Canada Dad launches swimwear line for trans girls

It was two years ago. And since then RUBIES – the clothing brand created by the father-daughter duo from Toronto – has shipped over 500 pairs to transgender girls around the world.
Bikini bottoms incorporate compression spandex and mesh to provide a compact fit, so transgender girls may feel comfortable doing the same activities as their cisgender friends.

A childhood transition

At 3, Ruby loved her mother’s high heels and the Disney princess drama – interests her father, Jamie Alexander, referred to as “gender-creative”.

“She would take a bed sheet and wrap it around her hair, and go up the stairs and throw the sheet down the stairs,” Alexander said. “That’s when ‘Tangled’ came out. She’s always been the princess.”

Ruby’s parents had joined a group created by the Toronto public school system for parents of creative gender children.

When Ruby was 8, Alexander said, some of the children in the group had started the transition. Alexander told Ruby that she could too, if she wanted to.

Ruby told CNN she was excited about her father’s offer – and impatient.

“Every day for a while, I was just like, ‘I wanna be a girl, I wanna be a girl,'” she says.

Soon after, Ruby came throughout her school.

Some students, she said, were staring at her or asking her about her anatomy. But many applauded and applauded.

“That saying where there’s a weight and it comes off your shoulder… it was like that,” she said.

Limited bikini options for trans girls

Ruby was 11 when she told her dad she wanted to wear a bikini like her friends, Alexander said.

Her parents bought her one, and Ruby was happy with it. But Alexander said they feared it would attract unwanted attention due to his poor fit.

When the family decided to take a trip overseas, they felt worried for Ruby’s safety. They didn’t know if she would be accepted there.

After returning from the trip, Alexander got to work. There were a few brands of swimwear for trans kids, but none that Ruby felt comfortable in.

“I bought everything I could,” he says. “I even had some things sewn … To Ruby, she didn’t like it. It didn’t look like a bikini.”

With a background in tech entrepreneurship, Alexander created a bikini that he said looked and looked like one. While the other bikinis Ruby tried on felt voluminous, he said, the RUBIES bikini bottoms are designed with a sleek, stylish fit.

A global community

“Having a trans child spans multiple geographies,” Alexander said. “Depending on where they are, they might not have the supports we have.”

Keen to reach people around the world, Alexander recently translated the RUBIES website into five other languages: German, Spanish, French, Portuguese and Chinese.

Alexander said most people outside of Canada find RUBIES through Facebook support groups or by searching for “clothes for trans girls” on the Internet.

It has shipped to countries like Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Spain, and Italy so far.

It is not uncommon, he said, to hear from people who seem “in distress” about their gender identity or that of their children. When that happens he asks if they want to have a Zoom call.

“I’m always happy to do this,” he said. “To talk to people and share my knowledge.”

Ruby’s reach

Ruby, now 13, said she continues to write postcards to those who order a bikini, weighing in on the designs, fabric and colors of the products as well.

Alexander said the process was exciting for her as opportunities arise and products – like a one-piece swimsuit and underwear – are under development.

“My future hope is that transgender children will not be judged,” Ruby said. “I want all transgender girls and children to feel comfortable in their bodies.”