In a Bind Helps Get Trans* Youth Out of One
Chest binders (or “compression shirts”) are a simple concept: they flatten and shape the chest area and, where necessary, conceal breasts. They basically look like tank tops but have a whole lot more compressing power, and as a result are often used by transmasculine, masculine-of-center and genderqueer folks, among others.
Due to financial, familial, and a host of other complicated reasons, many transmasculine and genderqueer youth don’t have easy access to binders. Luckily, youth seeking chest binders have a new resource available to them: In a Bind, a Portland-based binder exchange program launched in March 2012, accepts donations of used and new chest binders for transmasculine and genderqueer youth and ships them all over the United States at no cost. In a Bind is run by TransActive, a nonprofit that serves the needs of transgender and gender nonconforming children and youth, as well as their families and allies.
I recently visited the TransActive office in Portland, Oregon and chatted with Kit Crosland, Program Coordinator of In a Bind. (I also got to meet other staff members, and was even offered cake!) I left very excited about the project, and feeling like I really wanted to convince you all to donate, volunteer and spread the word.
Kit
In a Bind is the brainchild of Kate Levy, a TransActive volunteer and mother of a trans child. While Kate is clearly a supportive parent, she knew that for many children in less-ideal family situations, chest binders were unobtainable. She approached Jenn Burleteon, executive director of TransActive with her idea, and since March of 2012 In a Bind has shipped 95 binders to youth in need.
“The program is all based on donations. It’s in the spirit of helping out your own,” says Kit. Binders are frequently donated by transguys who have had top surgery, changed size, or found a size or style that works better for them. In a Bind also accepts donations of new binders, as well as monetary donations used to offset shipping costs.
Transmasculine and genderqueer youth can apply for a binder through In a Bind’s website. (There is also a paper application, but according to Kit, it is rarely used—”kids are so tech-savvy these days,” he says.) Applicants must be 21 and under and have a mailing address in the United States (applicants 22 and over have the option of checking out the Big Brother Binder Program, which has been providing binders to transguys in need since 2001).
Along with the binder, applicants also receive information targeted toward their parents or guardians. As Kit explains, “We include a letter to the parent, basically saying anything and everything we can think of to get the binder to the child if a parent intercepts the package. It says,’This is safe for your kid,’ ‘Your kid isn’t the only one who wants this.’ Literally anything we can think of that could possibly help if a parent is ready to throw it in the trash.”
The package also contains a brochure targeted at anyone who interacts with transgender or gender nonconforming youth. Whether a parent intercepts the package or not, youth can choose to share it with their families. “If the only reason they’re not getting a binder is because their parents don’t understand, we need to give them tools toward fixing that,” Kit says. Many applications tell stories of unsupportive parents: one 16-year old writes, “I don’t have any other way to get myself a binder. I don’t have the money and my parents aren’t supportive. I’ve asked and they just think I’m some freak for wanting to look the way I feel.”
While Kit is very proud of the 95 youth helped by In a Bind, there are still over 600 people on the waiting list. There is obviously a huge need for chest binders out there, which highlights how important they are to many transmasculine and genderqueer youth. As Kit explains, there are two main reasons why binders are so important: they help people feel good about themselves and they “curb the body dysphoria of having these things on your chest that you don’t identify with.” One 17-year-old applicant writes, “Whenever I look in the mirror I become extremely upset, stressed, anxious, confused and even sick or angry because what I think and feel is so incongruent with how I look.”
In addition to helping with body dysphoria on an internal level, binders also affect how people are perceived and treated, and can actually protect the physical safety of the wearer.
“You’re presenting your gender to the world. If you’re presenting male or you’re presenting androgynous and you’ve got very obvious breasts, people aren’t going to treat you as the gender you are presenting,” Kit explains. “There’s a disconnect there, and that can cause people to use the wrong name or pronouns, obviously. And I’m not brushing that aside, that is really huge. It goes from that – the minor things that add up over time – to actual violence and assault.”
Many applications have included stories about experiencing violence. One 15-year old writes, “I have been jumped twice in the past month. Maybe if I did a better job of passing, I wouldn’t have so many issues with cisguys.”
Having access to proper chest binders also protects the physical safety of transmasculine and genderqueer youth because many people who can’t access a binder use Ace bandages or duct tape instead, which can cause health problems.
