Practical Proposal

Up to this point I have come up with a couple proposals for the practical aspect of this project and I think I really need to nail down what it is exactly I want to do.

• To create a pack/publication aimed at children aged 7 to 11 highlighting the importance of choice within gender & identity.
• The audience (children aged 7 to 11) will most likely engage with this content through a physical activity book or pack however with the increase of technology like tablets, an app version of the content might also be relevant. 
• The pack would include an information book with illustrations (i.e. what is gender, why it is important to acknowledge that gender 'norms' don't suit everybody), perhaps a short story and some activities - maybe a paper doll which doesn't rely on the character's sex to determine the clothes and gives the children the option to mix up gender constructs. 
• Distribution? Potentially this could be something that could be distributed through schools.

Some references I will be looking at:

• HeForShe - "A solidarity movement for equality" - specifically aimed towards men because it is pretty common for them to feel like the equality battle isn't really their fight (but it is!)
• Human Rights Campaign - "Working for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender equal rights" - Dedicated to raising awareness for the LGBT community by sharing people's stories, news and events. 
• GLAD - "LGBT Youth rights" - Aimed towards a younger audience and is specifically concerned with LGBT rights in schools
• Gender Trust - Offers support for those two are transgender or unsure etc. Has a quarterly magazine and encourages members of the trust to get in touch with each other and offer mutual support. 

There are loads of organisations out there that deal with gender issues but I can't really find any that specifically target the audience I want to. In many cases children are aware of their gender issues at a very young age and it is important to have information targeted at that age readily available (and to make the other children understand).

Gender identity is a very current topic and is more frequently being shown/discussed on T.V. For example, I Am Cait which followed the transition of Bruce Jenner to Caitlyn Jenner. Aimed more towards teens, there was Pretty Little Liars, in which the antagonist whom they thought was a male stalker, actually turned out to be a transgender woman. Much more recently, even Eastenders is featuring a story/character with gender identity issues. 

With gender identity being given more attention in the media than ever before, I think it would be great to seize this opportunity to educate the next generation so that they don't grow up around social constructs that they can't relate to.