#Chest binding

[howtoscarebees]

Reblog cus this is SO important

*deep breath and huge sigh*

Guys. We do not bind with bandages (that's why I literally put multiple warnings about it in Clandestine). We do not bind with things that are not intentionally made for binding. We do not bind for long hours or with incorrectly sized materials. We do not bind unsafely.

Be smart. If you want to bind, do it safely. Meaning:

Use a binder or tape created for binding.

Remove tape correctly, so you don't hurt your skin.

Wash your binders according to directions of the company.

Buy binders/tape from highly-reviewed, reputable, (preferably queer-owned) companies.

Use the correctly sized product. Do not size down.

Use the product for the amount of hours suggested. Usually 8 hours for a binder for an adult and 6 hours for people under 18. AT MOST.

Change your binding routines in hot weather/during exercise. (As in, use a looser binder, bind for less time).

I know you want to bind and I know dysphoria is a bitch but please, please, don't be stupid. Make good choices. If you can't bind safely, find strategies to dress in a way that doesn't accentuate that area, like loose clothing and layering. But please don't make choices that could literally break bones, fuck up your back permanantly, etc. Not good, not good.

/big sibling rant.

[earlgraytay]

Hey, PSA for younger/newer transmascs:

Tumblr has been showing targeted ads for "FTM binders" off Amazon. They look like this:

Do not buy these.

A binder is a piece of medical equipment. If you use one incorrectly, or use a poorly made one, you can really fuck up your ribs. This article from the Cleveland Clinic talks about how to bind safely.

A $14 binder is guaranteed not to be safe. There's a reason reputable companies charge more- sometimes a lot more. They have to carefully design binders so they don't crush your ribs or make you sick.

You know how everyone says Don't Bind With Duct Tape? Don't bind with Amazon binders.

[cawcawrobinjay]

[nico-nico-suavecito]

published in FRUITSLICE

preorder my book

[someonehasgiventheratsapen]

Did a series of doodles of variations on "double black" and I'm posting this separately bcuz it's a comic.

Remember to bind safely, kids.

Lmk if this is confusing or anything it was kinda late when I came up with it and I'm not sure if the "dialogue" reads lol

[fairycorewalterwhite]

chest binding psa

guys srsly be safe with binding your chest, most binders when bought new come with care instructions specific to the binder and the company but just generally make sure to be careful and if ur currently wearing one just take a moment to reflect and make sure you haven't been wearing it for over about 8 hours (give or take) take it from me, ive nearly broken my ribs while binding and it SUCKS, and while my dysphoria isn't too severe safety should come first, just be aware that binding can go wrong sometime and PLEASE BUY FROM A REPUTABLE COMPANY because if a binder isn't made right it can potentially be more dangerous than a well made binder

[nonbinary-wyvern]

psa for those who chest bind or are planning to chest bind!! you are only supposed to wear your binder 6-8 hours with breaks!! please take care of yourself!! i know it feels amazing in the moment but chronic chest pain won't!! be careful!! i love you!!

[raphael-angele]

The Gift

POV: It's Regulus' birthday and he's opening presents at the breakfast table.

Regulus: Okay, so far I got a journal that cannot be opened unless I'm the one holding it; thank you, Evan. The Cain's Jawbone book; thank you, Barty. A brand new stationary set; thank you, Pandora. And a silver snake ring that has a needle that injects poison to whoever it punctures; thank you, Dorcas.

Pandora: Happy birthday, Reg.

Evan: Happy birthday, buddy.

Barty: Yeah, yeah, yeah, happy birthday and all that. So which one is your favorite?

Dorcas: You kidding? I win by a mile.

Evan: Oh, I almost forgot *pulls out a small box* This is from Potter.

Dorcas: Why was James Potter giving you a gift for Regulus?

Barty: And why was he with you in the first place?

Evan: Calm down. We bumped into each other in the halls and he asked me to give it to Reg.

Regulus: *opens the box* oh wow.

Pandora: What is it?

Regulus: *shows it to Pandora*

Pandora: Aww, that's so cute.

Barty: What is it?

Pandora: It's like an small pin of the golden snitch but instead of a ball, it's shaped like a star.

Regulus: *reads the note* "Still can't believe I caught you. JP"

Dorcas: Aw, Now that's just romantic

Barty: If Potter wanted to be romantic, he'd realign the stars to say, "I am untterly, undoubtedly, and deeply in love with Regulus Arcturus Black. I say with with sound mind and body. Love, James Potter"

Regulus, putting the pin on his robe: So whose gift is that one? *points to a box*

Everyone:

Regulus: ...no one?

Evan: *inspects* Well, it's addressed to you. And it says Happy Birthday. Maybe it's from your parents?

Regulus: Unlikely. Give it? *takes the box* Really nothing written on here.

Barty: Open it.

Regulus: *opens it and gasps*

Dorcas: What is it?

Regulus: *looks over at the Gryffindor table* Nothing *packs up the gifts, stands and leaves* Thanks for the gifts.