Interested in getting involved? Consider donating a binder, or supporting In a Bind in other ways. If you’re in the Portland area, consider volunteering! TransActive is in desperate need of volunteers to help with In a Bind, as well as other parts of the organization.
Many youth who have received binders have written touching thank you notes to In a Bind, and because I want to warm your heart, here are a few. All names have been changed.
I want to thank you so much for having this program running. You are wonderful people. I bet this has been, and will continue be a great program for helping us out. Because, honestly, there really isn’t much you can do for yourself in this state if you’re under 18 and your parents disapprove. So, honestly, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. And continue to be wonderful.
Anthony, 16, Wisconsin
Thank you so much for all of your understanding and help. It is an incredible thing you have done for those who are unable to purchase a binder on their own. I appreciate this so, so much.
Adrian, 18, Illinois
Thank you SO much. I had a really crappy week, and this just made it all better. You have no idea how much I appreciate what you’re doing, not only for me, but for all of the other teenage transguys out there. You’re really quite a life saver.
Nick, 17, New York
I just want to thank you for accepting my application. I was so excited to receive your email and can’t wait to get my binder. I want to show my support and appreciation for the program so I’m sending a small donation. I can’t give a lot, but I want to help in any way that I can and maybe help to make someone as happy as I am.
Kevin, 15, with $3 donation
Jess Scone, Vegan Visionary: The Autostraddle Interview
Many years ago, when I was just a baby vegan, I started reading vegan blogs to figure out what the hell I should be feeding myself. One of them was Get Sconed!, a friendly and accessible account of the everyday culinary life of Jess Scone, a 20-something living in Portland, Oregon. Little did I know that, a few years later, I would get to know Jess Scone in real life and we would become fast friends.
from chimneypotsgardener.tumblr.com
In addition to writing Get Sconed!, Jess is co-founder and director of Vida Vegan Con, a vegan lifestyle bloggers conference, which is basically a three-day vegan wonderland featuring workshops, discussion panels, speakers, special events, vegan food and very exciting swag bags. I attended and spoke at last year’s conference, and will be doing the same at the next Vida Vegan Con happening in Portland from May 16th – 24th, 2013. I convinced Jess to sit down with me and talk about the history of her blog, why the next conference will be so awesome (spoiler alert: discussions about veganism and social justice and feminism!), and whether queer women being vegan is actually a thing. She also shared a recipe for Roasted Chickpea Tacos with Garlic and Lime, which I will be making ASAP.
When did you first go vegan?
I first started on the vegetarian path when I was 10. I started cutting out animal products from my life because I thought they were gross and I was beginning to make the connection between animal products and furry pets. Then I had this cousin who, out at a restaurant, just ordered vegetable lo mein, and I had no idea that even existed as an option. Being picky and thinking the little pork bits were gross, I learned about vegetarian options.
I officially went vegan when I was about 19. Like all college students, I was learning a lot about the world and I took an animal philosophy class in college and started buying my first little animal rights pins. I decided to phase in organic milk and organic cheeses, and then within a month or two of doing that, I learned about pus in dairy and I decided it was really pointless, and then I went vegan. I’m vegan for moral and ethical reasons. I don’t want any part in the exploitation of animals, and though I’m not an expert, I also feel like a plant-based diet is healthier for my body.
When did you become interested in cooking?
I was always really into baking when I was younger and I realized that chocolate chip cookies were the only thing I wanted to eat. When I went off to college I had to learn how to feed myself, so I slowly learned how to make mac and cheese and pasta. When I moved to Portland, the farmer’s markets were so inspiring and palate-expanding. I told myself I wanted to learn vegan cooking, and I did.
Why did you decide to start a vegan food blog?
Back then there were about five other vegan food blogs, including FatFree Vegan Kitchen and What the Hell Does a Vegan Eat Anyway? I decided to make my own blog because it seemed like something feasible that would be a great documentation of what I was doing. This was back in 2005 on Blogspot; I’ve been on WordPress, with my own domain, since 2009.
How did the Vida Vegan Conference come about?
