Celebrating gender identity and expression with Jessica Love and Georgia Franklin
On Monday, Jul. 14, 2025, Human Rights Commissioner Kasari Govender sat down with Jessica Love, author and illustrator of the acclaimed children’s book Julián is a Mermaid, and Georgia Franklin, provincial coordinator of the BC Summer Reading Club, for a conversation about how we discuss gender identity and expression with young people in age-appropriate ways—and how we can help them take pride in their identities and celebrate those of others.
Youth who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, asexual, intersex, Two-Spirit or otherwise have a right to thrive and to have their human dignity recognized, represented and respected, as we all do. As many communities enjoy Pride season across B.C., we reflect on how celebrating gender identity and expression—highlighting the joy of being one’s full self—is a powerful antidote to the hate and erasure too often faced by LGBTQ2SAI+ people, including youth.
To open the discussion, we were thrilled that Jessica Love gave a reading of Julián is a Mermaid, a story that provides readers of all ages insight into the transformative power of being seen for who we are, accepted and loved. Julián is a Mermaid was the March 2025 Commissioner’s Book Club pick for preschool-aged children.
Watch the livestream now
About Jessica Love
Jessica Love is the author and illustrator of Julián is a Mermaid, Julián at the Wedding and A Bed of Stars, published by Candlewick Press, and the illustrator of I Love You Because I Love You by Mượn Thị Văn, Will It Be Okay? by Crescent Dragonwagon, Gaga Mistake Day by Emma and Susan Straub, The Poet and the Bees by Amy Novesky and Little Passenger by Deirdre Sullivan.
Jessica grew up in Southern California, raised by a pair of artist parents. She studied printmaking and illustration at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and then went on to study Drama at Juilliard. After working as an actor in New York for 10 years, she made a pivot and created Julián is a Mermaid, her first book. Jessica lives in the Hudson Valley with her husband and their son.
About Georgia Franklin
Georgia Franklin is the Provincial Coordinator for the BC Summer Reading Club, a free, inclusive literacy program offered through public libraries, connecting young people with stories, resources and community. Georgia is based out of the traditional and unceded homelands of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples, where she is currently an MLIS candidate at UBC’s School of Information. She has an extensive background in public libraries, working for over a decade at the Vancouver Public Library, most recently in the Accessible Services department.
About “Beyond the headlines”
How can we address the most important issues facing British Columbians while keeping human rights in focus? What do B.C. residents need to know for themselves, their families, their neighbours and their communities? To help answer these questions, B.C.’s Human Rights Commissioner is hosting a series of conversations with leading experts from across the country.
Each Beyond the Headlines conversation will focus on a key human rights issue facing the province right now. The topics are drawn from the Commissioner’s 2024 Rights in focus: Lived realities in B.C. report, which provides a snapshot of inequities in 10 systems, including housing, health care and child welfare.
Over the course of the Beyond the Headlines conversations, the Commissioner and her guests will discuss questions about these systems that are top of mind for British Columbians.
Past conversations
Migrant workers’ rights with Ketty Nivyabandi
On May 15, 2025, Commissioner Govender sat down with Ketty Nivyabandi, Secretary General for Amnesty International Canada’s English-Speaking section, for a conversation about how structural factors can create vulnerabilities for the exploitation of migrant workers.
As described in the Commissioner’s Rights in Focus report, migrant workers, and specifically temporary foreign workers, are at risk of exploitation due to their immigration status being tied to their employment. Migrant workers are also at a greater risk during large-scale climate emergencies and have reported being excluded from responses during these emergencies. Following closely on International Workers’ Day (May Day), this Beyond the Headlines discussion provided insight into the rights of migrant workers and how we track progress on this issue in British Columbia.
Housing with Marie-Josée Houle, Federal Housing Advocate
On Nov. 28, 2024, Commissioner Govender sat down with Federal Housing Advocate Marie-Josée Houle for a candid conversation about navigating the housing crisis while keeping human rights in focus.
As described in the Commissioner’s Rights in Focus report, the housing crisis has exposed vulnerable people to increased risk of violence and exploitation—and has pushed thousands of people in B.C. into homelessness. Coming on the heels of National Housing Day, this Beyond the Headlines discussion provided a space to better understand how to navigate the housing crisis through a rights-based lens.