A resurfaced video of a California county meeting has sparked discussion about gender-affirming resources available to young people. In the clip, public speaker Beth Bourne questioned the provision of free breast binders and tucking kits to minors. She raised the issue during a Yolo County Board of Supervisors meeting, questioning whether publicly funded programmes should provide such garments to children.
The items are linked to Elevate Queer Yolo (EQY), a programme serving LGBTQ+ young people in Yolo County. According to its provider, CommuniCare+OLE, the programme is available to people aged 12 to 26 and offers a range of support services, including peer counselling, community resources and trans wellness items.
Free Gender-Affirming Items Questioned
During the meeting, Bourne brought a breast binder with her and demonstrated what it looks like when worn. She said children aged 12 and above could receive one through the county-linked programme.
'A 12-year-old girl can get a free breast binder through CommuniCare... to flatten her breasts so she can pretend to be a trans boy,' Bourne said.
Bourne also raised the availability of penis-tucking kits. She said they were offered to boys aged 12 and over 'so they can take their penis and tuck it into their groin to give the appearance of being something other than a male.'
She went on and asked: 'Why would you want to lie to children? Why would you want taxpayer funds going to these kinds of garments for our children?'
Bourne ended her remarks by urging county officials to 'have some courage' and speak out against the programme.
What Is Elevate Queer Yolo?
Elevate Queer Yolo is a free programme for LGBTQ+ people aged 12 to 26 who live in Yolo County. It is operated by CommuniCare+OLE and is designed to connect young people with support and community resources.
Its services cover considerably more than gender-related clothing. The programme lists one-to-one peer counselling, LGBTQ+ social groups, help with legal name and gender-marker changes, and assistance navigating resources for areas such as housing, food, employment and health insurance.
The programme also lists trans wellness items among the resources available. These include clothing, breast binders and tucking kits.
CommuniCare+OLE says the programme is funded by a grant from the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), managed through Elevate Youth California (EYC). DHCS describes EYC as a youth substance-use prevention programme, but its publicly available programme materials do not specify whether individual items such as binders or tucking kits are paid for with EYC grant funds.
The Wider Gender-Affirming Care Debate
The dispute in Yolo County comes as the US remains deeply divided over gender-affirming care and other forms of support for transgender minors.
Chest binding is a documented practice among transgender and gender-diverse adolescents. Research published in 2024 found that chest binding was common among transgender and gender-diverse adolescents assigned female at birth who took part in the study.
At the same time, laws and policies surrounding medical treatment for transgender minors have increasingly varied between states. In 2025, the US Supreme Court upheld Tennessee's restrictions on certain treatments for transgender minors in United States v Skrmetti.
The discussion has also reached federal healthcare funding. The Department of Health and Human Services announced in August that federal Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) funding would no longer cover specified procedures for minors described by the agency as 'sex-rejecting procedures.'
Against that backdrop, the Yolo County meeting highlights a separate but related question. What kinds of non-medical resources should publicly funded programmes make available to LGBTQ+ young people, and at what age?
