The day against homophobia, reading tips

International day against homophobia and transphobia: many reading tips by Nadia Corvino for

On May 17, the

is celebrated

. It is a time when initiatives are organized with the aim of raising awareness of the discrimination affecting the

world

. The choice of date, in fact, commemorates the day in 1990 when the World Health Organization decided to permanently eliminate homosexuality from the list of mental illnesses. To celebrate this anniversary also from a literary point of view, we have chosen some recently published books which, in various forms (novels, essays, comics and children's stories) address the theme of diversity by proposing to honor the freedom of each individual to self-determine outside the stereotypes. 

    For example,

, a children's book written by

is based on these premises

. It is a collection of fairy tales in each of which the protagonist is a unique animal family in its own way; to unite them all there is love and affection that unites the components. Among these we find, for example, Carlos and Ferdinando, flamingos who wish to become fathers, or Susie and Alberta, who raise their puppies together. The nice peculiarity of this book is that all the stories derive from facts that really happened in the natural world, revisited with just enough sweetness to make them stories to tell the little ones. 

   Let's move on to a reflection on inclusive language with the text text

. Words contribute to the construction of the world we create around us: choosing them in the right way means not making anyone feel excluded. For this Acanfora is dedicated to the construction of an emotional dictionary, which does not explain the literal meaning of some words, but the effect that these have on others. Whether it is neurodiversity, or cultural, sexual, gender, or physical functional differences, understanding the words that characterize them is a useful exercise for everyone in order to create more equitable communities capable of enhancing diversity. 

    Let's move on to the world of comics with

, the last chapter of an autobiographical trilogy that began with Novel explicit and continued with P. La mia adolescenza trans. These graphic novels focus on some moments that have marked the author's life, including the transition process, as well as the experiences and discrimination experienced as a transgender woman. Her vivid tables touch on many themes, such as sentimental and family relationships, the world of work, studies, and many others, all faced by the protagonist with a lot of courage and desire to finally feel free to realize herself. This book is trans by Juno Dawson (Sonda, translation by Florencia Di Stefano-Abichain and illustrations by Soofiya) continues the format developed by the author with her previous publication, This book is gay (Sonda,translation by Marco Sotgiu). These are guides with the aim of clarifying and giving advice, addressed above all to the youngest, but also to all those who want to know more about LGBTQ + issues. Two books that encourage us to feel proud of ourselves in our uniqueness and to overcome the prejudices that limit us in the family, school, and all other areas of society.

    Let's move on to the true stories with

considered one of the strongest footballers in the world. Rapinoe is part of the national team of the United States and, among the many successes in sports, counts the winning of the Ballon d'Or and the Golden Foot in 2019. Rapinoe is also known for being an activist and spokesperson for LGBTQ + rights, as well as to deal with equal opportunities and social rights. In this biography it is told, starting from the discrimination suffered for her sexual orientation, which in any case did not prevent her from pursuing her dreams and that they taught her to oppose injustices. An attitude that led her, for example, to join Colin Kaepernick's choice to kneel during the national anthem in protest against the discrimination of the United States police, and which led her to refuse theDonald Trump's invitation to the White House during his tenure.

    There are also popular texts that have used science to make people understand the illogic of the reasons put forward by those who discriminate against members of the LGBTQ + community.

is an example. In this book Balthazar, who specializes in the field of endocrinology linked to sexuality, after an analysis of some pseudoscientific topics that have long dominated the study of sexual orientation, gives an overview of the most current scientific studies in the field of biology, from genetics and neuroendocrinology which prove the incorrectness of the arguments underlying these discriminations. Finally, we come to the novels. A great many could be mentioned; we choose an emblematic one because of its success in recent years, also thanks to the Oscar-winning adaptation signed by director Luca Guadagnino.

, and the recent sequel Find

, tell the love story that takes place in an Italian summer in the 1980s between the teenager Elio and Oliver, the American student that Elio's father hosts to help him complete his doctoral thesis. Aciman in these novels tells of a relationship sought with insecurity, which explores themes such as time and desire, the discovery of one's own feelings, and the fear of exploring one's own and those of the other.