At the Gryffindor table:

Sirius: Hey, the birthday boy himself.

James: Oh, hi, babe.

Regulus: Hey. Sirius, a word? *they move a bit farther away*

Sirius: So what's up? Did you need something?

Regulus: The gift.

Sirius: Yeah? What about it?

Regulus: ...help me put it on?

Sirius: ...*smiles softly* Yeah, okay.

In the bathroom:

Sirius: You okay in there?

Regulus: *comes out of the stall with a roll of bandage*

Sirius: What do you think?

Regulus: *runs his hands through his torso, looks at the mirror and turns to the side*

Sirius: It's not too tight right? I think I hooked it on the right row.

Regulus: *cries*

Sirius: *goes up to him* Hey, hey, c'mon, don't cry. It's okay. What's wrong? Is it too small? Does it hurt?

Regulus: *shakes his head* No. It's perfect.

Sirius: Aww, I'm glad. Feels better right?

Regulus: Mhm.

Sirius: *sighs* I told you to stop using bandages to bind. You're gonna hurt yourself.

Regulus: I didn't have a binder to use.

Sirius: Well now you do. And this is a lot safer and comfier. Right?

Regulus: *nods*

Sirius: Yeah. Now, you have to promise me that you won't wear it for too long. If I find out that you've been binding longer than what's safe, I'm confiscating them. Understand?

Regulus: Mhm. I promise

Sirius: Okay.

Regulus: *hugs Sirius tightly* Love you

Sirius: *kisses the top of his head* Love you, too. Now, let's get you to class.

[chronicallycouchbound]

PSA: Please don’t ask participants to do grounding/mindful/somatic/etc practices at your events

Grounding exercises should not be an activity in large group settings, especially unsolicited and without warning, especially if you’re not aware of every single person in the space’s mental health conditions, physical health conditions, and personal relationship to their body.

Practices such as mindfulness, grounding, somatic exercises, breathing techniques, body scans, etc. are very helpful therapeutic tools to help manage stress. They can (and do!) help plenty of people– when taught safely and used effectively!

HOWEVER for people with conditions that cause psychosis and/or dissociative conditions such as depersonalization/derealization, these techniques are contraindicated and can make their symptoms significantly worse. They should only be used with guidance from their mental health team and adapted to their needs. For people with conditions like anxiety and PTSD, being aware of breathing can trigger a trauma response or anxiety attacks.

And for people with conditions that cause chronic pain or other uncomfortable bodily sensations, becoming re-centered with their bodies can cause more awareness of the pain they are in, which a level of (ideally functional) dissociation is actually helpful. For people in wheelchairs and powerchairs, touching the ground beneath their feet isn’t always an option. For people with cardiac and pulmonary conditions, deep breathing can be impossible or can trigger asthma attacks. For disabled people in general, doing body scans can be impossible due to paralysis or limb differences. They can bring awareness to things the person wasn’t aware were wrong to begin with (which is helpful in certain spaces, but not a great ice breaker at a retreat!)

And for trans people, binders and other garments can restrict breathing, and taking repeated deep breaths while binding can cause rib damage (which is why you shouldn't bind at night, while coughing from sickness, while exercising, etc). Becoming centered in a body that makes you dysphoric can be deeply distressing, again, a level of functional dissociation helps.

This also goes for plenty of other people in marginalized bodies, such as people of color, people who use substances, queer people, and more. Becoming grounded in your own marginalized body can be a heavy weight to carry, and needs appropriate and individualized care to be a beneficial experience.

As an alternative, I suggest doing a round of gratitudes instead, it allows for people to choose their level of vulnerability in spaces, while not being generally contraindicated for many people. Doing fun (and appropriate to the setting) icebreakers are great. Ask what brings someone to the space. Check-ins about basic needs such as if people need to use the restroom, eat, drink water, are rested, etc. can be more appropriate body check-ins for folks to do.

I don’t recommend doing these exercises even with a warning beforehand. If I'm in the room while someone is leading a breathing exercise, even if I try to ignore it, I (and most people) would automatically become aware of my breathing. The same goes for any other techniques. These techniques can cause real, life-threatening levels of harm for some people, and can even just be deeply uncomfortable or distressing for others. Dissociation is not inherently evil or bad or harmful. It is the way the body and mind naturally respond to adverse experiences (note: it can also cause distress and at higher levels, can be disordered) it is best to allow people to exist as they are in communal spaces. Let people show up as they are.

Most spaces are not equipped or appropriate to respond to emergencies, difficult feelings, and all the varied responses that can come from folks doing mindfulness in group settings.

I personally do some things before large gatherings and events to feel centered on the activity I’ll be doing, and afterward, I decompress. Encourage participants to lean on their natural supports and offer suggestions for it! Be creative in your caring!

