Meet Julian, the Trans Puppet Tasked With Teaching Kids Not to Be Bullies (Video)
Whenever queer characters in children’s television are introduced, queerphobes freak out, saying it’s not appropriate for kids. But where do they think queer people come from? LGBTQ people were once LGBTQ kids, and to that end, the Jasmin Roy Sophie Desmarais Foundation just put out three new videos starring Julian the trans puppet.
In the three videos, we see Julian the trans puppet come out to his human friend Alex, then his other puppet friends. In the last video, Julian discovers that toys are toys, and there’s no such thing as a “boy’s toy” or a “girl’s toy.”
The videos were produced by the Montréal-based Jasmin Roy Sophie Desmarais Foundation to help stop anti-trans bullying among children. President of the foundation, Jasmin Roy, said the organization decided to make the videos after a pan-Canadian survey found 98% of trans respondents felt hopelessness and discouraged due to their gender identity.
Roy says, “I said we need to help the children,” said Roy. “We’re not saying that children that age are trans. We’re saying that we need to listen to the child, to what are his or her needs and how can we help him or her. So it’s all about social and emotional learning. If there is a child exploring his gender or exploring his expression, you have a tool to help the child.”
The videos also come with a number of guides for parents and educators. The guides explain what the child may be feeling and how to best respond to a child that tells you they may be trans. The guides also include a list of age-appropriate books adults can share with children to help them understand they’re not alone.
