Glasgow transfem electrolysis project

WHAT ARE WE DOING?

We are fundraising to train and equip a transfem electrolysist in Glasgow!

We are gathering resources to help her get set up!

We’re putting on a gig and we have a gofundme!

WHAT? WHY?

Electrolysis is a kind of hair removal often done as part of a trans woman’s transition.

It hasn’t been offered (new referrals, afawk) by the NHS in Glasgow (and by extension most of Scotland (afawk)) for a few years now.

We’re trying to plug this gap and reduce barriers to access in the process. Barriers like;

Cost: Electrolysis is a luxury for almost everyone else, and it’s priced like it. But for a lot of trans women, it’s part of the fee to get to go out into society. We’re gearing the set-up towards this, with tiered pricing and less luxury brandings.

Mutual support: Receiving electrolysis from another trans woman can help lower the psychological barriers to access for many trans women - especially for intimate areas or where there are other medical conditions.

WHO ARE WE?

We are a group of trans women, friends who used to meet for a discussion group, and occasionally do projects together. We are joined by our friend, sister, and electrolysist-to-be. We're super psyched to be getting her a decent, stable job. More about us soon!

IS THIS A NEW IDEA?

No - it’s been done before! Manchester has done the same - Siobhan, friends, and activists in Manchester fundraised to set up Siobhan with equipment and training in 2017. She’s been working on a tiered pricing model and says clients often really appreciate receiving electrolysis from another trans woman. She’s been really helpful to us and if you need electrolysis in Greater Manchester, check her out! https://www.electrolysisbysiobhan.co.uk/meet-siobhan

HOW CAN I HELP?

Donate

Share our profile, gofundme

Let us know if you know about cheap studio premises

Let your friends know

No really, nudge your middle-class mates x

WHAT WILL MY DONATIONS GO TO?

This is an amount of money trans people routinely fundraise for personal transition-related healthcare. It would be sad if we failed to raise that for a trans project because it was doing something new. With that in mind, we want to be open with you about what things cost and where the money is going. Here are some guide figures to help:

Around £1300 will go to training. Training centres are around the country, with one in Edinburgh. There’s a little lea-way in this number to go down, but we expect to spend around this figure. This figure includes one anatomy qualification (a prerequisite) and one recognised electrolysis qualification. This number will increase if we end up training two part-timers rather than one mostly-full-timer, but if that happens the other numbers will not increase, or increase only a little.

Around £1100 will go to the machine. Electrolysis machines generally cost around £900 to £1500. The electrolysist will decide on a model to fit her work and clientele after training.

Around £2050 will go to other things. This includes licencing the premises with the council, getting needles and furniture and to set-up the premises, rent for the premises while we help her get set up, travel and support for the week spent in training, expenses incurred in fundraising (printing, venues), and so on.

Anything left over will go to supporting the electrolysist in getting set up, getting a fundraiser set up in another city, or to a pay-it-forward scheme for electrolysis sessions in Glasgow.

More info and photos forthcoming!

Rabbit unrelated