binding-help

[binding-help]

Hey. Large chest people that want it to be smaller and flatter. I have a tip for you.

I am a trans man. I have an h cup chest. That is not a typo, not a brag, and not an invitation to sexually harass me. This means I have about 4 pounds of breast. This means that binders do not work for me. There’s not enough structure in the compression to keep that much weight in place.

I wore a sports bra under my binder, for a time- it kept things in place, and the binder flattened. This isn’t really safe and I recommend against it. It also never actually got me looking masc- I tended to look like I had between a c or b cup. TransTape I discarded too- it’s just not sturdy enough.

Enter Enell. Specifically, the Enell Sport High Impact Bra.

I want you to look at the construction of that sports bra. It clasps in the front. This flattens the chest. And since it’s a sports bra designed for busty people, it LOCKS everything in place. When I wear my Enell sports bra, I do not bounce. It also gets me looking like I have an a cup at worst- and at best, when I layer, I actually look masc.

Admittedly, they’re not cheap. That one’s 66$. But I’ve tried even custom binders, and they don’t work as well as Enell. I was actually contemplating a custom built corset before I found Enell. Enell is also much, much safer than layering compression, since it is being used as intended (sort of). As a bonus, you can actually exercise in it- it’s a sports bra!

I will note that they use their own sizing system, so you will have to measure yourself.

Happy binding!

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Does any of the mods (or followers) have any experience with the polish company binderme? it's the only place i can find that actually ships binders from within the EU

We've got Iguana! Polish company. Actually mom of a trans guy, a professional seamstress, started making binders a couple of years ago and now there are a couple of designs to choose from. It's generally recommended.

About binderme... They used to steal photos from Iguana and post them as their own, claiming they have permission to do so, while just reselling Iguana binders. Now they have a new collection that looks suspiciously similar to gc2b binders.

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Want to help a queer business? Consider checking out my shop!

https://thediamondd20.carrd.co

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My first publishing credit in The New Yorker!  instagram / patreon / portfolio / etsy / my book

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God okay so I’m going to say this now; PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not risk your health or anyone’s in the form of getting a “cheap” binder of ebay or where ever. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE save your $4-$10 dollars for those cheap ebay ones and put it towards a gc2b binder. Or if you want an Underworks go for that but I highly suggest gc2b. They’re about $40 (with shipping) and will last you WAY longer than any cheap ebay one. They are MEANT for lasting you. I wash mine many times week, wear it daily, Wear them daily. I have two. Had them for almost a year now. But I cannot urge you enough to PLEASE save up your pennies for a PROPER SAFE binder. Binders you can breathe in, binders you can move in, binders that don’t crush your ribs, binders that are comfortable, binders that are safe.

This isn’t a safe binder:

It uses clasps and not compression.

This is a c2b binder; made by trans people for trans people:

These binders have no clasps but uses spandex to compress you safety. 

Measure your chest before ordering to make sure you don’t get one too small or too large.

UPDATE (06/12)

I wanted to add more information on where you can buy binders and info in general about binders

You can buy binders from these sites

@gc2b-apparel​ (OPs #1 Recommendation)

@shapeshiftersinc​

http://www.f2mbinders.com/ (AKA underworks)

http://www.t-kingdom.com/

http://www.lesloveboat.com/shop/index.php?language=en

http://www.danae.info/en/?___from_store=nl

http://showcase.designveronique.com/designveronique/shop/postsurgical/men-1.html

http://en.nabeshirt.com/shop/

Used Binders

If you can’t afford a binder, don’t despair! Used binders are often passed on by post-op trans men or those whose binders may no longer fit. There are a few programs available that help distribute donated second-hand binders:

In A Bind – Started in 2012, to date In a Bind has provided safe compression garments to over 1500 youth in need. Trans* masculine and genderqueer youth living anywhere in the USA can apply to receive a free binder. In a Bind depends on donations. Recently had top surgery? Go up or down a size? Find a style that works better for you? Donate those binders you’re no longer using!

