MY CULTURE, MY GENDER, ME
“When you look at me, which gender do you see?” asks Alawa, the narrator of Corrigan’s latest book on gender. Dressed in traditional regalia, the Indigenous (Nêhiyaw) narrator proudly declares that they are Moosomin First Nation and Two Spirit, “an umbrella term used to describe a variety of gender identities specific to Indigenous tribes across North America.” Alawa introduces readers to their friends from all over the world, including Alohilani, a Native Hawai’ian māhū person; Nayeli, an Oaxacan muxe person; Chideziri, a “female husband” from Nigeria; and Kohei, an X-gender person from Japan. Each friend shares a brief description of their gender and its ethnic context; their joy and cultural pride are warmly conveyed by Butterfly’s cartoon-inspired art. The narrative concludes with Alawa and their friends saying goodbye in their respective languages. The profiles offer only a sliver of information about each gender, and the book would have benefited from bibliographic references. Still, the richness of nonbinary genders across the globe will amaze young readers, and the volume’s limited scope is reasonable, given that this is an introductory picture book. Readers will learn much about the diverse ways that people can understand and express gender. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
