A special issue of National Geographic is called “Gender Revolution”. On its cover it features 8-year-old American Avery Jackson, who has campaigned for equality for many years. Born as a male, she revealed her parents that she feels herself a female. Family consulted with doctors and finally decided to support their kid, despite the social prejudice.
Recently Avery raised money to build Equality House – a special place for transgender individuals, where they can come anytime they want, in Topeka, Kansas.
“The best thing about being a girl is, now I don’t have to pretend to be a boy,” says Avery Jackson about herself. Her story and other stories of transgender and gender non-confirming young people are presented in the new issue of the famous magazine.
“Gender Revolution” also provides an analysis of the friends, family and community impact on the lives of trans and non-binary people.
“Over 50% of transgender children try to commit suicide by their mid to late teenage years. A large number of them succeed. And the main reason that these children state that they try to harm themselves is the lack of love and support of their family and friends. My wife and I decided that we would much rather have a happy, healthy daughter than a dead son”, says Avery’s father Tom Jackson in his essay.
Avery’s story on YouTube