Charlie Poulson has began selling homemade bracelets this month to raise money for chest reconstruction surgery.

Poulson identifies as transgender and has been on testosterone for nine and a half months. He legally changed his name in March and has been documenting his experience on his Youtube channel, SirMasterCharlie.

“I started taking testosterone on Dec. 22, 2010,” Poulson said. “When I started testosterone my shoulders started to get much more broad. I started growing massively so my shirts were not fitting anymore.”

Poulson, junior in graphic design, is working to make bracelets out of shirts he has outgrown and is asking for a minimum of a $3 donation per bracelet.

“I was going to donate the shirts but my friend Alison Gamm suggested that we make bracelets to help fund my surgery, which [costs] $5,900,” he said.

Every day for the past five years Poulson has been wearing a binder to conceal his chest.

“It’s similar to a compression shirt and it flattens my chest down,” Poulson said. “I’ve had to wear it every day resulting in my rib cage compressing down and I have scars on my shoulders and sides from the binder.”

Some of the difficult things for Poulson that comes with binding are things that most people could overlook.

“Whenever I get dressed in the morning I always really evaluate what I’m wearing so I know I can pass as a male,” Poulson said.

There are many reasons why the surgery has become necessary and binding is no longer an option for Poulson.

“It puts me in socially awkward and potentially dangerous positions,” Poulson said. “It’s hard to breathe and it makes you realize how many little things a biological male would take for granted.”

However, issues that transgender students have to deal with vary depending on the individual.

“It’s just things that people don’t generally think about,” said Brad Freihoefer, director of the LGBT student services. “Doing a name change on campus or going through a physical transition. Those are really important because if you are embodying a name, but no one else has recognized it, that becomes really challenging.”

The bracelets are availabe at the Margaret Sloss Women Center. Those looking to make a donation can ask a staff member there to get a bracelet.