Nine-year-old transgender girl Avery Jackson appeared on the cover of this month’s subscriber’s edition of National Geographic. Headlined “The Gender Revolution,” the issue examines biological, cultural, personal and social aspects of gender identity. Editor-in-Chief Susan Goldberg told NBC Out that the staff was inspired to create the issue by gender’s omnipresence in the national conversation. “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.”
The issue includes articles like “Dangerous Lives of Girls,” following the lives of young women in Sierra Leone, and “Rethinking Gender,” examining how science can “navigate the shifting landscape of gender identity.” The issue debuts alongside “Gender Revolution: A Journey with Katie Couric,” a two-hour documentary airing on National Geographic on Feb. 6.