SALON

Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 8:07 PM UTC

Frat bros for trans rights!

A Boston fraternity is raising money for a brother's top surgery -- and showing a radically new side of Greek life VIDEO

By

Topics: Video, Transgender, transgender rights, LGBT Rights, lgbtq rights, frat culture, ,

Frat bros for trans rights! (Credit: YouTube)

Brothers at the Emerson College chapter of Phi Alpha Tau, the nation’s oldest professional communicative arts fraternity, have started a campaign to help finance female-to-male top surgery for one of their transgender brothers.

I know. I know. I know.

Anyone who has watched “Animal House” (or even casually scanned Katie J.M. Baker’s reporting on Greek life over at Jezebel) knows that “trans-inclusive” and “frat culture” aren’t concepts generally uttered in the same sentence. And yet, here we are. Or rather, here they are, the brothers of Phi Alpha Tau, working to not only raise money for Visual & Media Arts sophomore Donnie Collins’ top surgery, but building a personal, relatable campaign to raise awareness about transgender rights and the many health insurance-induced hurdles to accessing hormone therapy and surgery.

As reported by Out:

Collins now has a college health insurance policy through Emerson, a policy, like so many others, that is trans-exclusionary. It is common practice for insurance companies to deem female-to-male breast augmentation — or top surgery — as a cosmetic plastic surgery rather than a necessity. So Collins has been raising money for the procedure for months, but it seemed that one door after another would close in his face. His petition for a trans-inclusive policy was recently denied by the college’s insurance plan, and his personal Chipin fund will cease when the crowd-funding site shuts down next month.

In a time when his options were running out, Collins’ brothers in Phi Alpha Tau have rallied together to cover some of the surgery’s cost… The brothers’ fund has already surpassed the $2,000 they initially hoped to donate, but now they’re looking to cover even more of the procedure’s $8,100 cost.

In one of the fundraising videos, one of Collins’  fraternity brothers explains that — in addition to raising the money — they also hope to paint a picture of transgender campus life:

“It’s a very different sort of campaign we’re trying to run here. We’re looking to tell a story, more so than raise money. We’d much rather have 100 people donate $10 than 10 people donate $100… So please make noise around the world. Have conversations with your family and friends. Sit down and talk about issues like this, then give them an opportunity to donate if they can.”

The campaign materials are smart and bursting with college dude energy. It is a completely unexpected, but welcome, way to explore the unique experiences and challenges of being trans and young while navigating a daunting and sometimes hostile health care — and college community — landscape.

Collins is understandably overwhelmed by his brother’s support:

“I kind of don’t know what to do with all the love in the room right now. I really don’t,” he said in his own video.

He’s also eager to pay it all forward. Collins, inspired by his brother’s generosity, has extended his hand to other trans youth who might need support as well.

Bros at Duke University’s Kappa Sigma, please take note.

Katie McDonough is an assistant editor for Salon, focusing on lifestyle. Follow her on Twitter @kmcdonovgh or email her at kmcdonough@salon.com. More Katie Mcdonough.

Next Article

Related Stories

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

The week in 10 pics

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • Lisa Montgomery embraces her nephew Thursday after a tornado tore apart her home in Cleburne, Texas. The twister killed six people and destroyed entire swaths of the North Texas town.
    Credit: AP/LM Otero

  • Jack McMahon, the defense attorney for abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, speaks outside the Criminal Justice Center in Philadelphia Tuesday. His client was convicted of killing three babies in his clinic, and will serve multiple life sentences.
    Credit: AP/Matt Rourke

  • A photo taken Monday captures Vice President Joe Biden's response to a Milwaukee second-grader's innovative proposal to end America's epidemic of gun violence. This guy!
    Credit: AP/Jenny Aicher

  • Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., flanked by a grouper-eyed Michele Bachmann, addresses the IRS' admission that it targeted Tea Party groups in advance of the 2012 election. In an op-ed for CNN Thursday, the Kentucky senator slammed the president for his faux outrage.
    Credit: AP/Molly Riley

  • Ousted IRS chief Steven Miller is sworn in on Capitol Hill Friday. Miller testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on the extra scrutiny the agency gave conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status.
    Credit: AP/J. Scott Applewhite

  • Attorney General Eric Holder pauses as he testifies on Capitol Hill before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday. Holder is under fire, among other things, for the Justice Department's gathering of phone records at the Associated Press.
    Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster

  • O.J. Simpson sits during an evidentiary hearing at Clark County District Court in Las Vegas, Nev., Thursday. Simpson, who is currently serving a nine-to-33-year sentence in state prison for armed robbery and kidnapping, is using a writ of habeas corpus to seek a new trial.
    Credit: AP/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Jeff Scheid

  • Major Tom to ground control: On Sunday astronaut Chris Hadfield recorded the first music video from space, a cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity."
    Credit: AP/NASA/Chris Hadfield

  • When it rains it pours. President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference Thursday with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, inexplicably inspiring an #umbrellagate Twitter meme.
    Credit: AP/Jacquelyn Martin

  • A smoke plume rises high above a road block at the intersection of County A and Ross Road east of Solon Springs, Wis., Tuesday. No injuries were reported, but the the wildfire caused evacuations across northwestern Wisconsin.
    Credit: AP/The Duluth News-Tribune/Clint Austin

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

Comments

 5 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: Chekhov's story mirrors Russia's own

Recommendations