#a bit nervous about posting this tbh but i wanna share info & experiences so here we go

[ftm-radio]

a plus-sized trans masc's review of various chest containment methods*

*as you can guess from the title, this post will be discussing the chest area, so if this subject & related terminology is discomforting to you, please skip this post & I hope you have a good day 👍🏻

Okay, so I have 4 methods that I bounce between for dealing with my chest and existing as a pre-op trans guy. I'm gonna write a bit about each one, and I have photos of how my chest looks with all four (clothed, ofc) that I will put under the cut for both self conscious reasons and to be considerate for those who'd rather not see them. idk.

oh & quick disclaimer, this post is absolutely not meant to bash any particular binding method or ppl who use those methods, or ppl who don't bind! no one method is superior, some just work better for one person than another bc everybody's different and all that. just tryna share my experiences to maybe help out other folks like me. ✌🏻

Sorry in advance, I'm sure this is gonna be a long post.

Method #1: No Containment

Pros—

easy

free

may be passable as moobs with enough layering ?

Cons—

underboob sweat at 100% strength

chafing

oh god they move so much, why, please don't, i hate this

Wearing just a shirt with nothing else under it is a great feeling at times, but that's generally short-lived and it's not very comfortable in the long run, especially if I'm being active and moving around. Feeling my chest wiggle and jiggle and move around is just so gross to me, so I usually avoid this method.

Method #2: Compression Top (Tomboy X)

Pros—

pretty comfy for everyday wear

prevents the worst of the wiggles

can exercise in it

could probably sleep in it if I wanted to

Cons—

basically just a sports bra tbh

mine is uh.. ~2 years old & pretty worn, probs doesn't "compress" much anymore 😅

heard that this particular company has done some yikes things?? so I'm not super keen on purchasing anything else from them (I don't have details & don't feel like looking them up rn, just mentioning it so you can look it up yourselves if you want)

This is my go-to method for when I'm just hangin out around the house (which is basically every day). just wake up, yank on the compression top, and then I don't have to think about it until the end of the day! I actually got this as a baby-step to using an actual binder bc I was a little anxious about it lol.

Method #3: Full Tank Binder (gc2b)

Pros—

flat chest

full tank contains everything better than a half tank

ngl I appreciate the fact that it kinda helps contain my stomach fat too bc I am ~☆~insecure~☆~ (but working on it)

Cons—

tbh I think my binder is too big specifically in the chest area so it doesn't compress & hold everything in place for very long, esp if im moving around, but I can't size down any smaller bc that's unsafe

the bottom edge of the binding panel makes it pretty uncomfortable to sit & just makes my stomach look weird

can't exercise or sleep in it

can only wear for 8 hours at a time, max

I loved my binders when I first got them, and wore them almost daily, even around the house, because I felt good & happy in them. after a while, though, the constant need to readjust my chest & having to keep checking to make sure it looked alright kinda wore me down and I got tired of it. going to the grocery store and feeling my chest shift around in my binder and being unable to fix it is just not a good time. :(

Method #4: Trans Tape

Pros—

comfortable! (long as you put it on right 😅)

my tiddies are SECURE they are not going ANYWHERE, I can bend over to pull the laundry out of the dryer with no problem, gravity cannot emotionally damage me anymore <3

I feel like I can move and do stuff and be confident w/o having to waste any time or energy thinking about my chest

my chest is approx a C-cup? (and I'm fat) so the tape definitely doesn't flatten me out but it masculinizes the shape of my chest in a way I'm happy & comfy with! yeah i have a chest but it def doesnt look like girl boobs!! I just look like a fat guy! which I am! so I'm cool with it!! hell yeah!

can wear for days at a time (recommended is 5)

can sleep, shower, & exercise in it

no worries about rib damage/breathing problems

when I hug my mom I actually feel it in the middle of my chest

Cons—

can't reuse tape so gotta buy more to keep using it (~20 bucks a roll with shipping iirc?)

there is a learning curve!! first couple times suck & it can be discouraging (I gave up a couple times) and I'm definitely still learning myself how to use this stuff

physically kinda difficult to put on, it's a bit of a workout for me

itchy (especially if you overstretch the tape, try not to do that)

what goes on must come off 🥲 and removal is kind of a pain in the ass because oil is messy and you really have to give it enough time to soak

need to be patient & careful so skin doesn't get damaged in removal

if you damage your skin you have to give it time to heal, no taping for a while

I am quite new to trans tape, literally this is only my third time wearing it as I write this. My first two attempts were pretty rough (application and removal) but I'm starting to get the hang of it and it's becoming less of an Ordeal as I get used to it. there are definitely some less than ideal factors to keep in mind with using this method, but I've found that for me, the positives vastly outweigh the negatives. when I get better at using this, I plan to make it my primary containment method. I know a lot of folks say that using trans tape just doesn't work at all for bigger folks & bigger-chested folks, but that's not necessarily true. I'm proof.

