I've got to admit that I have mixed feelings about today's of news. As a child National Geographic magazine covers were the items in the library upon which certain of my peers could unleash their prurient interest...hoping to see the occasional bare breast of the savage woman of color dressed in her tribal garb.

So I'm not totally sure of how I should feel now that National Geographic has deigned to elevate the issue of the existence of transgender people to the level of its January 2017 cover story.

Subscribers will discover 9-year-old Avery Jackson facing them from the cover of their special issue on the "gender revolution.

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

--Avery Jackson

People who buy the magazine over the counter will see a representation of the "gender spectrum" on the cover: a nonbinary intersex person of color, a trans woman of color, a white transwoman, a transgender male (possibly mixed race), a white bigender person, an androgynous person of color, and a black man...all under the banner of "the shifting landscape of gender."

Avery's story is one of a tapestry of experiences with gender that spans more than 100 children and teens around the globe and makes up the Nat Geo foray into gender, which is at once a closely held tenet of each person's identity as well as, at times, a political flashpoint.

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 center 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.

Youths are articulate and smart and key observers, and they don't have a social veil. "They'll tell you what they think, and that is a true reflection of how societies really are. It's harder to get more candid responses out of adults. We wanted to understand how gender plays out in society, and what are the limits, or lack of limits, they think they have because of their gender.

--National Geographic editor-in-chief Susan Goldberg

Goldberg hopes that one of the things readers take away from the issue is a deeper understanding of the gender spectrum and those who do not identify with traditional gender binaries. As part of that hope, the issue begins with a glossary of a multitude of terms related to the subject of gender identity, including definitions for "genderfluid," "intersex" and "transgender."

In February Nat Geo channel will run an accompanying two-hour documentary hosted by Katie Couric. Transgender has not been one of Couric's strong topics in the past.

It's hard to avoid hearing about some aspect of gender these days. Every time you check your phone, turn on the TV or scan Twitter, there's another story that's challenging our preconceived notions of what gender is, how it's determined and the impact these new definitions are having on society. I set out on a journey to try to educate myself about a topic that young people are living with so effortlessly—and get to know the real people behind the headlines. Because the first step to inclusiveness and tolerance is understanding.

--Couric

What I really like about the story about people who identify on the gender spectrum is that it isn't about famous people. It's about regular people who are making this journey. I commend their bravery for letting us into their lives.

--Goldberg

Nat Geo is offering a taste with its article How Today's Toys May Be Harming Your Daughter.