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Gender Expression Fund

SUBU's Gender Expression Fund has been set up to support students from the Trans, Non-Binary, Intersex and Gender Identity + community with the additional expenses that come with transitioning or not conforming to the traditional gender binary. Find out more about the fund through the Q&A below...

What does the fund cover?

The fund can be used to purchase gender affirming products such as binders, packers and breast forms as well as provide financial support with travel to gender identity clinic appointments.

 

Depending on the cost of the items or travel you need, the fund will either cover the full cost or up to £70 of the costs.

 

If you are interested in applying for the Fund for gender-affirming products, please take a look through the dropdowns at the bottom of this page for the item(s) you are interested in so you have all the information you need before submitting your application.

Why was the fund set up?

Access to gender affirming items and being able to easily travel to gender identity clinic appointments can help alleviate gender dysphoria for students who experience it and therefore can have a postive impact on mental health too.

 

Unfortunately gender affirming products such as binders and breast forms can be extremely costly, as can transport costs, especially for students who already face so many expenses when coming to university.

 

This fund is designed to help break down the barriers that trans, non-binary, intersex and other gender non-conforming students face in their daily lives and help them on the road to gender euphoria.

Who is eligible for the Gender Expression Fund?

To be eligible for aid by the gender expression fund, a student must:

 

  • be currently studying a course at Bournemouth University
  • Identify as Trans, Non-binary, Intersex or otherwise Gender Diverse
  • Have reasonable need for items or transport expenses to be covered by the fund (i.e. not already have lots of the item they are requesting unless they are needing to replace it, be travelling to a location further than necessary) - this is trust-based and self-declared by the student and not under investigation by SUBU.
  • Have not used the fund excessively before (with the option to justify if there is a reasonable explanation like extreme hardship, or change of circumstances, clothing size etc.)
  • Not be requesting items with excessive costs e.g. custom products, unless explicitly necessary for reasons of sizing or access needs to be considered
  • Agree to return products that are unsuitable and in a condition to be returned/reused to either the vendor or the SU in order to help other students.

How do I access the Gender Expression Fund?

It's pretty simple, all you need to do is fill out the Gender Expression Fund Request Form linked at the bottom of this page and our team will take it from there! You will be contacted about your application when it is approved and have discussions with the team in order for them to order the products or provide the financial support you have requested.

Who has access to the details I submit via the Request Form?

Only your Trans, Non-Binary, Intersex and Gender Identity + Officer and their SUBU staff support, SUBU's Liberation and Campaigns Co-ordinator will have access to the information you submit via the form. The only time this may differ is if the Liberation and Campaigns Co-ordinator is not available for the application review panel at which point another member of the Democracy and Campaigns team will assist. This information is kept in strict confidence.

Once I have submitted the form, what happens next?

 

  1. Approximately once a month a panel consisting of the TNBIGI+ Officer and the Liberation and Campaigns Co-ordinator (or another member of the Democracy & Campaigns team, if the co-ordinator is unavailable) will meet to approve suitable applications that have come in over the month prior to the meeting
  2. Once your application has been approved, the team will get in contact to inform you and discuss the next steps
  3. If you have applied for gender affirming products, the team will provide a list of potential brands they recommend for the item(s) and ask you to inform them of which product(s) and size(s) you'd like as well as where is best for them to be sent. If you have provided a link to products during the application process then they will just ask for size(s)
  4. If you have applied for financial support with transport expenses, the team will either ask for receipts if you have already booked transport or let you know how to do it through the fund
  5. Products or gift cards will then be ordered and either sent to you directly or left at the Student Centre for you to collect

What happens if the items I need cost more that SUBU is able to contribute?

Any costs over the £70 from SUBU will need to be settled by you after you have recieved your items either with a one off payment or via a payment plan agreement with us. Non-payment of additional costs may result in the Gender Expression Fund no longer being able to be offered to gender diverse students in the future. This is to make sure it is fair on all those requesting from the fund as Gender Affirming items can vary in price.

