Thank you Netgalley, Cassandra Jules Corrigan, and Jessica Kingsley Publishers for providing me with an arc copy in return for an honest review.

My Culture, My Gender, Me has a very interesting premise that immediately grabbed my attention. It's a book about gender identities around the world. I had heard of Two-Spirit and mahu but several others I'd never heard of before so it was nice to learn a little about them. The book is very short but it gives you a bit of a starting point if you want to teach your children about other gender identities. The art is cute which is a nice touch.

I did have a few issues with this book, however. I desperately believe this book needs a pronunciation guide. I was struggling to even begin to know how to pronounce the terms and names in this book. Since the book is aimed at kids and seems like a book parents would read to their children it's important for them to be able to read what is in the book with ease.

Another issue is that the book doesn't really seem to know who it is aimed for. It wants to be a book for younger children, about 3 to 8, but the difficulty of the text makes it seem like it's more geared towards older kids, about 9 to 11.

There is also the fact that the book is written by a white American and they and their team doesn't seem to have brought on sensitivity readers to make sure the information that they have researched is being portrayed correctly.

Still, I think it's a fun, short, but informative read that can open up discussions about gender identities to kids. So I'd recommend it for parents with the footnote that they might want to look up how to pronounce these words ahead of time.

I received an ARC of “My Culture, My Gender, Me” from NetGalley and Jessica Kingsley Publishers in exchange for an honest review.

Written by by Cassandra Jules Corrigan and illustrated by Moe Butterfly, this picture book introduces children to a fact about our world: there has **always** been gender diversity. However, some people won’t acknowledge this fact, confusing “sex” with “gender.” Many of those same people also believe that there are only 2 sexes (male/female), which is patently false. Science, and particularly genetics, has given people today more insight into the matter. For example, there are many people with the dominant XX and XY chromosomes, but there are also people with XYY and XXY chromosomes, along with hermaphrodites, containing both XX and XY reproductive organs.

While genotypes are not always observable, phenotypes—even to young children—are. These phenotypes, or observable traits, often walk hand in hand with culture. Unlike the dominant Euro-American culture where historically only 2 genders were accepted, Corrigan shows children that in other cultures, this is not the case. The author provides examples from around the world, including but not limited to the indigenous tribes in the Americas (Canada, Mexico, and Hawaii), Africa (Hausa and Igbo tribes), and Australian aborigines.

At the end of the book, the author provides a note stating that she is a, “white American.” I do believe, however, that this statement isn’t necessary and I would recommend that this part be removed from the book. I certainly never felt compelled to reveal my own ethnicity when I researched and wrote about other ethnicities. In higher education, it’s not unusual for people to study other cultures. In fact, it’s encouraged and a disclosure isn’t necessary. And while this is not an academic work by any means, the author is helping children to understand cultural gender differences, and I consider that Practical Anthropology.

Besides the inclusion of really good illustrations, the author included a “Cultural Genders Identities Activity” and a “Cultural Gender Identities Map” for kids to complete. Overall, I think that this book is an excellent introduction to gender and cultural differences around the world. I would consider adding a glossary and also a small bibliography so that parents can locate additional sources, either in print or on the web.

It's important for people to understand gender diversity, and to understand it spans all cultures. I appreciate the author is wanting this to be a larger conversation.

However, I think elevating the voices of people who are gender diverse and BIPOC/Indigenous would have better a better way to present the story. The title of the story with the cover definitely gives the impression the author is Indigenous, but in the afterward we find out the author is white. I understand the author often doesn't choose the illustrations or the cover, so that's something for the publisher to change.

I would love to see a book on gender and cultural diversity with photographs of people telling their own stories. We need own voices stories, even as well intentioned as this author likely was in wanting to start this conversation.

My Culture, My Gender, Me" is a delightful illustrated book for children that celebrates gender diversity across different cultures. It introduces young readers to various gender identities, such as Two Spirit people, hijras from India, mahu from Hawaii, and female husbands from the Igbo tribe. With vibrant illustrations and accessible language, this book promotes acceptance and understanding, making it a valuable resource for fostering inclusivity in young minds.

A great introduction for readers, especially our younger readers who wish to learn more information. I really liked the additional information and resources listed in the back of the book, and thought it would be great help for continued conversations. The e-book itself had a strange layout on my device, so it the illustrations did not match with the written word, but it did not make it less enjoyable. Just a little confusing.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to review this book, I'm so thankful for the opportunity.

A interesting short story about gender in other cultures. I enjoyed seeing the photos of the people however it didn’t quite sync up on my NetGalley app I am not sure if that is just because it’s in its arc phase. Whilst it is targeting for younger children I think it would benefit being targeted towards slightly older children and having a little more information about each culture. I was also disappointed at the end to find out it was written by a white woman instead of a POC so it came off as inauthentic. I think overall it’s a good starting point though.

I’m really disappointed I didn’t enjoy this book, but I couldn’t put my finger on quite why. When I got to the author’s note and read “I am a white American” I thought “ahhh, now it makes sense.” I feel like this would have made so much more sense, and been a far better book, if it was made of interviews/quotes from people from each culture. I appreciate the ambition of this book, but it just fell flat for me and felt disingenuous given the first person accounts.

