SelfMade Kit
SelfMade is a project of Our Kaleidoscope Community that provides free gender-affirming kits to transgender and nonbinary or gender-fluid persons. (Courtesy Photo)
A United Methodist Insight Special
Shortly after Lent began, licensed local pastor Carmen Daugherty of Roberts Park UMC in Indianapolis issued what she called the "Pastrix Challenge" on Facebook.
"Do something RADICAL for Lent this year!" her post read. "Show active allyship by participating in the Pastrix Challenge! Whether it's supporting SelfMade: nobody puts Baby in a box, GenderNexus, or Trans Indy, do something during Lent or on Easter to recognize our trans siblings, help our trans siblings, and support our trans siblings. They need our help. If you attend a church that says they are affirming, please show this to your pastor. There is a lot of fear in the trans community right now and so there is no better time for the church to say to our trans siblings, 'Do not be afraid. We've got you.'"
SelfMade is a project of Our Kaleidoscope Community, a newly endorsed extension ministry of the Indiana Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. Based at Roberts Park UMC in downtown Indianapolis, Kaleidoscope provides weekly gatherings for LGBTQ+ persons and anyone else who wishes to attend for fellowship, support and inspiration.
SelfMade – with its tagline "Nobody Puts Baby in a Box" – is the brainchild of Joshua Sanders, a transgender man who co-founded Kaleidoscope along with Pastrix Carmen and members of Roberts Park UMC. Mr. Sanders' idea was to create free gender-affirming kits for nonbinary and trans individuals containing personal items suited to their gender identities as they journey from the sex assigned at birth to their gender identity.
Also audiovisual team leader for Roberts Park UMC, Mr. Sanders said he got the idea for SelfMade from his own experience as a transgender man growing up in conservative southern Indiana with no support for his gender transition.
"I like to think that I'm being a role model for our trans and queer youth," Mr. Sanders said. "The world is dark and scary right now for trans people and it's really satisfying to be able to help. It's easier right now to protect trans and queer youth than to educate older generation."
Mr. Sanders said the kits offer chest binders, packing underwear for males, bra inserts for females, grooming items, information about Kaleidoscope and fun stuff like stickers. A lot of products can be used many ways by non-binary or gender-fluid people.
Mr. Sanders and Pastrix Carmen also wrote journals for transgender and non-binary people to record their journeys that can be purchased on Amazon. "For every hardback that's sold, a paperback journal is donated to a kit," Mr. Sanders said.
All a person need do is to apply via the SelfMade website. The applicant is then linked with a volunteer who guides them through a questionnaire to determine what type of supplies they need for their transition. The cost per kit runs $75-$150 because some undergarment items can be expensive and hard to come by. There's also an Amazon wishlist for those who want to purchase items to go into the kits.
"We're starting to get partnerships with makers in Canada for binders made by trans men for trans men," said Mr. Sanders. "We're also looking at corporate sponsorship."
With little promotion until Pastrix Carmen's challenge, SelfMade has gotten plenty of notice. The project had to close applications recently because it ran out of resources; hence the Pastrix Challenge.
"At this point we've received over 100 applications from 22 states and three countries," said Mr. Sanders. "In just one month we went from a local outreach to being national and international, which just shows how much support is needed for the gender diverse."
While the project has been underway since last summer, Lent and Easter seemed the perfect time to promote SelfMade because Easter coincides with Transgender Day of Visibility on March 31, said Pastrix Carmen.
"If you listen to transgender persons' journeys and your read scripture, especially Jesus' death and resurrection, you can see how a trans person's life overlaps Jesus' life," she said.
"Jesus' insides didn't match his outsides – he was fully human and fully God, and it wasn't until he was resurrected that he was fully integrated and transfigured into the person he was created to be," she continued. "That, more than anything, makes this project the perfect opportunity to stand with the transgender community and say, 'we're with you; you're not alone.'"
Both Pastrix Carmen and Mr. Sanders say SelfMade kits save lives.
"Statistics for self-harm within the trans community are so high," lamented Pastrix Carmen. "Providing a kit to someone tells them that God loves them just as they are. I believe we're saving one life at a time; we are creating community and family that are irreplaceable. That is what people need."
Cynthia B. Astle serves as Editor of United Methodist Insight, a media channel she founded in 2011 to amplify news and views for and by marginalized and under-served United Methodists. Please email Insight for permission to use this content elsewhere.