A Gender Expression Fund within our student union serves as an important and inclusive resource for supporting students' diverse gender identities and expressions. You can use the fund to access gender-affirming items and travel to medical or therapy/counselling appointments.
What does the fund cover?
The fund can be used to purchase gender affirming products such as clothing, binders, packers and beauty products.
It can also be used towards travel to medical or therapy/counselling appointments, but we are not able to provide funding for treatment or other medical procedures.
To ensure as many students as possible are able to access the fund, there is a £50 cap on the amount of funding each student can receive within an academic year, but in exceptional circumstances we can review this.
The SU has designated a total of £1500 for this fund in 2023/24.
Who is eligible to apply?
To be eligible for help from the Gender Expression Fund, a student should:
- Be a Falmouth or Exeter student from our Cornwall campuses
- Identify as trans, non-binary, intersex or otherwise gender diverse
- Have reasonable need for items or transport expenses to be covered by the fund (i.e. not already have lots of the item they are requesting unless they are needing to replace it, be travelling to a location further than necessary)
- Have not used the fund excessively before (with the option to justify if there is a reasonable explanation like extreme hardship, or change of circumstances, clothing size etc.)
- Not be requesting items with excessive costs (e.g. custom products), unless explicitly necessary for reasons of sizing or access needs.
- Not be requesting funding for medical treatment (such as hormone therapy or surgical procedures) or to fund private counselling/therapy.
Overall, there is a limited amount of funding available, and once the fund is depleted, no further funding requests will be accepted.
Application Process?
Students applying for the fund need to fill out our Gender Expression Fund Request Form.
Once the form has been submitted it will normally be reviewed by our Vice President, Orestis Collins-Alamanos, supported by our Advice Team. The only time this may differ is if these people are not available, at which point another member of the Sabbatical Officer team may assist.
After a decision is reached, applicants must provide us with the link to the desired item. We will then arrange delivery to either the Student Union (SU) or the preferred address.
Please note, all applications are treated sensitively, and all information is kept confidential.
This is a trust-based process based on self-declaration by the student, not investigation by the Students’ Union.
Gender-affirming products
This list is a starting point of places you could look for gender-affirming products, categorised according to the product. If you find other links, please share them with us so that we can keep updating this list for others.
I am interested in...
... a binder
Before ordering a binder it is important to know that the health risks of binding are almost entirely unstudied and unknown. Using a binder is frequently accompanied by undersiable symptoms such as back, chest or shoulder pain, overheating, shortness of breath, itching and bad posture. There are also more serious but rarer effects such as scarring, swelling, rib fractures and respiratory infections.
The safest way to bind is using a binder but there are still some things you can do that may reduce risks from binding:
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Make sure your binder is the right size - It is important to remember that different binder companies may have different sizing so be sure to doublecheck before ordering
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Avoid binding for more than eight hours in a day
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Never sleep in your binder
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Take rest days where you do not bind as much as you can
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If you start to feel pain, especially chest pain, take off your binder
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If you suspect something is wrong, see a doctor as soon as possible
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Never use “homemade” binders made from elastic bandages, duct tape or plastic wrap
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Only use binders from reputable brands. Ask others if you’re unsure if a brand is reputable or not
To find more information on how to bind safely head to the Spectrum Outfitters Binding Safely webpage
You may know which binder you want already but if not below are two that we recommend:
Spectrum Outfitters
Spectrum Outfitters are a UK based gender-affirming apparel company that make binders out of recycled plastics with a lining inside. Their binders only compress from the back to give the wearer more room to breathe with very strong corset fabric in the front which holds the wearer’s chest flat.
You can look at their binders here and their sizing guide here.
If you aren't sure how to measure yourself for a binder, G(end)er Swap have a handy video guide which will walk you through the process.
If you aren't sure how to measure yourself for a binder, G(end)er Swap have handy video guidewhich will walk you through the process..
...a packer
You may know which packer you want to apply for via the fund but if you don't know what is on offer, take a look at some brands we've found:
The safest way to bind is using a binder but there are still some things you can do that may reduce risks from binding:
As well as your packer, you may also need to get special items to keep your packer in place if you don’t already have them. Depending on cost, we are happy to cover one of these to go along with your packer too. Below are some potential options
...a Stand to Pee (StP)
You may know which Stand to Pee device you would like but if not below are some options. We apologise for the gendered language on some of the websites, unfortunately there are not many StP brands in the UK.
What is a Stand to Pee Packer?
If you are interested in a Stand to Pee device and a packer then a Stant to Pee Packer might be for you. This combination product means you can have the shape that a packer provides and the utility that a Stand to Pee provides all in one item. Currently the only place in the UK you can get one is from LoveHoney which you can find here. If you want to order this product you mat also need packing underwear/a harness to keep it in place which you can find in the packer section.
...Breast Forms
If you are interested in applying to the Fund for breast forms but aren't sure what brands are available you can find some below:
Due to the cost of some breastforms, The SU may only be able to cover a percentage of the cost but we will discuss this once you choose which ones you are interested in.
...Tucking Underwear
Currently there is no published medical research into the risks of tucking but there are some potential side effects including skin irritation, fungal infections and chronic testicular pain. You can find more information on tucking and its potential side effects here
If you are interested in applying to the Fund for tucking underwear or gaffs but aren't sure what brands are available you can find some below: