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By Airam Fernández, from Santiago, Chile

Learning about gender identity through calligraphy and writing exercises, built from the stories of trans children. That's what "Selenna's Book" is all about, a pedagogical tool that gathers the experiences of 12 members of the Selenna Foundation and students from the Amaranta School, the first educational institution in Chile designed for trans children and adolescents.

“These are the voices and words of the students at our institution,” Evelyn Silva, director of the Amaranta School and mother of Selenna , the youngest child to be featured in the history of the trans struggle in Chile, told Presentes. “It is also an educational tool that seeks to transcend to other spaces, to teach through words, ideas, and values ​​that, if learned from childhood, could help eradicate LGBTI bullying in schools at an early age,” Silva explained.

The book was launched in early April at the El Trigal Art School in Maipú, the place that welcomed Selenna Paz when she began her transition in 2016, supported by her entire family. Published by the foundation that now bears her name and sponsored by the advertising agency Raya, it is the first publication of its kind in this country, which last year passed a Gender Identity Law that excluded children.

[ALSO READ: Selenna, the Chilean trans girl who became a symbol of pride]

“This presents us with a double challenge: to continue raising awareness about transgender children. That's why we decided to make the book free,” Silva said. Along these lines, one of their goals is to expand the reach of the material beyond the classrooms of the Amaranta School , and with that in mind, they recently met with the Minister of Education, Marcela Cubillos. “We are looking to reach all educational institutions in the country, and for that, the support of the authorities is key. We hope to reach as many schools as possible in Chile, because it's a way to tell many people what it means to be transgender,” Silva stated.

“The book also seeks to educate adults and those who are not trans.”

The director of this school, which just celebrated its first anniversary and now has 42 students, explains that during the summer, in the sessions they organized for children who couldn't travel for vacation, the institution's 12 teachers and a group of psychologists guided them in writing first-person narratives about their trans experiences. "Very valuable and honest testimonies emerged, and that's why we decided to include them," Silva said.

Until the middle of last year, the project was just an idea inspired by a study by Professor Jaime Barrientos of the Psychology Department at Alberto Hurtado University. After surveying 377 transgender adults, the researcher determined that gender identity is defined at the same age as learning to write: 41% of women recognized their gender identity between the ages of six and ten, and 42% of men also recognized it within that age range. “That’s why we thought it appropriate to create a calligraphy book to address gender issues,” Silva noted.

In the realm of social relationships, Barrientos' study also reveals that 34.6% have had "serious problems" with others in places of study or work, while 37% have felt discriminated against by family, friends, or acquaintances. "In that sense, the book also seeks to educate adults, and especially people who are not trans, reinforcing values ​​such as respect and addressing happiness, fears, and what it means to be different, in order to try to connect with that other person who, at the same time, is equal to any trans person," explained Selenna's mother.

[READ ALSO: Chile has its first school for transgender children]

Although some copies were printed for free distribution, most people can currently access the online and downloadable version. Those who browse its 100 pages will find a kind of alphabet of diversity for exploring concepts such as acceptance, empathy, freedom, and, of course, gender, along with reading comprehension exercises with questions arising from the children's stories. They will also find stories like Selenna's, where she offers advice to other girls like herself, with an encouraging phrase: "Never be afraid to tell your parents what you're going through." Or Alexis's, who says that now that he attends Amaranta School, he is happier because he knows many children like himself.

Each page of the book features at least one black and white drawing, with an invitation to color it. “Many people think it would be more appealing if it had color, but from the beginning we wanted the child to be able to use whatever color they wanted, because in childhood colors say a lot and can even be used to impose roles and define gender. That is precisely one of the ideas we want to dismantle,” Silva concludes.