Transgender teddy bear teaches kids under five about gender identity

A book aimed at children up to five years of age, which tells the story of a transgender teddy bear transitioning from male to female, has gone on sale in Irish book shops.

The picture story book aims to teach children about gender identity, people who identify as transgender and the importance of accepting people for who they are.

The story focuses on a young boy, Errol, who notices his teddy bear, Thomas, becoming sad and distant during playtime.

When the boy asks why, Thomas the Teddy says: ''I need to be myself… In my heart, I've always known that I'm a girl teddy, not a boy teddy. I wish my name was Tilly, not Thomas.''

The boy then accepts this decision, unfazed and the two continue playing. He tells his friends: "Teddy has a new name, let me introduce you to Tilly.''

The teddy then removes a blue bow tie and puts it in his hair. A friend notices and says: "Good for you Tilly, wear whatever makes you happy."

The story was written by a female author whose father transitioned into a woman.

Jessica Walton (30) from Melbourne, Australia, and her wife welcomed their 18-month-old son Errol into the world shortly after her father became Tina.

Frustrated by the lack of books aimed at young children that feature transgender characters, Ms Walton decided to create her own with the hope that the book will help foster discussion about transgender issues among young people.

After setting up her Kickstarter fund - which raised more than double its $10,500 (€7,000) target - she realised the potential readership was far greater than the trans community alone and the book went on sale worldwide.

Dubray book stores are stocking the book, while Easons have made it available online.

Speaking about the importance of making the book available to children, Aoife Harrison, children's book buyer at the Dubray store in Bray, explains how the book is helping parents to explain the concept of gender identity and the transgender community to their children.

"With the context in Ireland around transitioning and gender identity, parents come in with questions and ask 'have you anything that will explain this to my child?' Especially if the child has an older sibling who is going through something like this," explains Ms Harrison.

"The book is very accessible and very gentle in the way it explains the issues and it doesn't go into the nitty gritty of the 'how and why'. Simply that it just is - and that a person can sometimes say 'I feel like this'.''

Ms Harrison added: "There is probably an [older] age where you can explain the 'hows' and 'whys' but I think you can definitely explain [to young children] the concept of feeling a certain way about who they are and about knowing your own identity." She continued: "With social media and even playground talk, children can easily absorb what is being said, so if you can approach it [in the right way] at a young age, then it becomes normalised very early and you can avoid the stumbling blocks down the road. It is important that mainstream publishers are taking the steps to publish books like this, approaching these issues and focusing on diversity."

Speaking about the storyline, Ms Walton's dad Tina has said she cried "happy tears" when she read the first draft.

She said, "In Introducing Teddy: A story about being yourself being trans isn't something 'weird and wacky and way out', it's just a possibility.

"Life can go on, you keep having friends and family and you get on with your life, it's OK. This is what books do, they mainstream it."

Prof Donal O'Shea, an endocrinologist at St Columcille's Hospital, in Loughlinstown in Co Dublin, which provides hormonal therapies for trans people, has previously spoken about seeing trans people from the age of 16. "I used to ask people if they had told their wife and children; now I'm asking secondary students whether they would rather transition during the year of their Leaving Certificate or wait till the exams are over," he said.

"It is so much better if it can be addressed at an early age, before life becomes more complicated."

Studies have shown trans children can face many challenges including isolation, bullying and stigma, a lack of support at school, family rejection and difficulty in accessing psychological and medical services.

International research points to about 1pc of the population feeling or expressing some form of gender variance.