Black Trans Advocacy FTM Binder Grant

MORF Binder Exchange – Since February 2011, MORF has been providing free binders to trans* masculine people in the UK and around the world. The free scheme (all you pay is the postage) has so far redistributed hundreds of binders. In 2014 alone, over 280 binders were sent out.

FTME Free Youth Binder Program – Age 24 and under only; USA only.

Replace the Ace – USA only

Big Brothers Used Binder Program – Donation required

Mazzoni Center’s Binder Recycling Program – Only for youth enrolled in P.A.C.T.S., Philadelphia.

Point 5cc Tshirt Company – Free binder with purchase of t-shirt

Come As You Are’s Binder Bucks Recycling Program – Canada only

Qmunity Binder Exchange – BC, Canada only.

Trans Fellas

Northern Ireland Binder Scheme –  Age 25 and under, N. Ireland only.

You can also try asking around for an inexpensive hand-me-down binder on one of themailing lists for trans guys or check out LiveJournal’s FTM Garage Sale and the FtM Sales, Swap, and Support group on Facebook.

How to Choose a Chest Binder

If you still remember your old bra size, you can find out your binder size by using theBra to Chest Size Converter Tool. If you don’t know your old bra size, you can measure yourself the old-fashioned way:

Take a snug measurement of the fullest part of your chest using a tape measure (best if measured while clothed) and write that number down onto a sheet of paper.

Measure underneath your chest where the crease is and write that number down as well.

Add those numbers together and divide the sum by 2. This number will differentiate your size not only from brand to brand but from binder to binder as well.

Selecting a binder brand and style can be difficult: there are so many options that it can be overwhelming! Plus, there aren’t very many reviews of binders other than those about Underworks’ and T-Kingdom’s more popular models. After buying your binder, help make the experience easier for guys in the future by contributing your review to one of the review sites listed below.

Essentially, there are two types of binders: short ones and long ones. The short ones end right at your waist. The down side of these is that if you carry some extra weight, short binders tend to roll up and act more like a bra. The long ones can be pulled down past your waist by several inches, however it’s inevitable that it will still roll up. To reduce the chances of this, wear a belt. Choosing between a short and long binder has more to do with your body type, specifically your abdomen, and not your chest size.

Lastly, consider the location of the company you’re buying from. Buying from a company that’s closer to you can save you a significant amount of money on shipping costs.

How to Put On a Chest Binder

It might seem silly, but you’re probably going to need some help figuring out how to put on your new binder, particularly if you purchased one of the longer styles.

Put your binder inside out and upside down.

Step into your binder and pull the bottom of it up, ideally to your belt line. The binder should still be inside out and upside down.

Use the sleeves as handles to pull the top of the binder (the end closer to your feet) up to your shoulders.

Put your arms through the sleeve holes and adjust your chest to your needs. You may need to pull the bottom of the binder out from underneath itself if you don’t want it folded under. For others, leaving it folded under may help stop the binder from rolling up.

Don’t be disappointed if you look in the mirror and it looks like you have one big boob in the middle of your chest. You just need to adjust your chest. Reach in from the neck hole and push your chesticles down and out. You’re basically pushing your nipple toward your armpit to achieve the flattest looking chest possible.

FTM Chest Binding Tips

Very important: When binding, you should not by any means feel as though you can’t breathe or like you’re going to pass out from a lack of oxygen.

Binders aren’t the most comfortable things in the world. To make binding more comfortable, and to reduce the possibility of the binder moving around a bit, some guys wear a light shirt underneath.

Depending on the size of your chest, you may need to layer clothing on top of the binder to get optimal chest flattening. You’ll find that some of the shirts in your closet require you to layer more than shirts in your wardrobe.

You can swim in your binder. Just wear a sleeveless or sleeved T-shirt over it. Don’t worry if your binder seems less effective after a swim, this isn’t permanent. Simply wash it and it will go back to normal.

Your chest will look bigger than it really is when you look down at it. Check in the mirror for a more accurate side view.

