Carleton University’s student-run Gender and Sexuality Resource Centre (GSRC) relaunched its gender affirming gear program on Feb. 3. This marks the first time the program has operated since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gender affirming gear are clothes or products that help people present their gender in a way that feels more authentic or comfortable. The program offers items like binders, trans tape and packers at affordable prices.
“The gender affirming gear program goes into that inclusivity idea where you should feel comfortable in your body,” said Val Hussain, GSRC’s administrative coordinator.
Gabbie Cruz, GSRC’s programming coordinator, added the program was a resource they wanted to be accessible to everyone.
“As a non-binary trans person myself, binders are hella expensive,” Cruz explained. “I’ve never been a part of something that had the capacity to subsidize those prices for folks.”
The GSRC is owned and operated by the Carleton University Students’ Association.
The program offers a sliding scale payment where people pay as much as they can afford for the gear as a way to make it more accessible. All payments support the next month of the program.
This month, the coordinators found most people chose to pay on the higher end of the scale.
“I was surprised by how willing people were to pay,” Hussain said. “This shows how willing people are to make sure that the next batch [of recipients] are able to get gear.”
For the first month, the program provided gear to 10 people and generated $145 in revenue. However, Hussain and Cruz said numbers weren’t the most important thing.
“I think outreach is very important, but also if [the program] stays the size that it is, I wouldn’t be mad,” Cruz said. “It got to the people who I know were really excited about it and that’s all that matters to me.”
Besides offering resources to people who need them, the program aims to be educational. According to Cruz, the key is offering a diverse range of gear, which normalizes the use of gender affirming gear.
“Making sure there’s a wide variety lends into that educational aspect of [showing] that these things are perfectly normal,” they said.
Hussain said the GSRC aims to foster a community through activities and programs like the gender affirming gear program.
“We are here to help people at the end of the day and to give them a safe space to just exist,” they explained. “It doesn’t matter if you’re part of the community or an ally—you are welcome to just breathe here.”
According to GSRC coordinators, people have been happy with the gear they received so far, marking a successful first month of the program.
“I was pleasantly surprised with how excited people got and they were like, ‘Oh, my God, I’ve been looking for this forever,’” Cruz said, chuckling. “It was those responses that made it successful.”
The GSRC aims for the program to run for the rest of the semester as a monthly program. Students can find more information on the GSRC’s Instagram page.
Featured image by L. Manuel Baechlin.
