"You are safe, you are seen, and you are celebrated," reads the the motto of The Soul Collective salon in Columbia, Missouri.
And on a rainy day in early June, the salon held a pay-what-you-can event where they offered gender-affirming haircuts and facial waxing, as well as the opportunity to get a gender-affirming portrait taken by a local photographer.
"Our hair is kind of like the frame of our photo, right? Our face is how we present to the world, and that's the mask that we wear every day," said Soul Collective Co-owner Colissa Nole. "I think, truly, in the beauty industry, hair can shape what that person presents as or shows up as, and as long as it is the most authentic to them – that's why we do this."
The event was also a fundraiser for the Center Project, a local LGBTQ+ organization that serves mid-Missouri.
Megan Fudge, the salon's other co-owner, said the goal of the event – and the salon – is to give people a space where they can be themselves and safely experiment with how they want to present themselves to the world.
"It's a lot about just meeting people where they are, and that's whether you are starting your journey of finding yourself, or you're really far deep into it and you really know who you are," Fudge said. "I think it's very important for people to have a place that they feel safe, and while a lot of people have that as their home, there are a lot of people that don't have that as their home, so they have to find it elsewhere."
Since 2023, Missouri has had a ban on medical gender-affirming healthcare, such as hormone therapy, surgeries and puberty blockers for minors, as well as adults on Medicaid or who are incarcerated.
"What that really looks like is prohibiting life-saving, evidence-based medical care for some of the most marginalized people in our communities," said Katie Erker-Lynch, the executive director at PROMO, a statewide LGBTQ+ advocacy organization in Missouri.
They said research shows that a supportive, accepting community saves lives, which is why non-medical forms of gender affirmation, such as haircuts, clothing choices, makeup or facial hair are important when medical care is inaccessible.
Dr. Jenna Brownfield, a psychologist who serves Minnesota's queer community, said transgender people are more than just the medical care they receive, and similarly – affirmation can come from places other than a medical office.
"It allows someone to still find choice, especially when their choices are being restricted," Brownfield said. "So, in the face of oppression, in the face of trauma, where do you still have agency? Where do you still get to be empowered to make choices for yourself that feel good for you?"
According to the 2024 National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People from the Trevor Project, transgender and non-binary youth that had access to gender-affirming clothing had lower rates of suicide attempts than those that didn't.
Brownfield said it's also important to remember that each transgender and non-binary person's experience is unique, and not everyone wants to undergo medical transition or surgeries.
But, she added, for those who do, there are many barriers – even in states that don't legislatively restrict access.
"There's still lots of trans folks that aren't able to access [gender-affirming care] because of the coverage on their insurance is very burdensome financially to them, still, the access to a healthcare provider is a very, very lengthy wait, or just not close enough geographically to where they are in the state," Brownfield said. "And so access can mean many things, legality being one facet."
'To be trans is not a cheap journey'
Merrique Jenson is the president and founder of Transformations KC, an organization run by and for trans women of color that serves Missouri, Kansas and northwest Arkansas.
"Trans women of color, specifically, are the pioneers of gender-affirming care," Jenson said. "Gender-affirming care existed long before a cis white man or a doctor decided that they were going to start caring about us. It existed back in the 60s and the 70s and the 80s."
She said the 2023 ban on medical gender-affirming care for adults on Medicaid or who are incarcerated didn't really change much for trans women in Missouri.
Even if the care was technically available, it was inaccessible. Women struggled to find safe medical environments, doctors who would treat them and to cover the costs of the care.
"Missouri's gender affirming care is pretty behind, and it is not where the national standard is," Jenson said. "So, before people started going after gender-affirming care, most trans folks were not on care. They were not getting decent or adequate care."
Jenson said many trans people were already relying on non-medical forms of gender-affirming care before the ban – especially the "dolls."
"Dolls" is a colloquial nickname for trans women, and especially transgender women of color, who adhere to more traditional feminine beauty standards and often undergo surgery and other interventions to achieve the look.
Jenson stressed that this is not a cheap process. For example, the average cost of laser hair removal is $697, according to the latest statistics from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
"It's a journey that requires a lot of money and a lot of investment in oneself," Jenson said.
But, she added, it's not just an issue of vanity, but safety, as trans women of color are much more likely to be victims of violence.
“To be trans, in and of itself, means there is a deep level of self-assessment, of the ability to really look internal and decide, 'I'm going to go on this journey in the wake of potentially losing family, losing loved ones, losing my partners, losing my church, losing my community, losing my life, and I'm still choosing my own happiness through that.'"
According to the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, since January 2013, 372 transgender and gender-expansive people have been killed. And 84% of those were trans women of color.
"It's about safety," Jenson said. "It's about being able to go in and out of Target and go in and out of Walmart in Rolla and not have somebody you know say, 'That's a man.' Be able to go buy your stuff and go home with your potato salad."
So, this year, Transformations KC has awarded a series of $1,750 micro-grants to trans women throughout the region.
"We're literally creating a day with them where we get together and we have like a sisterhood, space and conversation, and they get their awards, and we take them shopping, and we talk to them about their gender affirming care plan," Jenson said.
The money can be used for everything from groceries and plastic surgery to makeup and hygiene products.
Jenson said while it's important to put money directly in the hands of trans women of color, the money is just a complement to another important form of gender-affirming care: mentorship and connection.
"I think the best thing that young people can do is find an older trans mentor because who better to learn from than your aunties and your sisters and your godmothers in the movement, who also look amazing," Jenson said. "They're the ones who are going to be like, 'Hey, baby, come here. Let me take you under my wing.'"
Missouri's ban on puberty blockers and hormone therapies for youth is set to expire in August 2027 unless reauthorized by state lawmakers.
For the audio transcript, click here.
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