Bridgewater State Now Providing University-Funded Chest Binders
“to assist transgender-identifying students who cannot afford or safely obtain binders”
Women use chest binders to appear male. Why is the school even involved in this?
Bridgewater State expands trans programming with chest binders
Bridgewater State University is expanding its institutional promotion of queer and trans programming through “active allyship” training, university-funded chest binders, and required sexuality- and gender-focused coursework for students in a specialized residential community.
The Massachusetts public university has expanded its Safe Zone training, first offered in 2007, into what it now calls “Safe Zone 2.0.”
The revised program goes beyond teaching trans terminology and directs participants to examine “structural barriers” affecting trans students, the effects of “intersecting identities,” and methods of practicing “active allyship” in classrooms and other campus settings.
“There have been more than 600 participants in the last 19 years,” Paul Jean, Bridgewater State’s vice president for enrollment, marketing, and communications, told Campus Reform.
Bridgewater State is also spending university funds to provide students with free chest binders, compression garments used to flatten breast tissue and create a more masculine appearance.
The university says the program is intended to assist transgender-identifying students who cannot afford or safely obtain binders. Bridgewater State launched the initiative in spring 2024 through a partnership with 2B.Care, which supplied the first 40 garments.
The university later purchased 35 additional binders at a discount. The program has served 47 students at a total university cost of $1,083.01, according to Jean.
Bridgewater State has also incorporated LGBTQ-focused academics into campus housing through its Lavender Living Learning Community.
Students who choose to live in the community are required to complete the year-long Lavender Learning Community course sequence, receiving one academic credit each semester. Jean said students living in university residence halls are not charged additional tuition for the courses.
The Fall 2026 syllabus, obtained by Campus Reform, describes the course as examining “LGBTQIA+ student success” through residential, academic, and experiential learning.
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Comments
Chest binders cost $20. There is no need for a state college to provide them. This is nothing more than virtue signaling.
“free chest binders”
I wonder how these compare in performance against standard lab tubing for constructing cross-campus window-frame slingshots?
“The Fall 2026 syllabus, obtained by Campus Reform, describes the course as examining “LGBTQIA+ student success”
Nothing says success like begging someone else to buy underwear for you.