Meet Sam, The World’s First Educational Transgender Toy

A toy manufacturer in Canada has created a toy, meant to teach children about the nature of gender fluidity by creating Sam — a series of nesting doll meant to show the progress of a young girl as she figures out her true gender over the course of her life. They are raising money for it on a Kickstarter here, that I recommend any and all donate to. It’s a wonderful thing!

Sam is a toy whose growth from baby who has no comprehension of gender, to adolescent questioning their own, to fully accepting themselves as a boy rather than a girl. The journey is illustrated in a beautiful animated cartoon below.

Gender Creative Kids Canada states 2-6% of boys and 5-12% of girls will face transgender-related identity issues in their lives, and live often in a society that doesn’t accept them and transphobia can lead gender-diverse children into depression, self-harm, or suicide. It is wonderful that they are making an effort to curb this sort of behavior.

On the Kickstarter for the toy, the non profit explicitly states Sam doesn’t represent everything a trans child can expect to happen on their journey, nor does it include all the emotional changes you can face in life.

Sam’s just here to tell his story, just like everyone else.

What do you think of the world’s first educational transgender toy? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter at @WhatsTrending.