For this final blog post for GSS 211-200, I’ve decided to talk about, of course, gender in the media, but in this case, transgender people, in a recently released children’s picture book.
While “Calvin” by JR and Vanessa Ford is a children’s picture book, I felt I needed to own a copy because it expressed the importance of gender expression, in this case, expression of one’s true gender identity. “Calvin” is about a transmale toddler named Calvin, born female, but male in his heart and brain.
This book was truly a pleasant read. Calvin is a mixed-race child, born to parents JR Ford (Person of Color/POC) and Vanessa Ford (Caucasian). It recalls the titular character’s journey in the identifications and validation of his true gender identity.
“For as long as I could remember, I knew I was a boy” (Ford and Ford).
In his artistic expressions, Calvin drew himself “with short hair and a shirt like Papa’s.” Calvin also dreamt of being able to wear “swim trunks like my dad and brother wore” (Ford and Ford).
Calvin eventually told his parents about how he felt, the night before going on a trip to see his grandparents. I, Dominic, can relate to this because I, myself, felt most comfortable with coming out to my family, as gay, on my birthday in 2010.
In the entire book of “Calvin,” the word “me” is used a lot as a way of identifying Calvin’s truest form of himself, simply “me” (Ford and Ford).
Something else repeated in the book is a tactic that Calvin’s father taught him to pursue when Calvin feels nervous, in general, about confronting something difficult: “Take deep breaths and count down from five.” The book allows the reader to interact with the reading by having certain pages say “5-4-3-2-1,” so as to encourage the reader to try that tactic out for themselves (Ford and Ford).
“We love you if you are a girl, boy, neither, or both,” Calvin’s father told him. I can imagine this quoted line being empoweringly impactful for the young readers of this book (Ford and Ford).
Calvin’s grandmother ended buying Calvin and his brother matching swim trunks for their visit to a water park, which Calvin said that, “even the water slides felt better in them,” meaning the swim trunks (Ford and Ford).
Calvin was able to pick out new clothes, that he felt comfortable in, just in time for the first day of the next academic year. Calvin gave his family a fashion show in those clothes, to which his grandmother said, “you look so handsome.” All that was left, before school started, was a fitting haircut, one that felt right to Calvin (Ford and Ford).
The night before the first day back to school, Calvin tossed and turned in his bed, thinking of multiple questionable “what if” moments, in which Calvin speculated on how, or even if, his school community would take the news of his new, fully realized identity. To that, Calvin did what his father had taught him, Calvin took deep breaths and counted down from five, even as he “dragged” his feet to the school entrance (Ford and Ford).
When Calvin opened himself up to an already familiar environment, but as a boy this time, he was received and welcomed with open arms and validation from his teachers and already established friends, even with seeing his new name on things in his classroom, including his desk, cubby and mailbox.
Side note: this book is extremely inclusive, not only with gender identity, but with skin tones. They include many distinct shades, including a classmate of Calvin’s who was born with different spots of skin tones on their face. Other students appear to diverse like a red-haired girl with buck teeth, a plus-size girl, a plus-size boy with glasses, Asian students, a Jewish boy with a yarmulke on, a female POC with short hair, and a wheelchair bound student. This is diversity on steroids, and I am here for it.
The kicker, to me, of the story is this: Calvin’s name, Calvin, is not mentioned, whatsoever, until the last page. The more so masculine name Calvin, Calvin’s label if you will, is saved until the end of the book. I admire that idea, to keep labels separate, so as to not jump right into the label, but instead, have the story pertain to the titular character’s actions and ideas that have come to fruition, that truly tell you what you need to know about this real-life, brave, transgender toddler.
This children’s picture book about a transgender youngster is incredible. It establishes the idea and construct that America’s youth do not have to be subjected to what today’s advertisers are marketing towards children who have open minds (Palmer, Maureen: Sext Up KIDS).
In “Calvin,” the titular character is, on the contrary, open to establishing his own journey to his sense of self-expression and his true gender identity. It’s refreshing, it’s modern, and it’s so innovative. In short, “Calvin” is one for the books!
Sources Cited
Ford, JR, and Vanessa Ford. Calvin. G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2021.
Palmer, Maureen, et al., directors. Sext Up KIDS: How Children Are Becoming Hypersexualized. Kanopy, Media Education Foundation, 2012, https://aacpl.kanopy.com/video/sext-kids-how-children-are-becoming-hypersexualized. Accessed 15 Dec. 2021.
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