My friend Janessa of Epicurious Vegan approached me with the idea of doing a conference for vegan bloggers to grow the community and see what was out there, and come together and talk about how we can make things better and what the hot topics in vegan blogging were. I thought the idea was really neat and we had a few meetings about it, and then it really came into fruition when we brought in Michele of Vegtastic Voyage, another friend I had from Vegan Iron Chef. The three of us just worked really well together and we decided to hold this conference because we all really believed in the potential. We held the first conference in August 2011 and it was more successful than our wildest dreams. It’s really exciting, just bringing all these people together that you’ve read for years and wondering, can they talk? What will they say? Are they cool in real life? When I met Susan Voisin of FatFree Vegan Kitchen I didn’t even know what to say to her. I was giddy.
Janessa, Michele and Jess
I love the idea of improving the world of vegan blogging. When you get all these other vegans together you find out, hey, everyone finds this annoying, and everyone finds this useful, and people are doing this other thing that’s new. Like, maybe two people mentioned Instagram in 2011, and you can see where we are today.
So what is the world of vegan blogging like these days?
Food blogs are just totally normal now. For veganism, I think it’s a step more than say, my sister’s food blog, who’s not vegan, because there is that thing where you want to tell people about how you’re vegan and you’re really proud and you want to inspire people to eat more vegan food. I think vegan bloggers are everyday inspirational activists in that way.
I take vegan cooking seriously, and I think your vegan plant-based cruelty-free concoctions are just as serious as your filet mignon dinner. Either can have a red wine au jus. I think a sauce made from soaked cashews that you’re mixing with a little nutmeg and a little nutritional yeast and some roasted garlic over this handmade sweet potato gnocchi, and a side of some smoked tempeh and and some broccoli raab is just as exciting.
You’re creating something fresh. If you go to a farmer’s market, more than likely you’re working with a lot of vegetables, and that is wonderful. It’s so fresh and it’s showing the bounty of what you have there and it’s not watching a pig cry. I don’t care if it’s local, it’s sad.
I don’t think that pig tears are even that high in sodium.
That’s what I’ve heard.
What new and exciting things are going to be happening at the next conference?
I’m really excited about creating more conversations. I’m not discounting talking about what you had for dinner, but I think it’s really exciting that critical conversations can happen and that will happen at the next conference. We have a panel about veganism and social justice. There are also some people who want to talk about veganism and feminism.
Jess and Zelda
Including Jamie of Autostraddle, right?
Yes, I’m really stoked that she’s involved! And I’m really stoked that you’re involved again! There’s also a class about veganism and body acceptance that I’m really excited about, as a nontraditional vegan body type.
Do you think there’s a lot of negative body talk in vegan blogs?
With any movement related to diet, you’re going to have the crazy fad dieters who treat veganism as something else. Through the years I’ve seen a lot of people hide eating disorders with veganism. I’ve also seen a lot of people with eating disorders come to veganism and change their lives around. But yeah, you do see negative body image. You have Skinny Bitch, which I find horrifying. Most people find out you’re vegan and they go, oh you’re not skin and bones, what’s that about? I’m like, no, I’m vegan, I love to cook.
Who do you think should go to Vida Vegan? Do you have to have a blog?
You definitely don’t have to have a blog. Basically if you’re vegan and you’re living in the 21st century and use the internet, you should come and check it out. If money is an issue, we have scholarships. If you’re someone who’s interested in trying more plant-based dishes in your life, and you want to see what the conversations are about, you want to see what trends are happening, you want to see what the latest cookbooks are and what these cookbook authors have planned for the future, check it out. It’s really a lot of fun. We’ve expanded from a two-day to a three-day event, at the Portland Art Museum, and we’re packing in more than 40 classes in those three days.
How much do you talk about your personal life on your blog? Do you have specific boundaries about what you’ll talk about and what you won’t?
I only talk about my personal life when I feel very comfortable with it, and I can’t say that always happens. But I’m at a stage in my life right now where I am very happy with my girlfriend. I do mention her on my blog.
So your girlfriend is actually a food blogger too, right?
She is, yeah. My girlfriend has a blog with her sister and it’s so cute, it’s called Sister Legumes. It shows how normal food blogging is. Everyone you know has one. We’ve all gotten used to waiting for everyone to get out their camera before we can eat. Don’t worry, there are discussions on food blogging etiquette at Vida Vegan Con.
So this is your first relationship with a woman—was it a big deal to come out as queer on your blog?
No, it was not. I’m so happy with my relationship, I feel like my life has changed in a lot of good ways, it makes me want to call bullshit on anything anyone ever told me about dating and “identity.”
Say I was trying to woo a vegan girl with a fancy meal. What do you think I should make her?
