As an 11-year-old transgender, she struggled to find comfortable, tight-fitting bikini pants.
So, your father made them.
The bottom of the bikini incorporates compression spandex and mesh to provide a compact fit so that transsexual girls they can feel comfortable doing the same activities as their cisgender friends.
“The response has been incredible,” said Ruby. “I am very happy to see all the children who can return to enjoy the activities they love, such as swimming, dancing and gymnastics.”
A childhood transition
At age 3, Ruby loved her mother’s high heels and the drama of Disney princesses – her father’s interests, Jamie Alexander, called “gender creatives”.
“She would take a sheet and wrap it in her hair, and go up the stairs and throw the sheet up the stairs,” said Alexander. “That’s when ‘Tangled’ was released. She was always the princess.”
Ruby’s parents joined a group established 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 started the transition. Alexander told Ruby that she could, too, if she wanted to.
Ruby told CNN that she was excited about her father’s offer – and impatient.
“Every day, for a while, I said, ‘I want to be a girl, I want to be a girl,'” she said.
Soon after, Ruby came to her entire school.
Some students, she said, looked at her or asked questions about her anatomy. But many applauded and applauded.
“That saying where there is a weight and it comes off your shoulder … it looked like it was,” she said.
Limited bikini options for trans girls
Ruby was 11 when she told her father that she wanted to wear a bikini as her friends, said Alexander.
Her parents bought one for her and Ruby was happy with it. But Alexander said they feared he would get unwanted attention because of his improper fit.
When the family decided to take a trip abroad, they were nervous about Ruby’s safety. They didn’t know if she would be accepted there.
After returning from the trip, Alexander started to work. There were some brands of swimwear for trans kids, but none that Ruby was comfortable with.
“I bought everything I could,” he said. “I even had some things sewed … For Ruby, she didn’t like it. It didn’t look like a bikini.”
With experience in technology entrepreneurship, Alexander created a bikini that, according to him, looked and looked like one. While other bikinis that Ruby tried on looked bulky, he said, RUBIES bikinis are made with a stylish, modern fit in mind.
A global community
“Having a trans child spans geographies,” said Alexander. “Depending on where they are, they may not have the support we have.”
With the intention of reaching people all over the world, Alexander recently translated the RUBIES website into five other languages: German, Spanish, French, Portuguese and Chinese.
Alexander said that most people outside Canada find RUBIES through support groups on Facebook or by searching for “trans girl clothes” on the Internet.
He has shipped to countries like Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Spain and Italy so far.
It is not uncommon, he said, to hear people who seem “distressed” about their children’s gender identity. When that happens, he asks if they want to make a Zoom call.
“I’m always happy to do that,” he said. “To talk to people and share my knowledge.”
Ruby Range
Ruby, now 13, said she keeps busy writing postcards for those who buy bikini, also weighing designs, fabrics and colors for the products.
Alexander said the process has been exciting for her, as opportunities and products – such as a full bathing suit and panties – are being developed.
“My future hope is that trans children will not be judged,” said Ruby. “I want all girls, and all trans children, to just feel comfortable with their bodies.”