Trans* is an umbrella term to describe people whose gender is not the same as, or does not sit comfortably with, the sex they were assigned at birth. They may describe themselves using one or more of a wide variety of terms, including (but not limited to) transgender, non-binary, or genderqueer. Nowadays, trans* seems to be well established in…

In this paper, I theorize my becoming as a transnational trans* scholar through posthuman autoethnography. Grounded in Deleuzian ontology, I conceptualize trans* as a dynamic, fluid capacities beyond fixed gender categories. I use vignettes, diary entries, text messages, conversations, and photos as multiple thresholds where things collide,…

Education is often positioned as a solution to incarceration while simultaneously using police (or commonly named School Resource Officers) to enforce discipline; or metal detectors and cameras for surveillance within school buildings as a measure of "safety" (Meiners, 2011). Sojoyner (2016) argues that both schools and prisons function…

This qualitative study explored how 249 transgender and non-binary (TNB) adolescents (ages 14-18) described salient supports in their lives, and ways in which key social-ecological contexts could better support TNB adolescents' wellbeing. Participants were recruited through social media, and completed online surveys; all study procedures were…

In June 2021, a member of the Belgian conservative political party (N-VA) sparked online controversy regarding inclusive sexuality education by criticising the Genderbread Person, an educational tool used to explain gender identity and sexual orientation. This study analyses the notion of childhood innocence in online debate about the Genderbread…

Context/Background: This article provides an introduction to the special issue. It includes an overview of a collection of articles from scholars across the globe who are committed to deepening an understanding of the experiences of trans students and gender-expansive education in schools. The special issue grew out of concerns about the need to…

Background/Context: This article is drawn from a doctoral research study that involved co-research between as adult trans academic and their child, a nonbinary 11-year-old. It mounts an epistemic challenge to education that assumes children to be cis, and either boys or girls. GIaNT children (Gender Independent, and Nonbinary, Trans) are often…

Background/Context: Trans studies provides onto-epistemological, theoretical, ethical, and political frameworks that have a particular application for studies in education, and specifically for educators in schools, that remains largely unexplored or unelaborated. Within a context of resurgent right-wing extremism that fuels anti-trans and white…

Background: Teachers' support for addressing cisgenderism and cisnormative cultures in schools is necessary to support students' freedom to express gender in expansive ways and to embrace trans identities. However, few questions are asked about how primary school teachers grapple with trans identities in South Africa. Purpose: The article fills…

Social workers use genograms in a collaborative manner with clients to assess family dynamics and to guide their intervention processes. Although genograms are intended to accurately and respectfully depict families, some of the standard genogram symbols and conventions are based on cisnormative and heteronormative assumptions. This article…

Inspired by the life and works of Grammy Award® winning artist, Lil Nas X, we explore ways a young Black queer musician has enacted emancipatory utopias to disrupt dominant cultural modes of being--offering unapologetic expressions and expansions of race, gender, and sexual identity. In this paper, we draw upon José Esteban Muñoz and Ytasha Womak…

Many teacher education programs are committed to social justice. This commentary argues that gender-expansive education--teaching that opens up, democratizes, and complicates our understandings of gender, gender identity, and gendered embodiment in our classrooms in ways that make space for all kinds of students--must be meaningfully,…

Research has demonstrated that systemic transphobia and cissexism harms transgender youth in terms of social, educational, and health outcomes. All too often, research and policy emphasizes vulnerability among trans youth in a way that denies their capabilities as agents of change or active participants in their liberation. This article analyzes…

Despite its central role in social work practice and education, little is known about how social justice is operationalized within the discipline. One aspect that may shed light on how the field engages the construct of social justice is through understanding more about recognition of privilege. This study examines how demographic differences,…

Every child has the right to express their authentic self and to have those expressions validated by the adults responsible for their care. However, young transgender and gender-expansive children's attempts to communicate about their genders are too often dismissed and discredited. In this conceptual paper, the authors draw on the concept of…