Not all binders breathe well, and the reality is that you’re probably going to get hot. If you’ve already started testosterone, you’re definitely going to sweat. The build up of sweat can irritate your skin causing rashes and sores. Wearing a thin cotton shirt that breathes well underneath your binder may help prevent this. If you find this uncomfortable, try applying corn starch to your body before putting on your binder to help keep it from holding in moisture. If you’ve already experienced skin irritation of some sort, take care of it the same way you would an open wound. Washing the irritated area with anti-bacterial soap will keep it clean and help it heal faster.

Conclusion

Chest binding, as cumbersome as it may seem, can be very freeing for transgender men. There’s a plethora of quality FTM chest binding products available for body types of all shapes and sizes. Regardless of what you use for binding, please remember to put your health first. Now that you’re armed with all the information you need to find the right binder for you, go forth and feel more comfortable in your skin!

FTM Chest Binder Reviews

Chest Binder Reviews Site: Written reviews of various chest binding products. Binders are rated for effectiveness, comfort, and discreetness.

Binder Reviews’ YouTube Collab Channel: This is a collab channel dedicated to providing reviews of a wide variety of chest binders on different sizes and shapes of people.

(Note: These sites are no longer updated.)

More FTM Chest Binding Resources

Binding Safely for Your Body: Tips for All Body Types and Sizes

The 6 Best Tips for Binding in the Summer

Hudson’s Guide to FTM Binding: Includes a complete list of other products you can use for chest binding, such as compression garments and sports bras.

FYI Binding Tips: The Butchelor has some useful tips on how to put on a binder, how to keep it from rolling up, and how to wash a binder.

Do you have any tips about binding? Want to share your experience with a particular binder brand or model? Do you know of other binder manufacturers, particularly those outside of Asia and the US? Please leave your comments below.

Last updated: 05/20/16 (x)

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Reminder to male-at-birth genderfluid people:

Don’t bind with breast implants!!

Don’t bind with breast implants!!

Don’t bind with breast implants!!

Binders are made to compress the fatty tissue of the breast. Implants are made of silicone and cannot be compressed the same way. While uncommon, they are even known to rupture and pop, which could result in you losing not only your breasts but possibly even your life.

If you are a male-at-birth genderfluid person who has fluctuating chest dysphoria, please instead of implants consider:

-using breastforms

-using a push-up bra (this will be particularly helpful if you choose to start HRT, as you will start to build up breast tissue)

-If you happen to have the money and happen to get liposuction, it’s also not unheard of for people to have the fat “transferred” to their breasts. If you do this you will be able to bind because it will be the fatty tissue that binders are intented for rather than silicone.

As nonbinary people, our dysphoria is uncommon, and hardly ever talked about. Safety issues like these hardly ever come up for binary trans people, so we need to make knowledge like this more widespread to keep our fellow nonbinary people safe. Share to spread the word save a gendefluid person considering binding their implants.

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One thing that a lot of transmasc people struggle with before they fully realize they’re trans is the question of “do I hate being treated like a woman because women are treated like shit, or do I hate being treated like a woman because I’m not a woman?”

and one method (though not entirely foolproof) to figuring that out is asking “would I be upset if another girl was treated like this?”

like, I’d be just as mad if some dude said “you can’t do math because you’re a girl” to a female classmate as I would if he said it to me

however, I never got uncomfortable at waiters calling my female friends “m'am”, I was only uncomfortable when they called *me* that

and obviously everyone’s feelings are different and there’s tons of variables at play, but if you find that there’s a lot of the second scenario going on with you, there’s a good chance you’re not entirely cis

