Trans-owned company overcomes social media obstacles

In Oklahoma, for example, a Republican lawmaker filed legislation seeking to prevent anyone under the age of 26 from accessing gender-affirming care – deeming it the “Millstone Act of 2023.” What’s more, doctors who break the law could be punished with an unclassified felony conviction and the possible revocation of their medical license.

“The bills targeting trans adults represent a significant escalation in the ongoing legislative attacks on the trans community,” Erin Reed, a legislative researcher and trans activist, told the Blade. “These bills serve to shift the Overton window in order to make passing bans on trans youth more palatable. They also indicate a willingness by these legislators to move towards a future where our right to exist is denied and those who care for us, criminalized.”

As the push to strip gender-affirming care from trans people grows, the products Transguy Supply offers become more important. “I think any sort of service that’s dedicated to creating access for goods or services or space or fostering a community for trans people is essential for our survival,” Kayiatos said. “And I think that we’re always going to be a community that takes care of ourselves because we’ve been discarded by the world at large.”

As the business continues to grow, it has found itself “bootstrapped,” Kayiatos said – running into advertising problems on Meta-owned Facebook and Instagram and Alphabet Inc.owned Google.

Rose said that Facebook “regularly rejects” Transguy Supply’s products for “Advertising Policy violations.” Screenshots shared with the Blade showed a gray crew neck sweatshirt with “SIR” in black letters being removed for an “Advertising Policy violation.” In addition, a black and white T-shirt with an illustrated image of two people in jockstraps also couldn’t be used for ads.

Instagram, Rose said, has also removed photos that were “quite PG.” They added that the platform rejects tagged products – a feature that allows brands to tag products in an image to make it easier for users to find additional information – so much so that they “had to turn off notifications because it was distracting.”

“We don’t tag prosthetics, and we rarely post them, so the products they are un-tagging are apparel, binders, and underwear,” Rose said.

Meta didn’t comment on Transguy Supply specifically. However, a spokesperson provided the Blade with background on its policies in an email. “We have long had a policy that limits ads with adult content, like nudity, and adult products, like sex toys, in part because we take into account the wide array of people from varying cultures and countries who see them,” they said.

The spokesperson also outlined the platform’s efforts to protect LGBTQ people, something the company has come under fire for in the past.

“While our policies are not changing, we have improved our enforcement and provided more detail to advertisers under our Adult Products and Services policy,” the spokesperson said, adding: “Over the last year – with feedback from advocacy groups including GLAAD – we removed Interest topics that people may perceive as sensitive, including those related to sexual orientation and gender identities other than cisgender.”

The spokesperson also pointed the Blade to Facebook’s recently published LGBTQ Safety Page in the Facebook Safety Center. In it, the company states that it wants the platform to be “a place where LGBTQ+ people can share their voices, build community, and bring the world closer together.”

On Tuesday, Meta’s Oversight Board urged the company to update its policies on adult nudity to prevent enforcement errors for trans and nonbinary people. The independent governing body overturned Meta’s decision to remove two bare-chested Instagram photos – with nipples covered – of a trans couple posting about gender-affirming healthcare.

“The board finds that Meta’s policies on adult nudity result in greater barriers to expression for women, trans, and gender nonbinary people on its platforms,” a board blog post read. “They have a severe impact in contexts where women may traditionally go bare chested, and people who identify as LGBTQI+ can be disproportionately affected, as these cases show. Meta’s automated systems identified the content multiple times, despite it not violating Meta’s policies.”

Rose also accused Google Ads of suspending their Transguy Supply, though they have “no idea why.” “No one from Google will speak to you once your account is suspended,” they said.

Rose estimated the original Google suspension came in 2018, with their appeal coming shortly after. “I took to the internet to see if I could figure out what to do,” Rose said. “I remember reading somewhere that this often happens to companies that use foreign banks, but that couldn’t be us because Transguy Supply banks with Chase.”

Rose’s best guess for the suspension was because their Google account name, which was under Scout, was different from the name on their credit card – their deadname.

Though Rose “triple-checked” their bank details, ensuring all information was accurate, and changed their Google account name to match the name on their credit card, the appeal was denied.

“When researching, I also read that repeat suspensions can result in permanent suspension, so I decided not to appeal again,” Rose said, adding: “Without the ability to use Google Ads, I was forced to figure out other means of getting eyes on our business.”

Google did not provide a statement before publication.

“Platforms make it difficult for trans-focused businesses to reach our customers at almost every turn,” Rose said. “Google wouldn’t let me advertise at all. Instagram routinely untags our products. And Facebook’s bots randomly reject products as benign as T-shirts from their ad program.”

Kayiatos, who was previously the chief marketing and content officer at FOLX Health – an LGBTQ-focused healthcare platform – said he has faced similar problems in the past. But he also had an “enormous budget” at the time.

“We didn’t face the same barriers that a small business faces when it’s serving LGBTQ-focused needs and services,”

Kayiatos said.

Still, Transguy Supply is marching forward. Late last year, Rose added Kayiatos – who has been a transmasc culture creator for over 20 years – to the team, something they saw as a big step forward. In addition to Kayiatos’ previous role at FOLX, he created a magazine about trans masc culture called Original Plumbing and worked for tech giants including BuzzFeed and Grindr.

Rose and Kayiatos had known each other for a few years, but they started to get closer over the pandemic. “I actually can’t even remember why, but we would have these long phone conversations,” Rose said. “It was just so clear that I was speaking to a kindred spirit, someone whose brain was really similar to mine, and someone who is just incredibly easy to trust.”

Rose added: “I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say there is no other person in the United States who is and who in the last 20 years has created more opportunities for trans masculine people to connect with one another than Rocco [Kayiatos].”

“I’m gonna figure out how to get Rocco on board,” Rose thought to themself. “This is a match made in heaven.”

Kayiatos obliged. “Why not come back and do it with a bootstrapped community that I belong to, that I love, that I feel tethered to for the rest of my life?” he said. “This community needs resources.”

Kayiatos also praised the way Rose built the business. “I get to work with someone who doesn’t need more than he needs to build this company in this way that’s so counter to business right now, that is so central to the core of how I’ve lived my life,” he said, adding: “I don’t need to compromise my morals in any way, shape or form to show up and work for Transguy Supply.

With Kayiatos on board, the company is now heading full steam into the future.

“We already are the world’s largest one-stop shop for transmasculine, trans men and nonbinary folks when it comes to transmission-related needs,” Rose said. But to them, the potential of TransGuy Supply is endless. “We want to be a community hub, we want to be an informational hub, we want Transguy Supply to be a home for trans masculine, trans men and nonbinary folks,” Rose said.

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