I’m a trans person who edits children’s books. The culture wars engulfs me on all sides | Alex DiFrancesco

Editors like me are accused of brainwashing' children. But I simply strive to bring books into the world that let trans children know they aren't alone

Every day, there's a new, terrible development from those attempting to restrict trans life. From laws in Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah and West Virginia that are denying trans-related healthcare to minors (and in some cases, adults), to federal laws restricting trans inclusion in sports, to a law in Tennessee that's expected to be replicated in other states, which would charge publishers with a class 3 felony for publishing books for children that they deem obscene" (which probably means having queer- and trans-related content, in their eyes), one doesn't have to look far to see the actions of those who would bar trans people from public life, or any kind of life.

At the center of a lot of the LGBTQIA+ debates have been books that introduce young people to the ideas of queerness and transness. These books have been banned in some states, taken off library shelves in others, decried by rightwing pundits who think teaching children about natural variations in life such as transness is corrupting" them.