This also doesn’t mean to discourage these practices! If you see someone doing deep breathing, check in with them, offer a space for them to decompress, care for them! Worksheets or posters on techniques like square breathing and 5 senses check-ins are great for a quiet room or spaces where participants can decide if they want/are able to engage with those tools. It should be a fully consensual opt-in, rather than being forced to opt-out. Having to leave a room when a group leader says “We’re going to start a mindful breathing meditation, please feel free to leave if you have psychosis, chronic pain, or are trans” is obviously othering and outs people.

Sincerely, someone who has psychotic symptoms, dissociation, chronic pain, is trans and whose body is marginalized in many ways and is really tired from trying to explain this at every event I go to

[viscerasmoothie]

A little thingy: I, despite considering myself to be a binary trans man, don't bind and it's because I don't care about my physical gender expression and binding is uncomfortable as shit because my bobs get really sweaty and I fucking hate it, but I do kinda wanna know if you're someone whos expected to bind (ftm, ftnb, intersex, etc) but doesn't why you don't (if you're comfy with answering ofc).

[miradragoncat]

Notes

okay so I've seen this work a lot and I want to know how well it will go for me.

If this gets to 1,000 notes I will finish writing the second book in the series I'm working on.

If this gets to 5,000 notes I will ask my parents for a chest binder.

Before March. Let's see how this goes, and thank you even before this gets any notes

Note: it was getting too close to march, and we weren't very close. So I lowered it.

[earlgraytay]

Chest binding is a form of body modification.

Like all forms of body modification, it comes with its risks and drawbacks. That does not make binding bad-- but it means you need to be informed about what is and is not safe.

I've gotten a couple of people on my 'don't buy Amazon binders' PSA trying to claim that warning people about the risks of binding is transandrophobic TERF fearmongering. And it's true that TERFs will often overstate the risks of binding to make younger/newer trans guys afraid to try it. But here's the thing.

Binding your chest is like dyeing your hair, or getting a tattoo, or gauging your ears. It's a process that modifies your body for cosmetic and psychological benefits. There are 'right' and 'wrong' ways to do it-- and generally, the 'wrong' ways to do it are the ways that can cause you serious injury.

If you dye your hair with a box kit, it can damage your hair- possibly permanently. You can wind up with hair that's the wrong colour (say, green instead of blonde), you can wind up with frizzy or thin hair, or you can wind up with a permanent bald spot. If you get a tattoo from your friend Steve on his kitchen table with a sewing needle, you can get a tattoo that doesn't look like it should (because of bad ink or technique), you can get permanently scarred, and it can even theoretically kill you from blood poisoning.

These are the 'cheap' ways to get a body mod, and some people still do them. For some people, they even turn out okay! But you are taking a risk when you dye your hair with box colour or when you get a tattoo from your friend Steve. It might be a small risk; it might be a big risk. The people warning you about these things aren't trying to tell you that you should never dye your hair or get tattoos- most of these folks are heavily dyed and pierced, and many of them have made these mistakes! But they're trying to tell you to get body mods in a way that minimizes risk.

Similarly, the people warning you about chest binding being dangerous are generally older transmascs who have messed up with binding in the past. If we tell you, "don't bind with ace bandages" or "don't buy amazon binders" or "don't bind for more than eight hours at a stretch", it's not because we want you to stop binding! It's because we've made these mistakes with binding, or we've seen our friends suffer from the consequences of these mistakes.

Just like your tattoo friends don't want you to die of Steve-induced blood poisoning, your transmasc friends don't want you to break ribs or start getting asthma attacks. You are free to listen, or not-- but we just want you to know what the risks are so you can choose how to live your life.

[junithelooperrrr]

Announcing the newest transmasc and nonbinary-oriented dating/hookup app! We're calling it Bindr.

[everybodysinvited]

Binder Safety Guide

Binders are wonderful, transformative things! BUT there are a lot of things to consider and prep yourself for if you want to wear a binder safely. So here's a quick guide on the top 10 tips for binder safety.

Your health is paramount and wearing a binder incorrectly can really damage your skin, and lead to breathing problems or back pain etc, so please listen to your body, and if it hurts, stop. Binders aren't for everyone but their are alternative methods to a flatter chest!

For more tips and guidance on binder safety, check out Point of Pride, Spectrum Outfitters, Amor Binders, Mermaids or my previous post, An Intro to Binders!

Image & text descriptions in ALT

[emotional-moss]

shoutout to the queers with chest dysphoria who have bad posture or tight muscles or chronic back or neck pain from slouching to hide their chests. i've been slouching terribly since i was 13 and my posture is noticeably curved and i've had chronic back pain for the past 2 1/2 years because of it. and i'm not the only one who has these kinds of problems! love you all, remember to stretch, shrimp posture check, and go easy on yourself

[transguytruthscomic]

i cannot stress this enough but if you are taping with a large chest, the most helpful thing you can do is to work with the mass of your chest rather than against it.

don’t tape upwards; breast mass naturally falls downwards. taping upwards is making it more difficult for yourself. start your first anchor strip above your nipple and stretch the tape/shift your breast DOWN and to the side, towards the bottom of your rib cage.