Adults: Where you can go to learn more

As is true of pretty much everything in Reflecting Rainbow Tweens & Teens, i've watched or read the entirety of only a small number of the resources below. I've done an initial look to make sure they're appropriate. But i can’t vouch for 100% of the content of almost any of them

However, posted book summaries, initial social media posts, a skim of opening paragraphs and section headings — and, more importantly, the recommendations of my survey-takers — indicate that each resource is queer-/trans-friendly.

I often had to make a judgement call about whether to put something in this section or the section for young people.

• The "adults" section tends to have overall resources on queer and trans identities and lives, especially if they're geared to allies/accomplices (which you'll find defined in the glossary).
• In part of the books section, i've also included ficition and non-fiction that parents might buy for their tweens -- any of them; straight, cis youth need queer- and trans-positive literature almost as much as their queer and trans siblings.
• The page of youth resources contains things meant to be read or watched by queer and trans young folx. The vocabulary or humor may be lost on some adults (including me).

People from each group are, of course, welcome to check out the other section.

Adult allies/accomplices, some notes specifically for you if you venture into the youth section:

• Similar to the tween books section, the youth resources section is a great place for gathering ideas on affirming gifts to buy for the queer and trans teens you're supporting. Check out especially the books part of the youth resources section and the movies page.
• Be forewarned: the young people's section has direct, honest resources on sexuality and sex education. Here's why:
  • Tweens and teens deserve to have all of the information they need about their bodies, pleasure, and how to stay safe. For those who aren't ace, sex should be fantastic. But it's also sometimes very complicated.
  • Adolescence and young adulthood are when many folx start to really think about and explore sexuality. Tweens and teens who have access to everything they need to know about how their bodies work have a super-power that can help keep them safe. Every young person deserves that.
  • However, i want to state again that there's nothing wrong with aro/ace tweens or teens, who may not be interested in sex or romance. If you're an adult ally/accomplice of an aro/ace young person, please respect their identities and experiences of sexuality; it's really not hard to do: listen to their thoughts and keep your reservations to yourself. Easy-peasy! If you find this hard to do, please consider going to see a therapist; that can be a huge help for you, which will ultimately also help the queer or trans young person in your life.

I've left out some of the resources suggested by survey-takers…

• Where i couldn't easily verify that it focused on queer or trans content, which was rare.
• When there wasn't enough information with a recommendation for me to find it.
• That seemed mostly jokey/silly.
  • These are in the youth resources section since i figured adults would get less out of them than young people would.
• When it was a local or state resource.
  • There are so very, very many of those (what a fantastic problem to have!), and i don't have the capacity to scope them out.
• That were on Twitter (now going by "X"), including many of the folx who have Instagram and/or TikTok accounts.
  • Since the Twitter takeover by the reactionary, right-wing Elon Musk in the fall of 2022, i'm doing my best not to promote anything there, including having canceled my own Twitter account in early 2023. (My account was very inactive, however. So this wasn’t much of a sacrifice on my part.)
    • A Reminder of Just Some of the Terrible Things Elon Musk Has Said and Done
    • The worst Elon Musk tweets, ranked

So many of us (but not all of us, as shown in the call-out box above) love to talk about our own lives and experiences. That may include the queer or trans tween or teen in your life.

Keep in mind, however, that not every queer or trans young person (or adult) is comfortable educating others — nor are they obligated to force themselves to take on that role. The reluctance to be an educator of straight and cis people was a common theme for my survey respondents. If your young person isn't interested in being an educator, you can rely extra heavily on the resources on the rest of this page.

If you know other queer and trans people, ask them if they're open to having a conversation with you. If they are, take them out to coffee or for lunch and, while there, have a great talk.

As one survey-takers said, "The best resource is to listen to the community."

Notation reminders (*, *, and ):

• Everything that's preceded by a red asterisk (*) is a source recommended by my survey-takers.
• The ones preceded by a blue asterisk (*) are ones i have on my own phone.
• Sources preceded by a book () will teach you some queer and trans history.

