‘It’s kind of like putting on armor’: How clothing can spark euphoria for transgender people

Read the full article and individual stories: https://www.sfchronicle.com/projects/2023/sf-trans-clothing/

Twice a month, a back room at San Francisco’s Trans Thrive community center is transformed: from a beige-walled meeting space to a clothing boutique, stuffed wall-to-wall with racks of new shirts and skirts and dresses and trousers.

The events are promoted as “shopping experiences.” Transgender or gender nonconforming clients of Trans Thrive, a city-funded health and resource clinic, receive an invitation to shop for free clothing in exchange for meeting with case workers and making medical appointments. The idea is to motivate clients to keep up on their health needs. But the shop’s popularity — people sometimes line up an hour before it opens — speaks to the importance of fashion to the trans experience.

“Fashion has always been a beacon for our community,” said Khilynn Fowler, community relations manager for San Francisco Community Health, which operates Trans Thrive. “It’s our creativity, our expression.”

For many trans people, clothes are their first step in transitioning. But shopping in traditional stores is often intimidating and disappointing. If they’re just starting to transition, they may not know what clothes they’re looking for.

During the biweekly Trans Thrive events — Folk and Swagger for trans men and She Boutique for trans women; both events are also open to gender-nonconforming people — clients browse new clothes donated by manufacturers or stores with extra inventory, plus accessories like shoes, purses, chest binders and bras. Staff stand to the side, ready to offer advice or encouragement.

The right fit — whether it’s a snug pair of jeans, a sequined dress or a comfy sweatshirt — can spark “gender euphoria,” a sense of comfort or joy that can come from someone’s gender expression aligning with their identity.

“It gives us an opportunity to say, ‘This makes me feel like the woman, or man, I’m trying to be,’ ” said Fowler, who developed the idea for the clothing program.

The Chronicle profiled eight regular shoppers at the Trans Thrive events. For Gatsby Lee, 29, finding that perfect item is like “a merging of the minds.”

“It’s kind of like putting on armor, like it gives you a boost,” he said. “It’s my inner feelings coming out.”

Editor's note: The following interviews have been edited for length and clarity.