A magazine known for its stunning nature photography has sunk to exploiting children, says a pro-family organization.

National Geographic is known for its globe-trotting stories and award-winning photos of faraway lands, but a “special issue” of the monthly magazine features a nine-year-old transgendered boy on the cover.

The issue is entitled “Gender Revolution.”

The child is identified as Avery Jackson in a glowing USA Today story that predictably refers to the boy as a “young girl.”

According to the story, Avery’s mother said the child became depressed and angry after age three. But the “darkness lifted” when Avery put on a princess dress, the article further explained.

“What National Geographic is doing,” says American Family Association spokesman Walker Wildmon, “is exploiting children to further a social agenda which is transgenderism, homosexuality and all other sexual deviancy.”

The Mississippi-based ministry has created an online petition asking for National Geographic to “public apologize” for placing a “young child that is struggling with gender dysphoria” on the cover.

The American Psychiatric Association considers transgenderism a mental health issue. It has been defining the condition as “gender dysphoria” since 2013 after pressure from homosexual activists to drop the term “gender disorder.”

Under similar pressure, APA dropped homosexuality as a mental illness in 1973.

OneNewsNow last noted APA’s controversial decision in a May story when Sports Illustrated announced it would feature Bruce Jenner, who transitioned to a woman, on its cover.

It’s not clear if the National Geographic story explains the mental health concerns in which “transitioning” from one gender to the order is considered part of the treatment.

Walker points out 40 percent of people identifying as transgender attempt suicide, which suggests they need help from professionals, not accolades from a prominent magazine.