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just thinking about how fucked up it is that transition is almost always exclusively framed in terms of negative health consequences which usually in context arent actually that negative. for example, before starting hrt trans men are frequently warned that testosterone will significantly increase their risk of blood clots–whats often left out is the context that their risk profile is simply increasing to match cis men’s risk profile; and additionally, i have never heard of trans women being told (although maybe it does happen) that their risk will decrease from hrt. in the same vein, i frequently see trans women being warned about the increased risk of breast cancer from hrt (which in context is…duh because you are increasing the amount of breast tissue) but rarely see any mention of trans men’s risk decreasing after a mastectomy, even though its literally the same surgery (with a few alterations) that breast cancer patients undergo to reduce their risk. i realize that a lot of these things havent been researched well and of course negative side effects are going to be more important to disclose to patients, but regardless i still think the framing has a lot more to do with transphobia/transmisogyny than genuine oversight

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Hello all! I don’t think I actually made this post even thought I’ve orginally meant to. (And if I did here’s a 4 month use update!)

So I live with chronic pain and other chronic illness concerns so while most binders look super cool flat wise, they are a nightmare to me because you can’t get them off quickly.

*taps the photos of this bad boy right here*

Zipper!! Now if I’m feeling bad suddenly and either in pain, can’t breathe, or whatever my body wants to throw at me. Zip. Gone.

Its not super tight and won’t flatten a ton especially if you don’t position those puppies. But because it isn’t super tight I can do more in it for longer. (Remember always listen to your body’s limits). Now I do have a large set but it still gives me a more of a Dorito shape which is my fav and allows me to not even need a level of flatness other binders can get.

Some others pros, cheap! 18 bucks. I like the design of this for being shirt-like, sometimes I’ll just wear it around the house when I want to just “be in my underwear”. (A concept that eluded me pre-gender euphoria days.)

My only complaint is that is rides up on my hips which can be annoying. I joked I wanted those sexy like belt garters to hold it down but it hasn’t been that big of a deal tbh

Now I totally know this isn’t the standard choice, maybe not even the best choice for most trans people. But it is the best choice for me. So if you were thinking you can’t bind at all because of disability maybe try this out! 

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My family just lost thousands from a scam. Please, if you can, help us out by donating to my PayPal PayPal.me/CaitlinKmiec and/or spreading this post. Thank you.

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mamapluto replied to your post “I have a friend who wants to bind buy they have spinabifida (I can’t…”

Mm, I have minor spina bifida and my binder actually made it easier on me (got it thru y'all). Ymmv, but the customizability really helped. Mine’s a crop with high arm holes. I def recommend a zipper if you’ve got issues wiggling into (and esp out of) stuff

Thank you!

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Lee says:

This post is about getting a binder without your parents knowing, and the general concept can apply to anything you want to buy online.

Open a private window on your browser and pick the binder you want online, add it to the website’s shopping cart and start to check out until you find how much it costs with shipping and tax. If you don’t have access to a computer at home, use one at the library. 

Save up enough money to buy the binder. Make sure you have a few dollars extra for the extra fee of buying a prepaid card, which can be around $4.

If you have a debit card but don’t want your parents to see the purchase, withdraw money from your account and use the cash to buy a prepaid card. You can say you just wanted to have some cash in case you needed it. 

Go into a store and buy a prepaid VISA gift card. They have them at lots of stores, even CVS. (You can also ask a friend to do this if you can’t walk/bike/get a ride to a store on your own) Here’s what to do if you don’t have a location near you that sells VISA gift cards.

Prepaid credit cards require you to be 18 to open an account, but you can purchase prepaid gift cards at a grocery or other store at any age and use them wherever Visa, MasterCard or AMEX are accepted. These gift cards, which aren’t reloadable, usually carry an activation fee along the lines of $4.95 for every $50 increment. You usually find them in denominations of $25, $50 or $100.

Figure out where you’re going to get it shipped to, since you’ll need to put an address when you buy it. 

Ship it to a consenting friend’s house or an accepting relative, if you have one. 

Ship it to your own house and try to get the mail yourself. 

If the parent gets to the mail first, say you bought a present for someone. If you’re going the pretend-present route, order it near a real birthday for someone or a holiday like Christmas. You may want to go to a store in person first and buy an actual physical present to then gift to cover up that it wasn’t in the package. You could also ask a friend to lend you a shirt, tell your parents you won a shirt in a giveaway or bought it but decided to give it to a friend as a present, then give the shirt back to the friend.