Alright, that's all I've got!

I dont wanna make this a horribly long post, so I'm sure I missed some things but idk this is the gist of it. If you read all of this, I hope you got something from it (or at least don't feel like it was a huge waste of time....) and I hope you have a good rest of your day!

It's totally okay to reblog/reply/interact with this post, just, y'know, have common sense and don't be a jerk!

As I said before, I have photos under the cut to give you a visual for how these different methods look on me & how they might look for you if you're anything like me. Please do not be rude or creepy or gross, alright? alright.

Method #1: No Containment

...........yeah this is what I'm working with, let's just move on and pretend we didn't see this, please & thanks

Method #2: Compression Top (Tomboy X)

comfy & fine for everyday use but I don't love the look. still looks and feels like a feminine chest shape.

Method #3: gc2b Full Tank Binder

flattest results, looks pretty good, but only lasts about five minutes before the tiddies start their constant migration and it gets uncomfy and I have to adjust everything :/

Method #4: Trans Tape

not as flat as I get with a binder, but the goal with trans tape is a more masculine shape to the chest, not flatness, and I think im starting to achieve that even as a noob! my results will probably get even better as I get more familiar with it, but this is already my fave method by far

bonus photo because wearing trans tape makes me happy and i was feelin good:

That's the end-end of the post, so I will once again request that you do not make any rude or nasty comments about me & my body. thanks!

[ohlukcs]

( alex wolff, male ) did you hear how LUKAS TOZER is applying to columbia university as a FILM & MEDIA STUDIES major ?! the 19 year old is living in the WALLACH HALL. i heard that they got in because they are + PASSIONATE and +THOUGHTFUL, but honestly i think HE can be -ASSUMING and -CYNICAL. they’re a real MAVERICK. oh well, only time will tell if the SOPHOMORE will make it til the end.

about the mun !!

hi hello my name is sam (she/her), im 22, and im a big fat mess at all times :) um but a lil more about me is that i’m australian and a recently graduated film student lmao. i’ve been rping for like ten years now i think idk but i am a NERVOUS BITCH !!!!!!! and it sometimes takes me forever to reply to things (ic and ooc) bc of that so pls be patient with me lmao. anyway, happy 2 be here !! if u like this post i’m gonna assume u wanna plot with me and my idiot and hit u up !!! lets mcfreakin lose it !!!!

about lukas !!

full name: lukas joshua tozer

nickname(s): luk-ass idk whatever u can come up with lmao

age: nineteen

gender: cis male

pronouns: he/him

hometown: jackson, new jersey

date of birth: nov 4th

occupation: student ( film and media studies, sophomore ), cook/server at a nearby 24hr pizza joint

relationship status: single

drink / smoke / drugs: yes / yes / yes

faceclaim: alex wolff

positive traits: passionate, thoughtful, creative, ambitious, untethered, humorous

negative traits: assuming, cynical, insensitive, rebellious, resentful, irresponsible

if he was in a hogwarts house: slytherin

now some more dot points that are just me talking about lukas !!

was born in fort lauderdale florida but there is a vERY low chance he will ever admit that, he’ll just say he’s from new jersey. as far as he’s concerned, he’s always been from new jersey even if his family did move there after he turned twelve

speaking of things lukas probably wont ever tell u but i’m including them anyway: his family is kind of messy. not majorly but like a little bit more than average. he had two brothers, now he only has one. i’m not gonna include a whole lot of nitty gritty here i’ll save it for when i write the real bio and can actually do it justice but its the reason they moved from florida and it has had a pretty major effect on lukas over time obviously

he’s the baby of the family and he’s pretty much always been treated like one. it has left him pretty immature and irresponsible. still learning that his actions have consequences and that he cant just be a total dick all the time. he’s improved in those areas a fair bit since he started at columbia a year ago but he still has a long way to go

he didn’t ever really expect to go to columbia, he’s from a middle class family and his dad didn’t even go to college. he applied for columbia just as a might as well give it a go thing. like maybe it will happen. they had a film course and although the course itself isn’t really great, the connections to the industry available at columbia were valuable enough for him to try. he was wait listed up until basically the last minute, preparing to go to a college in boston instead but when he was accepted he knew he had to go. for himself, for his family, and for his lost brother.

