Inside Out Portraits of Cross-gender Children

Through Sarah Wong's beautiful, moving photographs and Ellen Visser's poignant writing, this book provides the first insight into what it really feels like to be born in the wrong body, both for cross gender children and their families. Over the course of seven years, Sarah Wong and Ellen de Visser followed girls who feel they are boys, and vice versa. They were invited into homes, schools, hospitals and sporting events. These aren't gratuitous images, but portraits of their daily lives; proving that they are regular children that have managed to live the life they have always wanted. Occasionally, Sarah Wong uses the poetic metaphor of butterflies and caterpillars, who are also 'born twice'. The accompanying text tells each child's moving story. Despite the unimaginable problem they have been faced with since a very young age, we see fun, confident, strong children, committed families and proud parents and grandparents who deal with the situation very openheartedly. Some are symbolically mounted atop a powerful horse while others shyly touch the breasts of a mannequin.