Planned in honor of transgender awareness month, MSU Alliance wrapped up the last week of classes with a gender-affirming clothing swap Friday evening.
Accompanied by lofi tunes and Cottage Inn Pizza, the board members laid out a variety of clothing like button-up shirts, boxers, skirts, bras and blouses.
They also included products to help individuals feel more comfortable in their gender expression. This consisted of binders worn to flatten the chest, packers used to create an appearance of a bulge, breast forms to enhance the look of breasts and gaffs that provide a smoother appearance by tucking.
"I think one of the biggest misconceptions about gender-affirming clothing is that it's only for trans people, but that’s not true," said Izzy Cyncewicz, PR coordinator for Alliance. "Gender-affirming clothing can literally be for everybody."
For board member Brianna Dolan, she feels that events like this are important to provide on any campus. This event specifically helps with visibility for gender identity, she said.
"It can be a very confusing thing to feel that you're not in the right body or if you have any sort of gender dysmorphia," Dolan said. "So creating a space that people can feel comfortable exploring is pretty important to not just me, but all of Alliance."
With finals around the corner, there wasn’t as much of a turnout as the organizers had hoped. However, previous Alliance president and current MSU faculty member, Lesly Morales, attended to show their support.
For Morales, this club had provided them with friends, a support system and a community that they needed at the time. The impact this club left on their life was why Morales felt it was important to show up for this event, they said.
"I didn't get to really play around with gender expression until I came to MSU," Morales said. "Actually, I didn't even know what non-binary was until I came here. And it's programs like this, that allow people to play with that expression who may not have had access before."
Alliance hopes to coordinate with other clubs to plan similar events in the future.