Transgender Awareness Week
Pop-up shop uplifts all students by providing gender-affirming clothing
Photo courtesy of Knight’s Life Editor Daisy Sheldon
From Nov. 13 to 19, the College Union Ballroom Lounge hosted a pop-up clothing shop in celebration of Transgender Awareness Week. The pop-up was a collaboration between Assistant Director of Multicultural Affairs for LGBTQ+ Life, Genevieve Labe, alongside the Coordinator for Diversity & Inclusion and Career Coach for the School of the Arts & Sciences, Cori Quinn, the Geneseo Pride Alliance, the Career Design Center, and various student workers.
In the weeks leading up to the event, Genevieve and Cori collected clothing from the bin placed outside the LGBTQ+ lounge in the MacVittie College Union. At the time of The Lamron’s interview with Genevieve, people were still dropping clothing off while the shop was in full swing downstairs. Together, Genevieve and Cori went through the clothes, put them on hangers, and did the prep work to set up the Ballroom Lounge. Between Genevieve’s student staff, Pride Alliance, executive Board members, and volunteer community members, the shop was continuously staffed and open to students from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. throughout Transgender Awareness Week.
Regarding the timing of the event, Genevieve told The Lamron that “[w]hen we’re thinking about Transgender Awareness Week, we want to provide positive experiences.” Genevieve added that queer students, especially those who rely on financial support from their families, “don’t have the ability to buy clothing that makes them feel comfortable in their own skin and expresses who they are. And so that’s why we decided to do this event.” Another purpose behind the event was providing “euphoric experiences for students when a lot of the times they’re experiencing dysphoric experiences.”
However, Genevieve told The Lamron that the event was not exclusively for queer students. The pop-up was meant for both queer and non-queer students as a way to encourage positive discourse about Transgender Awareness Week. They added, “It ultimately helps the whole student body because everybody expresses their gender differently, and a lot of students don’t have the money to afford [clothing].”
In today’s political climate, the pop-up shop is significant for students to feel a sense of belonging on campus. Genevieve, when commenting on this importance, said, “A lot of queer students and other marginalized identities are feeling very attacked for who they are, and it’s important for us to foster a sense of belonging on this campus… and to make sure [our students] feel welcome here, and feel celebrated here.”
The Lamron then asked about what Genevieve’s personal hopes and expectations were for the pop-up clothing shop, to which Genevieve responded, “I really just hope that students feel a little bit of happiness and joy, and that they know that there are people here on campus that support every part of who they are, and are here to support them with anything that they need moving forward.” Overall, the event was a positive and uplifting experience to reassure all students that they belong both on SUNY Geneseo’s campus and beyond.
As of now, the pop-up shop has no permanent location should the Office of LGBTQ+ wish to continue the project beyond Transgender Awareness Week. The main issue is a physical lack of space to store the donated clothing. However, if you missed the week-long event, it is still possible to look through leftover clothing items. Remaining clothes can be found in the LGBTQ+ lounge in the MacVittie College Union, and students can come by to pick up any items.