Well, my girlfriend, when we first started dating—she’s not much of a cook—made me this vegan lasagna with a heart of tofu ricotta on top. As an Italian, I’m very picky about my pasta, and it blew me away. So make that.
What advice do you have for a nonvegan dating a vegan for the first time?
Find out why they’re serious about veganism. And don’t give them a hard time about it! Because odds are, if you’re an omnivore, you’re really picky about a lot of shit too. Is your shit based on moral or ethical reasons? Or do you just not like onions? If you’re dating a vegan, talk to them about it, and if they’re going militant on you, tell them to take a chill pill. Make dinner together. You like stir fries, I know it. Eat vegan with them. The bases of your meals are probably already vegetables.
Do you feel like a lot of queer women are vegan?
I haven’t done many studies, but I feel like once you open your mind and your heart to one type of revolutionary thinking, you’re able to open your mind and heart to other things as well.
I think that makes sense.
Yeah that was beautiful, I know.
+
Roasted Chickpea Tacos with Garlic & Lime
When you’re vegan and budgeting, cooking beans from scratch is a way of life. So are tacos. Last week, my life seemed to revolve around chickpeas. I make them the “long” way, which is really just the “forget about them all day” way, which involves soaking them all day, simmering a couple of hours, and then throwing them in a pitcher in my fridge (which will last 2 weeks if you change the water every other day or so) to use until they run out. This recipe calls for cooked chickpeas – which are the same thing you can get in a can, for the bean-wary. When nearly dry-roasted with spices, they make one heck of a flavorful taco filling with the help of your favorite taco fixings. I created this recipe as part of 100 Days Homemade Project, and my girlfriend Julia gives it a thumbs-up.
Jess and Julia
Ingredients:
2 cups of chickpeas, drained
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt (optional: use ½ teaspoon smoked salt)
1 tsp dried oregano
pinch black pepper
pinch cayenne or hot sauce
pinch nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon chili powder
½ lime, juiced
2 cloves garlic, minced
few splashes of water
additional lime juice/segments for servings
Fixings:
corn or flour tortillas, warmed before serving (wrap in foil and pop in the oven for a few minutes towards the end of cooking)
salsa
hot sauce
shredded greens
diced tomatoes
vegan queso or shredded vegan cheese
cilantro (or if you’re like me, banish that)
cooked rice or other grains
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 400F.
Add the first 10 ingredients into a lightly greased 9×13 pan. Stir together well so the oil hits everything. Roast at 400F for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove from the oven and stir in the minced garlic, lime juice and a few splashes of water. Increase the heat to 425F and roast an additional 10-15 minutes, until crispy and golden, stirring periodically.
Remove from the oven, put in tortillas with additional lime juice and assemble with your favorite fixings.
Rock n’ Roll Camp for Girls: Role Models, Riot Grrrls and Revolutions
click for more 'on camp'
Feature image from Dania Maxwell / The Oregonian
I was never a kid who went to camp. My parents were broke, and I wasn’t a fan of having to wake up early in the summertime anyway. But when my dad read about a brand new day camp, he clipped the article out of the local alternative weekly for me. Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp for Girls cost only $20 for the week, and he hoped it would inspire me to learn to play the used drums he had bought me a few weeks before to celebrate my eighth grade graduation.
I filled out the application, got my acceptance letter, and wrote the dates of the camp on my calendar in marker. At 14, I was a painfully shy and very insecure kid. I had few friends, thought I was hideous, and spent most of my time reading books, watching Buffy and listening to music. I wanted this camp to turn me into a rock star.
Now there are Rock ‘n’ Roll Camps for Girls all over the world, but the first one happened in the summer of 2001 in Portland, Oregon. I didn’t know that the camp would eventually have its own building, that the idea would spread all over, that there would be a documentary and all sorts of press for years to come. I just really hoped I would fit in and also learn to play the drums.
I quickly figured out this wasn’t a place where I had to worry about fitting in — everyone accepted each other. There were girls who were dressed punk, and girls who looked like they were the popular girls at their schools, in Gap and Abercrombie, and girls who looked like they didn’t care about clothes at all. Weirdly enough, clothes didn’t end up defining who hung out with whom. It wasn’t like anything I had ever experienced. I had discussions with counselors — all volunteers, mostly in their twenties — about feminist issues and they talked to me like I was smart and what I had to say was interesting. Most of the girls were learning new things and taking risks and we were all working together because at the end of the week we would be on stage at the showcase. We were also all working together to figure out what room we were supposed to be in — the first year of camp took place on a huge college campus and everyone was constantly getting lost. There was no time to tear each other down.
that's me at 13!
