Gender Explained

By now, you’ve probably heard the terms transgender, nonbinary, genderqueer, and gender fluid. You might even know someone who identifies as one of those ways or know someone who is questioning their gender. But what do those terms actually mean? Is this gender exploration just a phase due to over-influence by social media or peer pressure? And how do you broach the subject of gender with your child or loved one?

Gender Explained is the complete roadmap to understanding gender in all its forms. Backed by the latest research and featuring personal stories from children, adolescents and parents, clinical psychologists and gender specialists Diane Ehrensaft and Michelle Jurkiewicz will walk you through everything you need to know about today’s gender phenomenon, including:

-Why so many kids today are exploring gender
-What it means that gender is on a spectrum
-How to parent a gender creative child
-How to support those exploring their gender identity

Dispelling myths and answering the most common questions that appear in clinical practice, this book will equip you with the information and insight to navigate this new world with confidence and ease.

Review

If you're scared and confused because your child is saying things about gender that you never expected to hear, this is the book for you. Gender Explained sets aside the politics, lays out the science, and offers practical, compassionate advice for supporting our children – and ourselves – on the gender adventure that awaits us. ― Marlo Mack, author of How to Be a Girl

Gender Explained is the perfect antidote to the current state of widespread confusion about gender. Ehrensaft and Jurkiewicz’s careful, thoughtful, and well-researched approach to the topic of gender cuts through a sea of misinformation. ― Sabra L. Katz-Wise, PhD, associate professor at Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health

A must-read for anyone interested in exploring the complex subject of gender. ― Joel Baum, director of education at the Child and Adolescent Gender Center, UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital

With courage and wisdom, this book does an amazing job at explaining gender diversity. A highly recommended read for families, clinicians, and anyone eager to better understand our complex world. ― Jean Malpas, psychotherapist and founder of the Gender & Family Project at the Ackerman Institute for the Family

About the Author

Diane Ehrensaft (Author)
Diane Ehrensaft is a developmental and clinical psychologist who cares for children, adolescents and families. She specialises in gender-affirmative care for transgender and gender-expansive patients and publishes and lectures internationally on this topic. She is also the author of The Gender Creative Child and Gender Born, Gender Made. She lives in San Francisco, California.

Michelle Jurkiewicz (Author)
Michelle Jurkiewicz is a licensed clinical psychologist and gender specialist in private practice in Berkeley, California. Dr Jurkiewicz was an early pioneer in the work with transgender, nonbinary and gender expansive youth. She has been providing therapeutic services to children, youth and families since 2003 and trains newer clinicians in using the Gender Affirmative Model.