12 Lingerie Brands That Embrace Gender-Inclusivity, And Why That's So Important

In the fashion industry, no items of clothing are more gendered than lingerie. For the majority of the population, this is just fine. But it's not fine for trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming folks who want to wear undergarments that align with their gender, not their sex assigned at birth.

Though trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming people can easily purchase and wear any undergarments they want, as Abby Sugar, founder of Play Out Apparel told the New York Times, many find that the undergarments don't fit their bodies. As a transmasc non-binary person, I'm intimately familiar with this struggle. When I discovered that presenting more masculine than feminine felt really good for me, I decided that I wanted to start wearing boxers instead of panties. But all the boxers I found were baggy in all the wrong places, like around the fly pouch, and tight in all the wrong places, like around my butt and hips. Every time I put on a pair of "men's boxer briefs," the fit reminded me that my body doesn't align with my gender.

Trans women and trans femme non-binary folks face a different version of this struggle, especially pre-hormones and pre-surgery. The cute, lacy panties they want to wear don't fit the way they want or conceal their genitalia, and bras hang loose on their chests.

Luckily, there are lingerie brands out there dedicated to solving these problems for trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming folks by creating truly gender-inclusive undergarments.

Mere Abrams, the queer, non-binary co-founder of Urbody, who also happens to be a therapist, told CNBC, "The clothes that we put on our body actually have a big role in our self-esteem, our body image, our self-expression and our sense of identity and affirmation."

This quote is a perfect summary of the motivation behind Urbody. When Abrams came out as non-binary, they discovered that it was incredibly difficult to find undergarments that fit comfortably and made them feel like they were expressing their gender. So, they teamed up with a friend from college, Anna Graham, to create Urbody, a brand that seeks to make gender-affirming undergarments accessible to everyone while disrupting the extremely gendered fashion industry.

Like Origami Customs, Urbody creates garments for masc and femme folks. For masc presenting people, they sell chest binders, compression shorts, compression shirts, and briefs. For femme folks, they sell tucking underwear, thongs, gaffs, tucking leggings, tucking shorts, compression shorts, skorts, and bras. And Urbody's garments are definitely more affordable than those sold by some of the other gender-inclusive brands.

The only downside of Urbody's products is that they're only available up to a size XXL, which leaves out a lot of plus-size trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming people.

Fran Dunaway and her wife Naomi Gonzalez have always been tomboys, and they've always had trouble finding masculine clothing that fit their bodies. Dunaway told The Advocate that when she couldn't even find a button-up that fit her the way she wanted, she and Gonzalez decided to launch a clothing brand for tomboys like them.

TomboyX was born out of a Kickstarter campaign, and though the brand is now known for underwear rather than apparel, their first garments were actually fitted polo shorts and button-downs. But when Dunaway and Gonzales launched their first line of boxers for women, the couple discovered a massive demand for gender-neutral underwear that wasn't being met by the rest of the fashion industry. They also discovered that the gender-inclusive brands out there at the time weren't making clothes for plus-size people. So, they made a plan to expand into the undergarment market.

Today, TomboyX is one of the most well-known brands of gender-inclusive undergarments and apparel. Their undies and bras have been featured on the lesbian show of our time — The L Word: Generation Q. In addition to boxers made to fit women and vulva-owners, TomboyX sells boxer briefs, briefs, boyshorts, packing underwear, tucking underwear, and period underwear all in cuts that masc and femme folks love. The brand also has full lines of chest compression garments, gender-inclusive bras, and swimwear. And, of course, they still sell apparel as well, a callback to their original mission: a masc shirt that just looks good.

"It feels unbearable using a product that, not only isn't designed for you, but doesn't even have your needs thought about." This quote from trans designer Carmen Liu perfectly illustrates why gender-inclusive undergarments are so important. And, it explains why she launched her line of trans lingerie: CARMEN LIU. As a trans woman herself, Liu was intimately familiar with what it's like to wear undergarments that aren't made for your body, and how this can make people feel even worse about their bodies. So, she set out to make undergarments that made trans women feel as beautiful as they are.

Liu's lingerie line was the first in the UK to include underwear specifically designed for trans women's tucking and flattening needs. From there, she expanded into bras, bralettes, and thongs specifically designed to fit pre-hormone and pre-surgery trans women.

Liu's lingerie isn't just designed for function, though. They're truly pieces of art. When she was designing her line, she was acutely aware of the fact that there were barely any options for trans women who wanted lacy, pretty undergarments that made them feel sexy. So, Liu focused on creating the garments that would make her feel sexy.

The best part is that everything is totally affordable; nearly every one of Liu's gorgeous garments is under $40.

There are plenty of gaffs out there to help pre-op trans women tuck and conceal, but Gaff and Go's gaffs are designed for comfort, function, and aesthetics in a way that only a trans designer could achieve. Lady Robyn Electra, a Black trans woman living in the UK, co-created Gaff and Go to provide her sisters with fashionable gaffs that kept them looking amazing all day and all night, regardless of what they got up to. Gaff and Go's panties, thongs, and G-strings are all designed to fit trans women's hips, provide support so everything stays in place, and accentuate those bubble booties. The designs range from sporty chic to sleek and sexy.

Gaff and Go also designs and sells swimwear specifically for pre-op trans women. Their sexy one-pieces make sure they look just as good at the pool during the day as they do at the club at night.

In addition to creating lingerie for her community, Lady Robyn creates a community for her trans sisters with Gaff parties — club nights specifically for trans women — and lingerie donations that help trans women who are low on funds access gender-affirming lingerie.

Like Alexander, Staten Island mom Karyn Bello created her lingerie line for her trans daughter. Zhe, which is named for the common gender-neutral pronoun, was Bello's way of ensuring that her daughter could wear lingerie that made her feel beautiful and feminine.

Bello told local news outlet Staten Island Live that when her daughter came nearly a decade ago, there weren't really any lingerie options for trans girls like her. She explained that when trans girls and women wear panties designed for women, they often resort to harmful methods of tucking — like using duct tape and other non-skin-safe adhesives — to achieve a feminine silhouette. This puts them at risk for genital damage and infections. So, they need options that help them tuck and feel beautiful. Zhe's panties are specifically designed for tucking, with multiple layers of comfortable and supportive spandex in the front, but they're also designed to look like something you could buy at Victoria's Secret.

Right now, Zhe's line is still pretty small with just two panty and bra sets that can be purchased separately or together. But the small line is making a big impact with customers, who are calling the lingerie "super comfortable," "sexy," and "incredibly effective."

In March of 2023, honorary queer Lizzo announced that her shapewear brand Yitty would be launching a line of gender-affirming shapewear in the summer of 2023. The Your Skin line will include chest binders for masc folks and tucking underwear for femme folks. The marketing campaign included people of multiple genders wearing the products, highlighting the line's mission to help everyone feel comfortable in their skin. When the brand announced the line, they revealed that they'd been working on it for over two years and that creating gender-inclusive garments has always been part of Yitty's vision.

In an Instagram post, non-binary model Shaheem emphasized how important it is for a mainstream brand like Yitty to produce gender-affirming undergarments. Though there are plenty of well-known brands making gender-affirming garments, as we've highlighted here, Yitty is reaching an audience those brands usually don't, which helps normalize gender-inclusive undergarments.

Yitty gets an honorable mention for now because the line isn't out yet and trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming folks haven't had a chance to try out the garments yet. We have high hopes, though!