#binding safety

yes, a moderate–severe health repercussion

yes, but a minimal health repercussion

no

other/nuance

don't bind/not transmasc/results

Good question!

There's a few factors that go into the "right" amount of compression. They include size, chest tissue density, physical activity level for the day, personal comfort (dysphoria), personal comfort (breathing), personal comfort (claustrophobia vs Like To Feel Squeeze), and more.

So, here's what I advise.

If you think your binder might be too loose, or not compressing enough:

First, put your current binder on and maybe a shirt on over it and look at yourself in the mirror. How do you feel about how you look? Do you want to be flatter?

Next, breathe in deep and do some physical activity, whatever makes sense to push your body into action-mode for like five minutes. Are you breathing okay? No issues?

Next, press your hands palm-flat against your chest. Can you compress yourself manually more than the binder does already? If so, a different binder could compress you more than the one you have on. It might need to be a tighter one, or one made of different (stiffer) material, or both.

If you think your binder might be too tight, or compressing too much:

First, how does it feel when you're standing still? Any pain, shortness of breath, pinching?

Next, how does it feel after exercise? Can you still breathe deep and get lots of air? Are you getting any cramps in the little muscles between your ribs?

Finally, how does it feel after a full day (whatever that means for you)? Are you sore at the end of the day? Any lightheadedness, lingering headache or backache?

If the answer to any of the above yes/no questions was yes, then you need a bigger or less compressing binder.

The right amount of compression is the amount that feels good (dysphoria), feels good (lack of pain), and feels good (ease of breath). If any of these factors are out, it's time to try again.

Im a genderfluid, afab minor who came out to my parents a few months ago and I need some help/advice

My parents have been super understanding and using my name and everything, I'm super proud

but my dysphoria has been hitting lately and I want to ask them for my first binder.

I need advice for good brands, arguments to prove this isn't going to give me cancer or something/j, and advice on use?

Hey! I’m super excited for you, hope this helps!

I really like my Shapeshifters binder, so that might be a good option (although they are pretty expensive ($85)) I’ve also heard good things about Underworks, but my binder from them honestly kind of sucked (I may have ordered the wrong size though, who knows). I’ve heard Flavnt and Urbody are also good, but I haven’t tried either. Just please do not buy Gc2b right now, their binder quality went downhill and it could be unsafe.

I would recommend playing around with how you get it on and off (it might take you a bit to get comfortable with it), and you should try not to wear it for more than 8 hours a day if you can help it.

Here’s are some articles about binder safety:

https://www.allure.com/story/chest-binding-guide-recommendations-tips

https://www.pointofpride.org/blog/binding-101-tips-to-bind-your-chest-safely

https://www.insider.com/guides/health/how-to-bind-your-chest

An article for your parents:

https://www.parents.com/kids/health/what-parents-need-to-know-about-binder-safety/

When binding can you slouch/lay down?

This may sound like a weird question but I wanted to know:

When wearing my binder, can I slouch/just lay on my bed(Not sleeping, just laying down)

I can’t find any good results for this question

Tobi: Hey nonnie! Firstly, absolutely no worries, i do not consider questions to be weird, strange, wrong, or anything else here, they’re all just questions, and I will always try my best to answer to the best of my ability.

That being said, I’m both surprised and not surprised there’s nothing in particular on slouching or laying down in binders, so know this answer is coming directly from my own experiences, and may not be applicable to everyone.

For slouching: I’d say intermittent/not constant slouching is a-okay. Best practices while binding would be keeping good posture as much as possible and ensuring the best possible opportunity for your lungs to expand fully, as the main concern with binding in general is its restrictiveness to the ribcage/torso/lungs.

Slouching inherently squashes that important expansion ability, and the severity depends on how and how much you’re slouching, but either way, while it’s not going to be terrible for you to do here and there, it’s not recommended that you stay slouched for long periods of time while binding.

For lying down: So long as you’re not sleeping, lying down is a similar answer to above. The restriction with lying down is more gravity based-On your back you’re expanding against both gravity and the binder, on your stomach you’re expanding against your own body and the binder, and on your side, you’re adding another point of pressure to the front and back the binder already covers.

Mind you-these restrictions are minor, even less so than slouching. However, that is not a reason to not be aware of how these positions can affect your binding health and safety. Sleeping is a concern for binding in particular because your breathing pattern changes and deepens as you sleep, meaning the binder adds unnecessary restriction for a long period of time.

Overall advice: My biggest emphasis when talking about binding is highly focused on being in tune with your individual body and it’s cues.

Good posture is always going to be helpful in the long run, but I know just how hard that can be to maintain. A good rule of thumb that I live by, as I do still bind myself and I have made far too many mistakes in my youth that still haunt me:

If you are feeling short of breath at any given time, that’s a good indication to take off your binder and do some breathing exercises, do some deep coughs to stimulate circulation, etc.

No amount of dysphoria is worth binding improperly, incorrectly, or for too long. Please trust me on this, because it can (and has for some folks) affect your ability to get top surgery down the line.

For myself, as an example, my previous excessive binding has somewhat ‘warped’ my ribcage, and as such, forced me to really scale back how much I bind to avoid it causing any more problems.

To be fair, I’m glad that I’ve been forced to cut back though, because it’s really helped with my own resilience towards outside perspectives of my body. No matter what I do, wear, act, whether I bind or not, etc, 90% of the time I’m perceived as a woman by strangers. This in turn forced me to reckon with how other people’s perceptions of my gender expression AND the forms my body takes has NO bearing on my own understanding of myself, and subsequently my own understanding of my gender.

At the end of the day, I know I’m a man. Anyone is welcome to disagree with me, or think otherwise, but they don’t get any decision on who I am, only I have that power.

If you choose to bind, ensure you are doing so with a full understanding of what it can and cannot do for you, as well as making sure you’re doing it as safely as possible. This means:

- Monitoring your breathing and posture.

- Ensure you do not wear one excessively. The general consensus is up to 8 hours, but it is always better to wear for less time.

- NOT wearing one to perform excessive physical activity (workouts, running, anything that gets your heart and breathing rate up for extended periods), or to sleep in.

- Taking it off the moment anything hurts, you find it harder to breathe, or even if anything feels off. Your body wants to keep you safe, listen to its cues!

WE'RE NOT GOING TO DO THIS AGAIN

IT CAN AND WILL RUIN YOUR CHANCES OF TOP SURGERY AND CAN AND WILL RUIN THE OUTCOME

I CANT STRESS THIS ENOUGH. IF YOUR CHEST IS CONSTANTLY IN PAIN AND YOU CANT BREATHE FIND ANOTHER WAY.

Binder safety:

• Make sure you don’t wear your binder for more than 8 hours at a time.

• DO NOT sleep in your binder. This is dangerous.

• If you’re exercising intensely, you really shouldn’t wear a binder; this could restrict your breathing enough to make you faint.

• Please don’t wear a binder that’s too small for you. This can damage your rib cage over time.

Binder care:

• After removing your binder, stretch your upper back and shoulders. Take 10 deep breaths, and cough a few times just to clear your chest fully.

• Washing your binder by hand is recommended, but if you put it in the washing machine, use cold water and the gentlest cycle. Air drying your binder helps it stay elastic for longer.

• It’s a good idea to wash your binder more often during the summer; if you wear it constantly and never wash it, the sweat can make bacteria proliferate. This could potentially lead to a skin infection.

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