Trans Clothes Drive at Newcastle University: free, good quality gender-affirming clothing
Last week, following the International Transgender Awareness Week, Newcastle University hosted an LGBTQ+ event focused on providing trans and non-binary people with gender-affirming clothing completely free of charge.
After seeing the colourful posters around the campus and hearing about the event in my social circles, my curiosity was piqued. I decided to attend the event personally, and now, I am here to share my experience…
Promoted weeks in advance, the Trans Clothes Drive promised a safe space and community support for any LGBTQ+ students and staff members. The numerous posters adorning the Newcastle University campus not only promoted the event, but also encouraged donations of clothing, personal care items and make up. On the 21st of November 2023, these donations were displayed in the Lindisfarne Room, Hadrian Building, and available for any LGBTQ+ students and staff to take home.
The day of the event, Lewi El-Hawari, the president of Amnesty International Society, sent a message into the society’s group chat prompting everyone to attend and take a look. Filled with anticipation and further encouraged by the message indicating a possibility of meeting friends from Amnesty, I finally set out to the Hadrian building to experience this event for myself.
As soon as I stepped into the room, I was greeted by a friendly member of the organising team. They offered me a selection of (reused!) plastic and paper bags and explained that I was more than welcome to take home any amount of clothing I wished.
Looking around the expansive room, I could see three long tables where a few people were already fully engrossed in looking through the neatly placed piles of clothing. In the background, music played faintly – an iconic song that cannot be absent from any LGBTQ+ event: ‘Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)’ by Abba. On the projector screen, I could make out the title of the playlist pretty fitting for the occasion; Pride Party 2023. Well, not much of a party per se, but fitting nonetheless.
In front of me, a smaller table provided a sensory/stim friendly area filled with stickers, paper, art supplies, and more. Towards the back of the room, a pay-as-you-feel haircut was already in the making – the courtesy of Artful Barber, a trans-owned barbershop that specialises in providing gender-affirming haircuts. They repeated their successful collaboration with Rainbow@ncl and their Trans Clothes Drive from last year.
After examining the room, I finally made my way to the tables and began going through the piles of clothing myself. To my pleasant surprise, I was suddenly approached by a friend from NUGSS (Gilbert & Sullivan Society), Leigh Rudd, and we ended up spending our time at the event together.
Leigh and I were surprised by both the amount and the quality of the clothing available. To our delight, we were each able to find multiple pieces of clothing that caught our eye. However, a slight problem arose when we wanted to try them on – the only dressing room was occupied. We decided against waiting and went to use the nearby toilet to try them on there. We were not the only people with this predicament, as one other person joined us shortly after.
While the changing room shortage was an inconvenience we were’t pleased with, we both agreed that there was little they could have done with the space. The dressing room itself was well-arranged, providing enough space and a mirror right next to it. Above the dressing room, a sign encouraged to ask for assistance or for someone to stand guard at the curtains to ensure privacy if needed.
Leigh and I both left the Trans Clothes Drive with a bag full of clothing and great satisfaction.
Leigh commented:
“There was a lot more clothing than I expected there to be. It was a pretty good range as well, being both feminine and masculine.”
The members of the organising team, as well as the attendees, were friendly and welcoming. Despite initially attending the event alone, I ran into friends from various societies, leaving me almost unsure about who to talk to first. As we chatted, they all expressed their satisfaction and happiness with the event.
To conclude, Trans Clothes Drive achieved its set goals. Apart from successfully providing free, gender-affirming clothing of good quality, the event created an inclusive, supportive and friendly environment for all members of the LGBTQ+ community at Newcastle University.
The generous amount of donations vividly show the support of the university’s student body and staff.
To continue supporting the trans community in Newcastle, the remaining donations were given to The Wardrobe, ‘a space for trans, non-binary and genderqueer people to get dressed’.
The Trans Clothes Drive was organised by Rainbow@ncl, Newcastle University’s Staff and PGR (Postgraduate Researcher) LGBTQIA+ Network and the event happened in collaboration with Artful Barber, LGBT+ Northern Social Group and Newcastle Uni LGBTQ+ Society.
Follow them for more events or for any support.
The featured photo taken by Leigh Rudd, 2023
Follow Activism Upon Tyne on Instagram: @my_activism_upon_tyne
