Abstract

The widely recognized formula to make elementary education safer, more inclusive, and more supportive for queer and trans students is to expand access to diverse representation. A minimal body of research investigates the nuance of this formula: How does content with LGBTQ+ representation continue to perpetuate boundaries around how children can be in the world? This study examines how children’s literature, even when featuring transgender characters, can subtly reinforce narratives that inscribe a one-way medicalized and linear transition across the gender binary. Transition, then, equates to changing a ‘wrong’ body into a ‘right’ body. Specifically, this research focuses on the pervasive ‘born in the wrong body’ narrative and its three themes: gender essentialism, gender binarism, and moving from one fixed destination to another — the dominant means of describing and understanding trans, transgender, and transsexual stories. By conducting critical content analysis of five books marketed as transgender stories, this study investigates how these books interact with the ‘born in the wrong body’ narrative. The findings will shed light on the potential of both children’s literature and education to break down boundaries of beingness and take care of children’s (un)gendered creativity. Keywords: born in the wrong body narrative, children’s literature, critical content analysis, elementary education, gender essentialism, gender binarism, prefixal trans, transgender studies.

How to Cite:

Thurston, D., (2025) ““A girl brain but a boy body:” A Critical Analysis of the ‘Born in the Wrong Body’ Narrative in Children’s Literature”, Arizona Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies 11(1), 9-23.