The Gender Affirming Community Closet is a collaborative project with The Prism Center, Queers and Allies, and Will Beckerman, an individual trans student. It is also supported by the Innovation Hub.

The Closet will be a resource housed in one of the closets of the newly opening Prism Center. It will contain transgender garments such as chest binders and gaffs (tucking underwear), alongside daily clothing of varying size, season, and formality. It will provide clothing to students exploring their identity and expression free of cost allowing them to experiment with different “gendered” and “non gendered” clothing without added cost or stigma many trans youth feel in shopping.

Based on data from last year's zeitgeist survey, which surveyed about half of Middlebury students, 5% of students are nonbinary, about 1% are trans men, and about .5% are trans women. This project is aimed primarily at them and others exploring gender expression, though could serve other students who may be feeling body dysmorphia or dysphoria of some type that could be helped through wardrobe change, such as cis women who bind. Students have already expressed a need, with 25 students filling out a resource request form in only two weeks that it was up. Making these resources available will help support their wellbeing and the wellbeing of other students in the future.

Our goal is to cover the costs of setting up and organizing the Closet and the cost of trans undergarments available at the Prism Center. Binders cost $37 each and gaffs cost $27 each. We hope to provide these in a range of sizes and colors to accommodate all body types and skin tones. The funds raised will go toward meeting the existing need for these garments, as well as creating a sustainable closet space for future years.