Mady G is is a cartoonist, illustrator, animator, and designer based in New York's Hudson Valley. His book, 'A Quick and Easy Guide to Queer and Trans Identities', has been criticized by a far-right Canadian organization for containing "inappropriate" content. After speaking with us, he sent us this graphic.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Mady G

A US author says he is disappointed that his book has been targeted up by far-right fringe groups trying to ban it as an example of “inappropriate” materials in in Central Okanagan schools.

Mady G is a transgender author, illustrator and LGBTQ+ advocate who wrote A Quick and Easy Guide to Queer and Trans Identities, with J.R. Zucherberg. He told iNFOnews.ca that as a child in the early 1990s in Connecticut, he was bullied for being different from the other kids.

“I think that a lot of it was due to me not really assimilating, not really being the same as other kids,” Mady G said. “I felt like I should have been a boy or that I wasn't like a normal girl or something. But it wasn't just being a tomboy. It was something different.”

“This was back in a time when being transgender wasn't even talked about, like, at all,” he said. “I thought about, when I was really little, maybe when I grow up I'll figure out how to be a boy sometimes. Like, maybe technology will have progressed in some fantastical way.”

It wasn’t until later in his life, after he watched a documentary from his high school library, that Mady G became acquainted with transgender identities.

“It kind of blew my mind because it… filled in all the gaps and I understood who I was. I finally felt like 'oh, this makes complete sense,'” he said.

However, explaining his identity to his parents remained an issue, he said.

“I got really nervous about coming out to my family... even though they've always been accepting of me,” he said. “My folks are a little older and didn't really understand what being trans is... My dad didn't really think it was a real thing. And so, I not only had to come out to my family as something my father didn't think was real, but also have to explain why it was real and back it up.”

This is what ultimately inspired Mady G to write his book.

"A Quick and Easy Guide to Queer and Trans Identities" by Mady G and Mady G and J.R. Zuckerberg is being used by Action4Canada as part of an anti-LGBTQ+ literature campaign.

Image Credit: goodreads.com

“I wanted to lay out the information that I had learned and researched about gender and as well give a nuanced perspective, showing that there are many different ways to express your gender,” he said. “A big motivation of making the book was sort of like, what book would I have really benefited from having access to as a young preteen or teen?”

In a letter published to its website, Action4Canada claims his book, along with other LGBTQ+ literature, puts children at risk of "abuse".

“It is important to know that we do not have to prove that a child has been abused in order to report abuse. If we observe or hear about concerning behaviour or an inappropriate situation between an adult and a child within an organization, such as a school… we must report our concern to the organization,” it said on its website.

“I think it's really pathetic,” Mady G said. “I think that it's ridiculous that these people have gotten to the point where they're demonizing a book that is like so completely nonsexual… There are so many more important things to focus on when it comes to the well-being of Canadian families. Why are you focusing on a tiny book that is about little cartoon snails saying you can wear whatever clothes you feel like wearing and be happy and be nice to your friends?”

The book is intended for ages 12 and up, Mady G said, and does not contain any inappropriate language, content or themes for that age group. The characters of the book are predominantly snails and other woodland creatures, with humans rarely being shown. 

“I wanted the book to be positive and gentle and nuanced and mature, but not explicit and not sexual,” he said. “Frankly…there's so few human bodies even in the book. I wanted it to be way more about the minds and the feelings.”

Mady G said he believes it is important to divorce the idea of gender self-expression from sex completely. 

“It has nothing to do with sex in any way and I think that it's kind of disgusting that adults, grown adults attribute sexuality…  to these things,” he said. “I think that that says a lot more about those adults… Maybe they should think back to their childhood playing dress up with their friends… do you think that was sexual?”

He said Action4Canada’s accusations are putting trans kids at greater risk of bullying and ostracization.

“Trans people are people. We don't need all of this crazy attention on us all the time, especially children. If you really care about the children, leave them the hell out of it,” he said. “Because drawing attention to children and making them feel like there's something wrong with them... That's what's going to hurt them in the long run.”

This exposure to bullying and harassment also puts trans kids at risk of suicide, a crisis that already claims the lives of many within the community.

“There's a friend of mine who I lost to suicide a few years ago and he hadn't even reached 30 yet,” Mady G said. “And it was partially due to... a lack of acceptance from his father of him as a trans man. And even at his funeral his father misgendered him and deadnamed him. It's heartbreaking.”

By perpetuating anti-LGBTQ+ narratives, groups like Action4Canada are setting a poor example to children, Mady G said. 

“Children imitate adults. And I think we all want our kids to be loving, kind, respectful people. So, show love, kindness and respect to other people,” he said.

Mady G said he has a strong emotional attachment to British Columbia due to his Canadian heritage and extensive time spent in the region as a child.

“I hope the parents just give their kids a big hug and let them know that they care about them and that they see them for who they are. I think that's important,” he said.

More about Mady G and his work can be found on his website here.

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