How to put on (and escape) your binder!!

transadvicegroup:

Hi Gents and Gendercools and whomever else comes across this post and wants to know how to bind, here is a post of how to put on your binder!

Disclaimer: I have a GC2B full tank binder. So if you happen to have a different binder and these steps don’t work for you, please add on what does work.

Putting it on

Step One: Put your arms through both your armholes and pull it so the fabric is around your shoulders and in front of your face.

Step Two: Pull the binder over your face until it’s around your shoulders. You may look like an awkward chicken-pterodactyl thing right about now. Don’t panic!

Step Three: Using your hands, pull down on the binder until it covers your chesticles. It might be crooked but don’t worry about that right now. It will be tight and maybe even a little uncomfortable while you’re pulling it onto yourself. You should feel it just fit when you have it on right. It will feel comfortable and you will be able to move your arms like normal.

Step Four: Here’s where you adjust your binder and/or chesticles so you are wearing correctly and get the best flattening effect. Basically just pull your binder so it’s in the middle of your chest and comfortable. I have smaller chesticles, so I tend to be done at this step. But if you have larger ones, you might have to adjust them to fit in your binder. Push them to the inside of your chest and up or down, whichever is more comfortable for you. If someone more experienced in this are would like to add onto this, that’d be fantabulous.

Step Five: Put on a top and walk out into the world like that wonderful person you are. :)

Taking it off

Note: This process is different for everyone, and there’s probably an easier way to do it than how I do it, but this is how I first figured it out.  

Step One: Put your arm (I usually do left) through the arm hole and down your chest between your chesticles.

Step Two: Pull the left shoulder with your right hand until you can free your arm. I’ll be honest. This is uncomfortable, and if you let your binder roll up while you do this, and right after you do so, your arm will get red. It’s not a big deal, cause it goes away pretty quickly, but if you’re closeted and your parents are nosy, it might make them suspicious.

Step Three: Just pull the rest of the binder off. It should come off easy-peasy.

Binder Emergencies

There are times, especially when you first put on your binder, that you will get stuck in it. These are terrifying. I know the feeling. But don’t panic. Depending on how you get it stuck on you, whether its halfway on, halfway off, or some monstrous other option, there are remedies. Believe me. I have been through them. But if you’re like me, and you aren’t out yet to your parents or your parents aren’t accepting, your binder mishap may become an actual emergency. The best thing you can do is not panic.

If you get stuck taking your binder off, and you honestly cannot get it off, try to put it back on. You hear your parents coming up the stairs? Tell them you’re getting dressed, changing your shirt, or, worst case scenario, wrap yourself in a big bathrobe and pretend you’re taking a nap until you can get it off of you.

So you got stuck putting your binder on and it’s around your shoulders or something, and it’s nowhere near being on you? Pull like hell. Off of your body. Try putting it on the way I told you above. But if you get it stuck, just pull so you can get it off. It’ll probably hurt. It’ll probably hurt a lot. But as long as you don’t break an arm or something. it’s better than getting caught in your binder, looking like an awkward pterodactyl forever.

If you don’t have time to take it off and there’s someone you need to hide your flat chest from, throw on a shirt with a colorful, busy pattern. A button-down is also a good choice, since those don’t flatter your chest anyway. Put on a bathrobe. Literally, anything. Keep yourself safe.

What if you’re at school and this happens? If you’re able, go to the school nurse. At most schools, the faculty isn’t allowed to disclose your transgender identity to your parents. Sure, it will be embarrassing. But it’s better than being caught. If you’ve got a friend you’re out to, ask them to pull it off of you. A bathroom stall is a good place for this.

If there’s any questions or something to add to this post, please go ahead and do it, or message me.

Good luck, my brothers and siblings, and happy binding!

Designing Maternity Clothes for Genderqueer Parents

voidbat:

Talking to the founders of the new line Butchbaby.

an article about a company that does maternity clothes for nonbinary people

cause women aren’t the only one who have babies. :)

gqutie:

It’s funny because my beau and I got an electric razor for our hair soon after I made this comic, and I haven’t shaved with a straight razor since.

Official GQutie Blog / Portfolio / Patreon / INPRNT

- - -

[NOTE: Feel free to cut this off in your reblogs. I know it’s super long even compared to some of my news additions. Just please consider also reblogging the separate post I made.]

I thought I’d add this down here, mostly because I had been wanting to say something since Leelah Alcorn’s suicide came to light, but I had my own mental health throw me a curveball and I haven’t been able to keep up on a lot of things, including this comic that so many of you read.

Comics aren’t a very respected art. There seems to be changes on the horizon, but every artist I’ve met has had some kind of internalized feeling that what they make doesn’t matter. As obituary after obituary rolls by on my feed, I feel like my art means nothing, because it can’t stay the hands of abusers and murderers.

But here’s the thing. One of the most received messages I’ve gotten on GQutie is “This comic makes me feel less alone”. For trans people, (even more for trans women, dmab nonbinary people, and trans people of color), the feeling of isolation is one of the most powerful psychological enemies, because it enforces the idea that there’s something wrong with us if we’re the only one. That’s why representation matters: because what art brings to the table is a way to break down the walls of isolation. It doesn’t fix all the ills of the world, even all those in the transgender world, but it can become one more source of strength from which to draw. It’s not everything, but it’s something.

So, really, that’s why I make comics. To express myself, of course, but also to help people feel less alone. It’s important, and it matters.

However, my art doesn’t do that for everyone. My perspective is limited to what it’s like for a white, thin-passing, dfab nonbinary person. So, I want to also pass along some other comics by trans and gender nonconforming people

@themanicpixienightmaregirl is a lovely set of comics that has a wry sense of humor while exploring the artist’s experience as a trans woman. transgirlnextdoor does wonderfully light-hearted cute comics about her experience transitioning. bethanycantdraw does really awesome comics about their experience as a boi/grrl as well as illustrations, all of which are full of texture and sharp humor.

