Reflection on, “Russia Omits Story of Transgender Girl from Children’s Book,” by Katie Burkholder

November 21, 2018
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This blog post is covering a topic I feel very passionate about. I came across an article whilst researching children’s books published for foreign countries. This however isn’t on a book published outside of America. It is on a book published in America but changed for foreign audiences. I think this can be necessary in some cases to respect cultures but in the case written about in the article, “Russia Omits Story of Transgender Girl from Children’s Book,” by Katie Burkholder, I think there is a problem.

Katie mentions that in the best-selling children’s book, “Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls,” there was a character omitted to obey Russia’s propaganda laws. The book itself tells tales of 100 heroic women throughout history. However Russian publishers decided that the story of 6-year-old Coy Mathis suing her school for not allowing her to use her preferred bathroom was not good for children readers (Burkholder). This is all because Russia has a law stating that there can be no published media or propaganda that advocate against traditional heterosexual family values.

This is completely ridiculous to me. We live in a world where we realize that not everyone is black and white with anything especially their sexuality and gender-identity. I immediately think of all the people that I know that have struggled with this. They have turned to books countless times in their lives to learn about what they can do in their life and if anyone else is going through something similar. If we don’t allow Russian children to see that there is more than just one family type, kids will be suffering and trying to hide how they truly feel.

I believe overall, it is a no-brainer that the more representation we have the better. I think it is crazy that Russia can just decide what can be published for their citizens. I understand that America is a bit more forward-thinking with topics like this, but we live in a world where everyone has access to each other so we should be growing and moving in a better direction.

Works Cited

Favilli, Elena, and Francesca Cavallo. Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 Tales of Extraordinary Women. Particular Books, an Imprint of Penguin Books, 2017.

“Russia Omits Story of Transgender Girl from Children’s Book.” Georgia Voice – Gay & LGBT Atlanta News, 10 Nov. 2018.