De-blog

Title: Transphobia: Deal with it and be a gender transcender Author: j wallace skelton, illustrated by Nick Johnson Publisher: James Lorimer & Company Ltd. Published: 1st January, 2017 ISBN: 9781459407664 Link: http://www.lorimer.ca/childrens/Book/2892/Transphobia.html Blurb: Who do you think you are? Part of identity is how people experience their gender. Transphobia is intolerance of any part of the range of gender identity. This accessible, illustrated book offers information, quizzes, comics and true-to-life scenarios to help kids better understand gender identity and determine what they can do to identify and counter transphobia in their schools, homes and communities. Considered from the viewpoint of gender challengers, gender enforcers and witnesses, transphobic behavior is identified, examined and put into a context that kids can use to understand and accept themselves and others for whatever gender they are — even if that's no gender at all! Revi...

If I didn't run a publishing company, and if I wasn't an author, today would be the day I'd leave GR. It's not that I've been naïve until now about how many spiteful, full-of-their-own-self-importance trolls reside there. Nor have I ever thought GR could or should do something about it. Freedom of speech and all that... But actually, no. Freedom of speech is not a licence to verbally bully others, particularly when those others are banned from defending themselves. Freedom of speech is the right to speak up for your beliefs, to be free to say whatever you want to say, but the freedom of one should not come at the cost of another. And herein lies the problem with GR (or any other site that allows posting of reviews, for that matter). Readers can say what they like about books. They can justify reviews that are attacks on the author by claiming they are offended by the author's views, as expressed in that one particular book. Authors have NO freedom ...

It's the start of the summer holidays - a moment of celebration for pupils and teachers, not so great for parents of younger children or those we leave behind in school, working their civvie socks off (unhindered by mithering colleagues) to prepare for the coming academic year. Alas, the sense of celebration was lost this year, for several reasons, a significant one being that the local bus company were only able to provide our usual school bus service and thus there was no customary early finish, which resulted in hours of shaving foam fun for some, terror for others and exhausting military-style vigils for the rest. The good-byes for those leaving our number were vague and begrudged and we left the pub early to return to our normal Friday night activities. So all in all, it just doesn't feel like the summer holidays. More importantly, we have reached the end of an era: you might note the absence of fireworks, damped as they were by professional obligations that served onl...