obviously irresponsible attitude has led to some Bad Decision Making including but not limited to partying and drugs. he doesn’t prioritise that lifestyle over his school work (bc he knows how lucky he is to be at columbia at all) but he is a big believer that you need to experience things to be a great artist and he plans on being the greatest artist so bad decision town here we come !!!!

he has a pet goldfish named michael bublé pls dont nark

for more info on him click here to check his about page, no bio there yet but hopefully soon

wanted connections babey !!

course friends/rivals/anything: i am writing these before acceptances happen so i have no good god damn idea if any other characters are film majors but hit me the hell up if they are bc i would love to plot some stuff out

old roommate(s) : lukas was probably an entertaining roommate but probably verged on annoying pretty easily. he’s messy, gross, probably didn’t respect the do ur fucking dishes rule in first year ( probs still doesnt tbh ). but he also has a password to every streaming account plus a phat hard drive full of movies and shows that he is absolutely willing to share with u so just depends what ur into i guess. maybe this connection led to friendship or maybe they hate each other now. im down for either/both 

dealer: hi welcome back to bad decision town. lukas isn’t into any hard stuff but is a big weed smoker (to my understanding medicinal cannabis is allowed but lukas def doesn’t have a prescription), then after that it’s kind of just experimenting. will chat more details if u wanna take this connection

booze leachers: so yes lukas is 19 but he has four, thats right, four fake ids. he is not willing to give u his contact for fake ids but he is willing to buy u booze if u pay him. dont hate the player hate the game

gang gang: pretty much just a close group of friends. i imagine all pretty relaxed, all pretty chill. idk what to say here except i want people to care about him and let him put on dumb movies and watch them with him and probably have dumb matching stick and poke tattoos and hog a communal tv to play mario kart but lets talk about it

fast food workers deserve respect too: as mentioned, lukas works at a 24hr pizza joint near campus which means he’s seen some shit. one of the things he’s seen multiple times is drunk student trashing the place. whether it be vomit, forgetting how to hold a cup, or bet try at a food fight lukas has seen it and he’s cleaned it up too. this connection could be that maybe he helped someone out and cleaned them up and got them back to campus when their friends ditched and now they look out for lukas too and its a positive connection. or maybe lukas hates their guts and spits on their food whenever they show up ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ who’s to say

hot girl bummer by blackbear: now listen here’s an angsty connection i want, and i def want to plot it out way more with whoever takes it on but basic outline of what i have in mind: they’ve kind of sort of been dating for a while but they’re just falling out of whatever they had to begin with. they were never official, they probs def fucked around with other people while they were ““““together”””””, lots of oh sorry ur taking it so seriously i thought we were just chilling bullshit. all of this girls friends probs hate lukas and he definitely hates them back. were probably once really good friends and had a really good time together but they’ve lost it. will they find it again or will it fizzle out? lets find out together xoxo

new girl(s) : i hate the connection title too but i couldnt think of anything better. we’re in bad decision town and now we’re going to thot street babey. since things have been falling apart with hot girl bummer and even before that lukas a little bit of a thottie. this doesnt mean he’s good at it, please also feel free for a part of this to be that they rejected lukas and he got butt hurt about it idk lukas being attracted to them is basically this whole idea and i would wanna plot the rest of it more depending on specific characters wooo

lukas is a bad influence: if u have gotten this far u may have noticed that lukas is not a very good influence at all. this is someone probs his age or younger that wants to loosen up and have a good time and lukas completely encourages that. bonus points if this connection is a combo with the above connection bc lukas is a gross boi and would be like wow listening to my bad ideas thats so sexy and cool of u ya know. but also doesnt have to be that ! could just be lukas thinks its funny and thinks that someone listening to him is just like good content that could get him on barstool

lukas is badly influenced: this is basic as hell but someone that tells him to leave his impluse control at the door and encourages him to be trash. probs older than him and i def see this as more of a masc connection than a fem but like all my plot ideas: lets talk about it. this one probs v much depends on ur character so gonna leave this one nice and short

lukas is good-ly (??????) influenced: also basic as hell and p much just the opposite of above. someone who is a good influence on lukas. encourages creativity and ambition instead of straight up recklessness. again, i see it as an older character but no gender seen here. a lot of this would be based around ur character so lets chat

michael bublé’s co parents: lukas has a goldfish named michael bublé (or just michael), i picture him having got it while high as heck during the day and just being like This Is A Good Idea. maybe ur character was with him and they were co parents from the start or maybbe they came into the picture later ??? i’m honestly down for whichever just give michael the love he deserves pls

and probably just about anything else these are just some ideas, i totally wanna plot further and brainstorm so please still hmu if none of these fit ur character we’ll plot something up !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!