Gender diverse activewear project sparks international interest

The “overwhelmingly positive” response led to Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa Massey University PhD candidate Naduni receiving the award for best student presentation. The 12th International Conference on Arts and Humanities was held in Thailand and attended by students from more than 35 countries. Naduni attended with the support of a Massey University Conference grant.

Since April last year, Naduni has been based at Toi Rauwhārangi College of Creative Arts in Wellington working on her PhD research project which aims to reimagine fashion and activewear to better support gender diverse communities.

Naduni says she first became aware of the discrimination faced by transgender and gender diverse people through her undergraduate study and then work as a fashion lecturer in her home country, Sri Lanka.

“I saw how transgender people were discriminated against because of how they look or what they wear. I wanted to work out how to create an identity for them that helps them feel confident and empowered through the clothing they wear,” Naduni says.

Her research project at Massey is based on the participatory design methodology which involved carrying out in person workshops with 20 gender diverse people and research surveys completed by more than 70 people.

She says the unanimous feedback was that current available activewear designs are all based on binary gender and that ill-fitting clothing was a major obstacle for gender diverse people feeling free and comfortable to exercise in public. A previous survey of 2600 gender diverse people in New Zealand in 2022 indicated one third felt discriminated against because of who they are, 27 per cent avoid public spaces because of how they may be treated and 55 per cent avoid pools and gyms.

Naduni is partnering with Gender Minorities Aotearoa to research and then test her design ideas. She is part way through her design process and getting closer to her end goal to create a ‘flexible wardrobe ecology’ which makes gender diverse people feel confident and happy to step out and exercise.

Naduni’s PhD supervisor Professor Vicki Karaminas says the presentation award was a well-deserved achievement for a student who is bringing the community along on a very important journey with her, especially during times of heightened global discrimination.

“Naduni’s project is important in helping to give people self-determination and feel accepted and comfortable in their body,” Dr Karaminas says.