I learned about zines from Nicole Georges, I learned about fat-positivity from Nomy Lamm, I discovered riot grrl music years after it happened but at the exact time I really needed it in my life. There was a self-defense class that made me feel like I could be physically powerful, which was not a feeling I had experienced before. We stood in a circle and took turns screaming and I discovered how loud my voice could be. I got to know adult women — musicians and camp volunteers — who were awesome because of who they were and what they did, not because of how skinny they were or because boys liked them. For the first time in my life, I had actual role models.
via victordom.tumblr.com
In the fall I started high school. I was still shy, but I was excited about playing my drums. I listened to Sleater-Kinney CDs in my bedroom nonstop. I spent a lot of time thinking about Carrie Brownstein. A lot of time.
The next summer, I went back to camp. It was even better than the last year. It was held in a small building they rented, instead of in random rooms all over a college campus. It felt organized, like a real summer camp instead of a class project. Everyone being in such close quarters inspired more socializing and spontaneity, like impromptu lunchtime dance parties in the yard to Le Tigre songs. As Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp for Girls grew up, I was doing some growing too. My shyness was slowly fading. I was excited instead of terrified about the showcase, and it was easier to make new friends.
This was the year when I started to realize a lot of the camp volunteers were probably not straight. It was also the year I started thinking more and more about how I might not be either. It didn’t seem as scary anymore. Near the end of the week, I was chatting with a friend I had gotten close to the year before, who was also learning drums. She was older and wiser than me and I was amazed that she wanted to be my friend.
“Who’s your favorite drum teacher?” she asked.
“Umm I really like Rachel, she’s so nice. But I think Jordan is the cutest,” I said, feeling like it was a very daring thing to say. Jordan looked like a tiny butch elf. I had listened to her band’s music and it just sounded like noise to me but there was something about her that I liked.
“Jordan is really cute,” she said.
“Yeah,” I said, feeling more confident. “I have a crush on her. I’m bisexual.”
“Yeah, I’m bisexual too,” she said.
That was the first time I came out to anyone, and it was pretty amazing to do it in an environment where I knew no one would judge me. Not that I made a general camp announcement or anything, but I could have, and it would have been fine. I felt lighter. The whole world just seemed less frightening.
That week Sleater-Kinney played a benefit show for the camp and I was invited to dance on stage along with some other girls. OK, so I was too shy to actually dance on stage. I just stood there. But it was still amazing.
brave enough for a dykey haircut at 15
The third year I went to camp, I was about to turn 16. Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp for Girls finally had its very own building instead of a borrowed space. I had survived two years of high school. I was still shy, but I had an inner confidence that I didn’t have before. I was starting to accept my body for what it was, with the help of so many talks about body image at camp. I was beginning to suspect that maybe, in a post-high school world, being queer would actually make me cooler instead of making me feel like more of an outsider. I got to have a conversation with Carrie Brownstein and I tried to be chill about it even though all I was thinking was, I want a girl like this to be my girlfriend. (Carrie, if you’re reading this, I’m 24 now so it’s not creepy if you want to hang out sometime.) I decided to branch out from the drums—I had been taking lessons for a while anyway—and learned to DJ instead.
I really want to live in a reality where every girl has the opportunity to go to a Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp for Girls, or at least has an experience where she feels completely accepted, has positive role models and gets to meet Carrie Brownstein. Sometimes I try to imagine an alternate reality where I never went to camp, and I see a life full of crash diets, being afraid to leave my apartment and hating my queer self. Maybe that’s an exaggeration, and I could have figured things out on my own eventually, but I know Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp for Girls had a huge impact on who I am today. As an adult I’ve volunteered and given money, and I tell every girl I meet she should go. I figure it’s an investment in the future, because of course I want a future where all women are strong and confident and know how to rock out, or at least scream really loud.
this post is part of our extended coverage of rock n' roll camp for girls!
Special Note: Autostraddle’s “First Person” personal essays do not necessarily reflect the ideals of Autostraddle or its editors, nor do any First Person writers intend to speak on behalf of anyone other than themselves. First Person writers are simply speaking honestly from their own hearts.