Get a PO box if you’re going to be getting things in the mail frequently. 

If you buy an Underworks binder on Amazon you can pick it up at an Amazon Locker at Whole Foods or a different location.

Buy the binder online. Put the name on the card in the payment section of the website. Clear your internet history if you’re at home and didn’t use a private browser window. Make sure the invoice is sent to an email that only you have access to, or a disposable email (just google “disposable email” and there are a ton of options!)

Hide it when you get it. Handwash it when it gets dirty. Or start doing your laundry yourself. Wring it out and hang it to dry in the back of your closet. Bring it in a bag with you to change into it when you’re out of the house.

(Or ask a friend with a debit/credit/gift card to buy you a binder if you give them the cash.)

What is the gc2b packaging like?

What’s the underworks packaging like?

What does shapeshifters inc. packaging look like?

binderbuddies

You can also try to apply for a free binder for trans people:

Point5CC

The Binder Project

Gender Gear (Canada, not free but $5 each)

Search “binder giveaway” on Tumblr and keep that tag tracked! Also check out blogs like @Binder-giveaway-reblogs.

Local LGBT organizations or support groups may have free binders that have been donated by other trans folk, especially if they also have other donated clothes available so check in with local resources first since it’s usually easier to get a binder from them in person than it is to go on a waitlist for a non-local organization and get something shipped online.

If all that isn’t possible for you yet, work towards that goal and see our Binding without a binder post in the meantime.

Followers, feel free to add on!

themoonsoldourmemories said: As for getting money to buy the gift card, take out a couple dollars here and there when you buy something from stores that have a “Cash Back” option. No more than $10-$15 at most, though many places offer $5 as an option. This will make it show up on your bank statement as a purchase at that store, rather than a withdrawal.

byakuyathehedgehog said: I just want to add that while this will probably work in most cases, a private/incognito browsing window isn’t enough to hide your activity if your parents actually know how to work your router, which can show all traffic from all devices on your network, including through private windows. A good solution would be to use a VPN or proxy, so that your actual activity remains hidden, or using public WiFi at a library or restaurant if you have a portable device. Similarly, if your parents have any kind of child monitoring or web filtering software on your computer, your best bet would be to find another device to use.

bigmouthlass said: Check shipping policies carefully; some package services don’t deliver to PO boxes, or some PO boxes don’t allow packages, just paper mail.

settheexample said: You may also have a place near you where you can have things shipped. UPS and Fed-Ex usually have the option to ship to their local store and pick it up there, or a place like Mailboxes Etc. is another possibility. If ordering from Amazon, they have stores in some areas, too.

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Please be as safe as possible when binding

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My good friend Noah released his binder drafting and sewing tutorial this week! He doesn’t have a Tumblr, so I said I would post it for him.

“This digital drafting tutorial guides you to create a custom chest binder based on your own measurements. The easy to follow tutorial includes instructions for how to create a crop top length binder with several style and finishing options. The two binder styles addressed in the tutorial are most similar in fit to Underworks and GC2B binders. An add-on for full length binders will become available in the future.”

It’s taken him over a year to design this tutorial, and it’s really thoughtfully written. The tutorial requires some knowledge of sewing stretch knits, but I think it’s doable if you have never drafted before. It’s on sale for the month of April for $10 usd, and then will go up to $15.

Check it out here, and please share!

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Patreon

Become a Patron! Hello! Here’s the link to my poetry and painting Patreon. I’m trying to earn enough money on Patreon to be able to afford birth control pills to make my periods bearable. My mom won’t pay for them, and since I don’t have insurance, this is the only way to get money monthly. According to my mom, she just won’t pay for the pills, but if I can get enough money monthly, then I should be able to get the pills I need to not be in excruciating pain three days a month. So please, if you like reading poetry or seeing watercolor paintings, please consider supporting my Patreon for a small price of $2, $3, or $5.

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