If you are interested in applying for the Fund for gender-affirming products, please take a look through the dropdowns for the item(s) you are interested in so you have all the information you need before submitting your application.

I'm interested in...

 

...a binder

Binding Safety

Before ordering a binder it is important to know that the health risks of binding are almost entirely unstudied and unknown. Using a binder is frequently accompanied by undersiable symptoms such as back, chest or shoulder pain, overheating, shortness of breath, itching and bad posture. There are also more serious but rarer effects such as scarring, swelling, rib fractures and respiratory infections.

 

The safest way to bind is using a binder but there are still some things you can do that may reduce risks from binding:

 

  • Make sure your binder is the right size - It is important to remember that different binder companies may have different sizing so be sure to doublecheck before ordering
  • Avoid binding for more than eight hours in a day
  • Never sleep in your binder
  • Take rest days where you do not bind as much as you can
  • If you start to feel pain, especially chest pain, take off your binder
  • If you suspect something is wrong, see a doctor as soon as possible
  • Never use “homemade” binders made from elastic bandages, duct tape or plastic wrap
  • Only use binders from reputable brands. Ask others if you’re unsure if a brand is reputable or not

 

To find more information on how to bind safely head to the Spectrum Outfitters Binding Safely webpage

Binder brands

You may know which binder you want already but if not below are two brands to take a look at:

 

Spectrum Outfitters

 

Spectrum Outfitters are a UK based gender-affirming apparel company that make binders out of recycled plastics with a lining inside. Their binders only compress from the back to give the wearer more room to breathe with very strong corset fabric in the front which holds the wearer’s chest flat.

 

You can look at their binders here and their sizing guide here.

 

Trans Shop UK

 

Trans Shop UK is a trans run online-store that sells Underworks binders from the UK.

 

You can look at the Underworks binders that they stock here

Measuring for a binder

Making sure you order the correct size binder is important to binding safely. Always check the sizing guide on the brand website to make sure you are ordering the best size for you. For some brands like g2cb you can contact them for personalised sizing assistance and a member of their team will walk you through the sizing process.

 

If you aren't sure how to measure yourself for a binder, G(end)er Swap have a handy video guide which will walk you through the process.

 

...a packer

Packer brands

You may know which packer you want to apply for via the fund but if you don't know what is on offer, take a look at some brands we've found:

 

Packing accessories

As well as your packer, you may also need to get special items to keep your packer in place if you don’t already have them. Depending on cost, we are happy to cover one of these to go along with your packer too. Below are some potential options

 

 

...a Stand to Pee (StP)

Stand to Pee brands

You may knwo which Stand to Pee device you would like but if not below are some options. We apologise for the gendered language on some of the websites, unfortunately there are not many StP brands in the UK.

 

 

...a StP Packer

What is a Stand to Pee Packer?

If you are interested in a Stand to Pee device and a packer then a Stant to Pee Packer might be for you. This combination product means you can have the shape that a packer provides and the utility that a Stand to Pee provides all in one item. Currently the only place in the UK you can get one is from LoveHoney which you can find here. If you want t order this product you mat also need packing underwear/a harness to keep it in place which you can find in the packer section.

 

...Breast Forms

Breast Form brands

If you are interested in applying to the Fund for breast forms but aren't sure what brands are available you can find some below:

 

 

Due to the cost of some breastforms, SUBU may only be able to cover a percentage of the cost but we will discuss this once you choose which ones you are interested in.

 

...tucking underwear

Tucking safety

Currently there is no published medical research into the risks of tucking but there are some potential side effects including skin irreidation, fungal infections and chronic testicular pain. You can find more infomation on tucking and its potential side effects here.

Tucking underwear brands

If you are interested in applying to the Fund for tucking underwear or gaffs but aren't sure what brands are available you can find some below:

 

Have a question that wasn't answered above? Pop an email to transcampaign@bournemouth.ac.uk 

Ready to apply? Follow the link below!

Apply Now