Queer clothing swap offers gender-affirming clothing options

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Clothing ranging from SU apparel to animal onesies filled the fifth floor of the Hall of Languages on Monday. A nearby bathroom became a gender-neutral space, with a sign simply reading, “Bathrooms with Stalls.”

“Somebody might not feel comfortable going into a store…it’s often very gendered,” SU senior Sonja Nusser said. “Here, we have the opportunity to provide a welcoming and queer and supportive space.”

The LGBTQ Resource Center organized the Queer Clothing Swap as part of Trans Liberation Week to help eliminate financial and practical barriers for people who wish to purchase gender affirming clothing, Nusser said. Along with the event, the LGBTQ Resource Center has a writing and poetry workshop planned, as well as an open mic later this week.

Many people on campus love thrifting, said Tatiyyanah Nelums, a student assistant for the LGBTQ Resource Center and an organizer for the event. Events that appeal to the fashion community garner a high turnout, they said.

Nelums said that trans antagonism on SU’s campus is shown in a myriad of issues. Gendered bathrooms, in particular, are a triggering issue for many people, because they create an unsafe environment for some students, Nelums said.

“There are instances of homophobia and transphobia on campus that people don’t really talk about and get swept under the rug,” Nelums said.

The LGBTQ Resource Center holds events like these to combat hate on campus, Nusser said. The recent hate speech incident in Watson Hall affected the community, and the center hoped to create spaces so that people can process issues like those.

“It definitely does affect us personally,” Nusser said. “Not only on the level of being distressed by it as people — there’s also being distressed by it for our communities and the community that we’re trying to serve.”

Nusser said the Center holds both social and educational events, and that both are equally important. Such events allow people to create connections within their communities and meet people that may be facing similar struggles, Nusser said, which can be life-saving.

Nelums said the center chose to do this event during Trans Week of Liberation because it is a fun activity for the queer community, but also serves as a resource for trans and nonbinary people. Trans Week of Liberation is meant to address trans antagonism in the United States, so this event works to address that, Nelums said.

“It’s just about liberating trans voices and showing that these people do exist, and they have feelings, and to highlight the struggles that they’re going through,” Nelums said.

Nelums said the Center would love to hold an event like this again and continue to help the community. All of the leftover clothes from this event will be donated to a clothing drive, co-hosted by Falk’s marriage and family therapy department, which focuses on helping queer homeless people, Nelums said.

The turnout of the event was impressive, Nelums said, and the interactions between attendees and the clothes have been absolutely amazing to see.

Also part of Trans Liberation Week, the LGBTQ Resource Center will host River Mason — a queer, Indigenous writer, poet, photographer and videographer — who will lead the writing and poetry workshop and help with attendees’ work. Later in the week, the open mic event is open to any participants, and anyone who performs will be entered to win prizes. The events, both on Wednesday, aim to support queer self expression and art, Nelums said.

SUNY ESF student Calvin Rogers came to the event to meet up with friends and get rid of old clothes. These events are important to have in the community, he said, and that they should host more events like this soon.

As a nonbinary person, Nelums said that having a space to talk to people similar to you is important. Beyond that, representation, being able to connect with others about their experiences and having your preferred pronouns respected is amazing, they added.

“Seeing fem-presenting nonbinary people representation really matters, because I have people like me,” Nelums said. “I can talk to them about my experiences and the experiences they have.”