Hello again everyone, I need your help! As some of you may remember, I'm working on building a program that would provide giveaways for trans-feminine youth to support and empower them during their early stages of transition. The plan, in a nutshell is to create starter make-up kits and inviting trans spectrum (including all non-binary identities!) youth can apply to receive one online. We will mail them out free of cost. (Past post with more details, if you're interested.) I'm finalizing the proposal today and tomorrow and I would LOVE more input, especially people who are AMAB and trans-identified. Specifically, input about how you feel about this idea and whether or not you would find it useful, supportive, and/or empowering. And if not, why? What, if anything, would you find better? The other thing I would like input on from anyone of any identity: If implemented as currently planned, I am anticipating some amount of backlash from feminist and LGB communities thinking that we're saying you *must* wear makeup to be a girl and/or that simply wearing makeup makes you a girl. To me, it is obvious that we are not saying that, but rather, that if you would like makeup to explore or support your gender identity and presentation, you should be able to access it. We are also recognizing that, for a lot of young trans women, there is an amount of stigma that stands between them and just waltzing into Walgreens to buy their own makeup. If you have any thought on this, on way or another, I would love to hear it! Thanks in advance for being my sounding board!
Perhaps you could put a notice: We appreciate that not all women or men or non-binary want to wear make up, but for some people who might be nervous about walking into a store and buying their own make up we would like to provide this for them. The idea is to give the person a chance to explore their own gender expression that they might not get to do, due to not being out about their gender identity and/or stigma from people around them. One thing you might need to consider is putting a time and day of best delivery because if the person can't go out and buy it then the person might be nervous about family members getting a hold of the package.
God if I was in high school I would die to have this support. I didn't work so money was tricky for spending and would have most likely been terrified to do that... in fact when I was coming out I was terrified as an adult. Also like it was said, getting it to girls who aren't out would be tricky. Maybe if it was marked under a pseudonym or some sort of false cover mailing system that would help them. Also how can you be sure to keep their identity safe?
That's really smart wording, thanks for the help! The delivery time is a good idea and something I've considered a lot, but it's difficult when budget limits you to USPS. I'll have to see how much I can do about that! ---------- Post added 7th Jan 2016 at 01:35 PM ---------- I'm not sure in exactly what regard you are referring to when keeping their identity safe, but in regards to the personal information (name/address) they provide us, it is only ever stored on our secure server, already encrypted to HIPAA-standards, with the rest of our client files. When we mail out, we always conceal our name (return address only), address it to whatever name of theirs is safest (birth vs chosen name, etc), and offer to mail it to a friend, neighbor, or youth center if that's safer or feels better for them. If there is any other place where we can address an identity concern, please let me know! Definitely the last thing I want to do is put someone in a potentially dangerous situation. Also, thanks for the confirmation that this would have been helpful to you as a youth! It's good to hear that we're not completely off-track with this proposal. And you hit the nail on the head about why we feel it can be really difficult to obtain these products, even when they're so readily available in stores.
What a great idea! I know makeup isn't something I've gotten in to because of lack of know-how and access... Not sure makeup is for me, but something I would love to give a try! I feel like this would really help young trans women who want to experiment with makeup or know they want to use it
Currently, our trans-masculine equivalent program (binders) is only able to mail to the United States due to limited resources. This would likely have to mirror that. However, with enough donations, we would love to be worldwide! ---------- Post added 8th Jan 2016 at 01:13 PM ---------- Thanks for your comment and support! I appreciate the feedback. :icon_bigg