This brilliantly colored little book explores the attitudes and names for many nonbinary people in a variety of cultures across the world. Some local attitudes are somewhat negative, but more are viewed as positive or even necessary. All are viewed as natural. I learned a lot!
Let us all learn together to be more tolerant as we learn what some of the gender designations mean.
The illustrations by Moe Butterfly are delightful, imaginative, striking, and colorful.
Well suited for reading WITH someone of any age including ESL, and great for gifting to anyone, but especially to a public library!
I requested and received a free temporary e-book on Adobe Digital Editions from Jessica Kingsley Publishers via NetGalley. Thank you!

This book does not create the depth of understanding it intended to. My Culture, My Gender, Me is trying to educate and expose readers to all types of gender concepts from many cultures. The message falls short because it is a "White American person" who is writing this story, according to the author's note in the back of the book. The friends being introduced throughout this title are brief and unrelatable because of they way they were written. Let's promote authentic stories, from the actual people being represented in the story.

<i><u>I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. </i></u>

this book was beautiful! it asked the child questions and encouraged them to interact with the characters in the book. both my child and myself were able to learn a lot from this book! the additional activities at the end of the book were also fun to try

As a Cultural Anthropologist I found this book fascinating. So many different cultural identities for gender, and so many I had never heard of! I am so excited to do more research and share this with my students. I will also be sharing this title with my students. This is a wonderful introduction to children on the diversity of culture in the world, and the reality of options so common throughout the world. I loved the images, and the text is approachable for many ages. This would be a book to return to as they grow to seek out more information based on it.

This children's book helps to explain gender in other cultures around the world. In many indigenous cultures, a third gender is recognized, the most well-known possibly being two-spirit which has existed and been acknowledged in indigenous American tribes for hundreds of years.

This book has not only covered other genders in indigenous American tribes and cultures, but has also talked about those in other countries around the world, including Japan, Australia, Pakistan, and Nigeria. I think this book is a great learning tool for not only school-age children, but also adults, and is important in helping teach that it's ok to embrace your true self.

I received an uncorrected ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, so I know that there will be some changes between what I read and the final book.

Overall, I think this book does a good job of showing that diverse gender identities and presentations from a wide range of cultures. It walks a tricky line of trying to explain these concepts without getting too deep. I think this book would be most helpful to kids who are already learning about gender and gender presentation... this book focuses on showcasing the variety of gender identities recognized around the world, and doesn't really get into what the vocabulary around gender expression means. If it's being read in the context of some other books that do that, though, it's a good reminder that the concept of being trans and/or nonbinary isn't new or 'trendy.' I'd love to see more books like this for young readers.

While I loved the subject of this book and the illustrations, I was really missing a phonetic pronunciation guide for each term. Whether an adult or caregiver is reading to a child or an older child is reading to themselves, it's important to pronounce these words with care and respect.

I also wish that the White American author had chosen to use their own voice rather than writing the book to have an Indigenous character providing the introduction and 'narrating.' The Two Spirit identity can still be introduced as a friend in the same way the other identities and cultures are introduced.

It is a lovely overview of different nonbinary or third gender identities exist in other cultures - including many I had never heard of before! - but the book seems to be speaking from an Indigenous perspective that is not accurate to the author's background.

I do really like the activities included at the end of the book, however. There's a guide to researching gender identities specific to your own culture as well as a little quiz to match up each identity you learned about with its location of origin on a map.

I had a chance to read this through Netgalley in exchange for a fair review.

I loved this book, though the e-reading format made it a little difficult to see the pictures and the text side by side! I loved getting to see pictures and examples of people from different cultures, and the little bits of history to go with each identity!

My Culture, My Gender, Me is the type of book I wish I'd had growing up as a multiracial queer person who was always uncomfortable in my gender identity.

First off, the art in this book: INCREDIBLE. I've followed Moe Butterfly on social media for a while and I had no idea when I was going into this book that they illustrated MCMGM! It was a lovely surprise!

Second, I loved the way this book lifted non-binary genders from around the world in an anthology form, talking about how different cultures around the world have HAD these expansive genders, it's not a new concept! Oftentimes, the non-binary label feels very white, so it's wonderful to center cultural gender diversity that we don't often hear about or get to read about.

Third, I do however not feel great about the fact that this was written by a white American who did not actually use real stories of real people. I think it's a missed opportunity to have elevated the voice of a genderqueer writer of color and to have featured real lives and stories of activism and resistance against the binary.

I enjoyed this book so much! It was a tad dry, reading more like a list or a book report. I loved the information presented, and I was very happy with the author’s note at the end. The activities at the end of the book really tied everything together brilliantly, with a matching game and a gender identity challenge.

I loved learning with this book!

Had I known this book was written by a white American I would not have picked up this book to read. The title of the book implies that the author themselves is indigenous and it's not until the end of the book the reader finds out the author is not.

The gender identities in other cultures are not a white persons story to tell. While I can understand the author, editor and publisher "tried" to do their research, they should have hired sensitivity readers from the peoples/cultures mentioned in the book - specifically the indigenous cultures. Right now it reads as another white author trying to profit off of indigenous peoples.

At the very least acknowledge the real life people the characters in the book are based on.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for an advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

I thoroughly enjoyed this gender affirming book that covers the experiences of gender across many cultures. The illustrations were beautiful as well. One thing that would be beneficial is a pronunciation guide to help accurately portray the unfamiliar words. It was also unclear what age this book was intended for, as the text was dense and higher level vocabulary.

Overall, I would recommend! Even to adult friends!

This was a very interesting look at different cultures with different words for different genders. I was only familiar with a few of them, so learning more was very nice. I have enjoyed all the books by this author so far, and think these books can reach a variety of ages.