National Geographic's next cover will feature a 9-year-old transgender girl

National Geographic takes a historic step forward for trans visibility with their new 'Gender Revolution issue'.

The magazine, which has a circulation of more than nine million, features nine-year-old transgender girl Avery Jackson on it's January cover.

Avery told her parents that she identifies as a girl at the age of 3, and when she turned 7 she told the world in her own words exactly what it means to be a trans young person.

Now, she features in a special “Gender Revolution” issue, which accompanies a documentary developed in partnership with Katie Couric for the National Geographic Channel.

The cover photo of Avery is accompanied by a quote from her:

The best thing about being a girl, is, now I don’t have to pretend to be a boy.

And Avery's mum, who campaigns for transgender rights, is understandably delighted:

Susan Goldberg, editorial director of National Geographic Partners and editor in chief of National Geographic magazine, told NBC:

National Geographic is almost 130 years old, and we have been covering cultures, societies and social issues for all of those years. It struck us, listening to the national conversation, that gender was at the centre of so many of these issues in the news.

We wanted to look at how traditional gender roles play out all over the world, but also look into gender as a spectrum. There's lots of coverage on celebrities, but there wasn't an understanding on real people and the issues we face every day in classrooms or workplaces in regards to gender.

Photo credit: National Geographic

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