

Kenneth is also a noted public speaker and is available for seminars, retreats and other speaking engagements.

Reviews

[Shannon Wyss]

Well, it could have been worse.... The authors are clearly sympathetic to the situation of trans teenagers: from their depiction of a prototypical trans girl, it's obvious that they're aware of the bullying and harassment that trans and gender non-conforming youth can face. The book is written to appeal to an audience that knows very little about transgender, with a glossary that defines all trans-related words. (The book is also written for people with a very low reading level. The glossary also defines words like "overt" and "archaic" -- not a bad idea, but kind of insulting, too.)

It's unclear from their brief bios exactly what sort of real experience they have with actual trans people, however. They clearly buy, lock, stock & barrel, normative notions of gender identity. The book repeatedly describes being transsexual as a "condition," and other books in this book's series are about youth with special needs and disabilities. The authors have either little exposure to or no agreement with feminist or sociological notions of sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, and the like as being socially constructed. They mention gender non-conforming children briefly, and the only "treatment" possibility that they mention is behavioral "therapy" where these kids are only positively reinforced for conforming to society's notions of what is appropriate for their sex -- an incredibly damaging kind of therapy that harms many, many gender-variant children.

So while the authors are sympathetic, the book will appeal mostly to those who subscribe to the notion that being trans is a disability that needs to be "treated" or "fixed." Those of us with a broader view, those of us who celebrate the existence of transgender and trans people, will find this book frequently insulting and culturally dangerous.

[Andrew]

Since there is no review here on this book, I feel like putting a brief summary here for those who may be interested.

This book is aimed mostly at youth and adolescents, with one main story portraying the life of a male-to-female transgender high school student, Kevin, who desires to be Kendra.

Kendra had attempted to come into her female identity at a previous school but it backfired, so she and her mother moved away to a close by town, and Kendra starts going back at her new school as Kevin once again. Kevin's secret is soon found out, however, thanks to gossip and another student's encounter with a student at Kevin's old school, and problems arise.

In between the short chapters, gender identity and gender roles are discussed, facts about chromosomes and what people may do to fit into their identity or to hide it. Stories of David Reimer and Brandon Teena are also told.

[Gabrielle]

I found this book definitely eye-opening, however, the language and almost insensitivity to the issues, problems and actuality of transgenderism and transsexuality keeps me from recommending it to others. It seems like this book is focused on having a hidden innuendo of showing someone who is transgender as crazy or unsure. The best part was giving the story from a Male-To-Female point of view.