| Sumario: | Every child has the right to express their authentic self and to have those expressions validated by the adults responsible for their care. However, young transgender and gender-expansive children's attempts to communicate about their genders are too often dismissed and discredited. In this conceptual paper, the authors draw on the concept of epistemic injustice – and, specifically, testimonial and hermeneutical injustice – as central to understanding the harms young trans and gender-expansive children face and their negative impact on children's learning and development. To build empathy, respect and belonging for TGE children, the authors recommend that early educators practice emergent listening to strengthen testimonial justice. To strengthen hermeneutical justice in early childhood, the authors introduce a new hermeneutical tool that centers child agency, the intersectional gender constellation. They describe what liberating early childhood programs can look like where educators are committed to epistemic justice for young children of all genders.
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