National Geographic's January 2017 issue explores a highly-debated topic, that people in societies around the world still don't agree upon. Gender goes beyond simply male and female, which are sexes. This is why terms like transgender, gender-nonconforming,and non-binary lead to confusion. From the perspectives of 9-year-olds from four distinct continents, writer Eve Conant and photographer Robin Hammond, explore the topic of gender.

According to these 9-year-olds, gender causes limitations, new possibilities, frustrations and a whole host of other concerns. Order the issue and discover the intricacies of gender yourself.

What's the best thing about being a girl? The worst thing about being a girl? National Geographic interviews young girls to get their perspectives on these very questions. Some may say there's no issue, with a smile, while others may remark that it's unfair they can't do the things boys do. From four separate continents, answers very, and give new insight into girlhood, depending on our own upbringings in, say, the United States. One girl mentions that she'd be able to take care of the livestock and another comments she'd like to be a rabbi if they were boys.

And the same questions are posed to the boys. What's the best thing about being a boy? The worst thing about being a boy? Many mention that they can lift heavy things, because they're stronger. One mentions that he can't be a part of the girls' secrets.

Eve though the children are 9-year-olds, topics like sex, marriage and stereotypical roles in accordance to gender still crop up in their answers. There's a level of forthright in their responses, both because of their ages and because of how, at these ages, they're not yet muddled by the societal expectations we force ourselves to accept. The children feel the contraints gender puts upon them, but they haven't yet been forced to accept them. In fact, a transgender child is on the cover.

In the issue, interviewers also pose questions like, What would you do if you were the opposite gender? and What makes you happy/sad? How would you change the world if you had the opportunity to do so? Responses range from family, both uplifting and dispiriting, to world peace and the eradication of hunger. There are many comments about bullying as well. And in the center of many of the responses, lies gender, and how it plays a role in their lives and inspirations for the future.

Arguably, the best aspect of "Gender Revolution" is the fact that the interviews span four distinct continents, since we read about widely differing responses. This issue will undoubtedly inspire a revolution within ourselves, as Conand and Hammond bring to us the topic of gender, so harshly debated, from the perspecives of 9-year-old children. Honest and unhindered, their opinions give rise to a changing society in 2017.