Learning to say “they” is a process, admits Lee Airton, “rather like learning to pronounce and use someone else’s culturally unfamiliar (to you) name… This takes repetition, trial and error. A note to self, a bit of practice, a few gentle reminders, and, voila: You’re on your way.”

Lee is an award-winning Assistant Professor of Gender and Sexuality Studies in Education at Queen’s University. As a researcher and speaker, Lee enables individuals and institutions to welcome gender and sexual diversity in everyday life. They founded the blog They Is My Pronoun, and the No Big Deal Campaign, which supports transgender peoples’ right to proper pronouns.

Lee’s book, Gender: Your Guide – A Gender-Friendly Primer on What to Know, What to Say and What to Do in the New Gender Culture serves as a complete primer to all things gender. In a starred review, The Library Journal calls it “an invaluable resource… especially with Airton’s empathetic approach, which regularly acknowledges and validates challenges.”

Lee’s writing has appeared in publications such as the Journal of Education Policy, The Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star. With Dr. Susan Woolley, they are editing a collection of gender diversity lesson plans for K-12 teachers.

Author Patron: Elaine Panneton

Appearing in: 8. Finding Freedom: Beyond the Binary

Website: www.leeairton.com
Book: www.simonandschuster.ca/books/Gender-Your-Guide/Lee-Airton/