You'll find several more apps listed in the youth resources section.

1. 1. * PeePal Refuge
   2. Pride Mantra: LGBT Counseling (also available on Google Play)
   3. ** Q Guide
   4. ** Quist - Today in LGBTQ History

1. 1. Elevated Access
   2. Erin Reed/Erin in the Morning
   3. Family Equality
   4. Gay Parent Magazine
   5. Gayish Podcast
   6. Gender Justice
   7. GLAAD
   8. GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD Law)
   9. INQYR (International Partnership for Queer Youth Resilience)
   10. LGBTQ Nation
   11. LGBTQ Shrink
   12. LGBTQReads
   13. Mombian
   14. National Center for LGBTQ Rights
   15. NOH8
   16. PinkNews
   17. Trans Formations Project
   18. transparent, parent of a trans kid
   19. We Need Diverse Books
   20. Williams Institute

• Growing Up Transgender: Raising our trans child

The LGBTQA+/SGL organizations below specifically include queer or trans children, whom i'm defining as 8 years old or younger, and their families in their work.

1. Gender Diversity
2. Gender Spectrum
3. GLSEN
4. Human Rights Campaign
   • Along with their program, Welcoming Schools
5. PFLAG
6. Trans Families

Also, see the middle grades books for some books that are equally or sometimes more appropriate for elementary school-aged children.

See also the much longer list of suggestions in the youth section. Also, note that the sources listed by each movie aren't necessarily the only places to see them. If you don’t have access to one or more of those included below, Google it to see what else you could find.

Similar to the books section above, whether i placed a movie here or in the youth section was sometimes arbitrary or a judgement call.

First, lists of potential options:

1. 10 amazing queer movies you can’t afford to miss this Black History Month
2. Growing Up Queer: Thoughtful Movies and TV Shows About LGBTQ+ Youth (Right below the opening paragraph is a filter menu. Use that to hone in on the age you're looking for.)

Now, for actual movies and other streaming content:

1. All In My Family (Netflix)
2. Changing the Game (the Changing the Game website, viewable through Hulu)
3. Crush (Disney+, Hulu)
4. Everything Everywhere All at Once (the services listed on the top of this page)
5. Family Is Still Family (Asian Pride Project website)
6. Fire Island (the services listed on the top of this page)
7. Gender Revolution: A Journey with Katie Couric (the services listed on the top of this page)
8. Growing Up Coy (Amazon Prime Video)
9. How to Be a Girl (Available at this webpage only)
10. Moonlight (the services listed at the top of this page)
11. The Most Dangerous Year (Amazon Prime Video, Kanopy, Plex, Roku)
12. Parting Glances (Amazon Prime Video and the services listed on the top of this page)
13. Real Boy (the Real Boy website, the services listed on the top of this page)
14. Second Nature: Everything you didn’t learn in high school biology (not available on streaming yet, but this is definitely one to keep an eye out for)
15. Stealth (the services listed on this page)

If your community has a queer/trans newspaper — likely a weekly or monthly publication — pick it up. You can learn a ton about what's going on in your local area. It's a good bet you'll find them at any LGBTQA+/SGL venue, as well as libraries and progressive bookstores, coffee shops, co-ops, restaurants, theaters, and the like. You may even be able to find them in newspaper boxes along the sidewalk.

There are also nationally-focused queer and trans periodicals.

You can find lists of queer and trans publications at the sites below. As with bookstores, these papers and magazines may not still be publishing.

1. 7 LGBTQ+ News Sites That Are Using Their Platforms to Show Solidarity
2. LGBTQ Newspapers
3. List of LGBT periodicals in the US
   1. (This is a Wikipedia entry, the full list of which contains publications throughout the world, mostly in the Global North.)
4. Top 30 LGBTQ publications in the US
5. Top 50 LGBTQ publications in the world

And actual news sources:

1. 1. * PinkNews
   2. Trans News Network