p;th=1&psc=1&tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=697299527030&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=6893025749440281176&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9046001&hvtargid=pla-1341563528837&psc=1&gad_source=1″>Bodies Are Cool, a book by American trans activist Tyler Davis which features a woman with facial hair and mastectomy scars on the cover. The Amazon reviews are almost universally ecstatic at the sheer wonderful inclusivity-ness of it all. Here's a fawning Tyler Davis interview:
“Bodies are Cool” is a children’s picture book that celebrates all the different kinds of bodies that exist. I came across it last year when I was shopping for Christmas gifts for my five-year-old niece. Immediately, I was drawn to its cover illustration, a colorful array of diverse body types.
I was especially in awe of the transmasculine character with top surgery scars.
“Is that… me?” I thought.
It was the very first time seeing myself visually represented in a children’s book, and the moment was powerful. I ended up leaving that Baltimore bookstore with three copies of “Bodies are Cool” — one for my niece, my nephew, and myself. The book is still proudly on display in my apartment.
As part of Lambda Legal’s celebrations of Trans Awareness Week, I connected with Tyler Feder, the Chicago-based artist and author behind this special children’s book. Together, we discussed her inspiration for the story and the importance of trans visibility and representation. We also talked about “Don’t Say LGBTQ+” laws in the U.S., such as the ones in Florida and Iowa, and how harmful they are to books like “Bodies are Cool” and the nonbinary and transgender community at large….
Or, here, two drag queens sing its praises.
According to the Reduxx report, the American edition of the book omits the page featuring the nude illustrations displayed in the Austrian kindergarten, but it was exclusively available in the German edition. They're so much more progressive over there in Germany and Austria.
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