BACKGROUND

Dr. Milo Chesnut’s debut book Beyond Gender-Neutral Parenting: Raising Theybies examines the emerging practice of ‘theyby’ parenting, also known as ‘gender-open’ or ‘gender-creative’ parenting, in which parents refuse to assign gender to infants and use they/them pronouns as placeholders until children can self-identify. The book draws from their PhD research in Education exploring gender-open parenting at the University of Strathclyde, UK. They are a nonbinary trans researcher and educator who is part of the theyby parenting community.

Prior to beginning their PhD research, Milo accumulated over 10 years of experience organizing for trans and non-binary inclusion within education settings. While obtaining a BA in Gender Studies/Queer Studies from Smith College, Milo organized for the explicit inclusion of transgender women in the admission policy, and conducted research to develop recommendations for best practices for college healthcare providers around interactions with trans and non-binary students.

After graduating, Milo began their career by teaching self-defense to survivors of violence and LGBTQ people at The Center for Anti-Violence Education (CAE) in Brooklyn, New York. Milo then earned a MS in Special Education at Brooklyn College. As a non-binary and queer high school teacher, Milo organized for proactive LGBTQ-affirming education practices, including trans and non-binary inclusive policy, curriculum, teacher trainings, and school-wide pronoun sharing systems. Milo wrote curriculum for the New York City Department Of Education, documentaries such as Love The Sinner,  Gavin Grimm vs., and for the book Teaching About Gender Diversity: Teacher-tested Lesson Plans for K-12 Classrooms. They led workshops for teachers on affirming trans and non-binary students, became a member of the Trans Educators Network, and the GLSEN national Educator Advisory Committee. Their work has been highlighted in national news outlets, and featured in the book Safe is Not Enough: Better Schools for LGBTQ Students. Milo was honored by GLSEN Hudson Valley at its 2015 Leadership Awards as the Adult Leader Honoree for LGBTQ advocacy work in schools.

Milo now lives in Brooklyn with their spouse, theyby, and three cats.