I’m currently working on building another bibliography for GQutie #1 like I did GQutie #0, and I want to focus on finding artists who DON’T fit my profile (most of the nb comic artists I know do) and give readers a place to start in expanding their trans comic world. If anyone has some recommendations, please drop me a line!

copper-rose:

I been doing this for a few months now and its been working out great for me so I thought maybe you guys would find it helpful too? I don’t like to pack with packers so this helps to fill the gap and it will not rub on you or move around.

What Does it Mean to be a Man?

chaseross:

YO LISTEN UP!

Backstory: 

I have tried almost every STP out there and I can tell you that NONE have worked for me. To name a few: TravelMate, GoGirl, PeeCock, Mr.Fenis, DIY one and so on.

I’ve meet so many people who have had the same story story as me and just kind of gave up. Most of my dysphoria now comes from not being able to pee standing up (or pack properly) because everything didn’t work of made me uncomfortable.

But I have FINALLY seen the light!

Look at this amazing thing right here. Its called The Real EZP and its AMAZING.

The first time I tried it to pee, BANG it worked. No leakage, no hassle, SUPER easy and light weight. And you know what? you can stick it back in your undies after, no harness needed and it looks REALISTIC in your pants.

What I hate about these STPs and packers out there is they make us look like we have the biggest dick… like yes some people like that, but i want something more discrete. 

So putting this bad boy back in your boxers makes you look like you have a flaccid dick… like cis guys have.. and its the best feeling in the world. 

Currently, I’m sitting at my desk, my legs are crossed and I can’t even feel it. If I look down, its there and its amazing how it looks.

I know this might sound ridiculous for some people, but to me this is almost like the final piece of the puzzle ……. 

anyways, just check it out. Its awesome. They now have 3 colours available which is fantastic.

“I’m A Guy” - what it’s like to be transgender without transitioning

fuckyeahsexeducation:

mustachecup:

trans-surgery-thailand:

Special design to hold a sanitary napkin in place. Therefore, no need to worry about it slipping out of place during menstruation. Has a swelling in the crotch as a fake male genitalia. Feel more comfortable in a gym or when you receive a massage.Here comes new underwear finally designed for FtM.

※ an artificial genital (included)

1.Pocket in the middle to insert artificial genital.

2.Elastic strap to hold sanitary napkin.

3.Sanitary can be firmly held. No slipping out.

http://www.ajointth.com/shopping.html

THAT IS SO COOL

Anonymous:

Hi, new (AFAB) follower here. About a year ago I started researching gender, and I figured out that I have felt dysphoria about my chest since, well, puberty. So, the obvious thing was that I was then male, right? I tried to talk to my mom (I don't have contact with my dad) about it, but I worded it really badly. My mom is really cool with LGBT+ things and also a feminist so she doesn't think that masculine things = male, and neither do I. We didn't really talk about it later, (1/4)

(cont.) “but I kept digging, because while male fit better than female, it still wasn’t RIGHT. I am now pretty content to name myself genderqueer, in that it’s just a big ball of constantly changing question marks. I have since come out to some of my very close friends about it and talking to them really helps. However, I really want to come out properly to my mom (and after that my two amazing sisters).
Recently she asked if I still wanted to be a boy and I just shrugged, because I don’t want to be female, but I also don’t really want to be male. She then said that it was just me still having to get used to my changed body, but I know it isn’t, having talking to my cisfriends about my dysphoria. I also don’t know if she knows about nb identities and how she feels about it. I know that she’ll support me if only I could explain it right, but I have no idea how to start the conversation because i botched the last one so badly. 
Do you have any tips about starting the conversation (like an opening sentence or something), explaining dysphoria, and explaining nb identities? I KNOW my mom will support me if I explain it right, but I just don’t know HOW. Please help and thank you very much.”
                                                             ——

It sounds like you’re going through the normal process of navigating your identity, and that involves trying on different identifiers, clothes, etc and seeing what feels best for you.

Since it’s normal to be trying on new identities while you grow up, this might be a good place to start. I’ll throw out some words for you, though. 

“I’m in the process of figuring out who I am, and it is very weird. I know for sure that identifying as female is not comfortable for me. I initially thought, well, I must be a boy, because it’s the logical answer if I wasn’t female, right? But the more I look the more I see that it’s more complicated than that because I can’t use what culture gives me to determine how I personally feel within my own body.

Part of those cultural beliefs include the idea that gender is binary, that people are either male or female. We also think that feeling or being male or female is determined by what’s between the legs, but that isn’t true, it’s determined by who you are. There are people who identify as non-binary or genderqueer- they feel like they don’t exist on either end of that spectrum, and instead are either in the middle somewhere or not on the chart at all ~ !

Really, there are two main aspects to feeling one’s gender: how you feel personally within (or about) your own body, and what you feel comfortable identifying with in the mind. 

Ultimately the goal is to align these things:
With the mind, aligning yourself with whatever is really true for you, instead of acting on avoidance or denial. 
With the body, dressing it and acting on it in whatever way makes it (and you) feel the best.

(The following is for me personally, but as an example:)

When I think about my mind, my gender is not a fixed point in space-time. I’ve narrowed it down to being in the nebulous cloud of “sometimes masculine, not very gendered”. I even made a graph  for myself at one point. When I think about the mind, I often say to myself, “I’m genderqueer.”

When I think about my body, I feel the distinct want to appear and feel male, and that is why I started hormones. And since starting hormones, I’m slightly more likely to say “I’m a genderqueer trans guy”, but my comfort levels with that are always in flux. I do my best to honor whatever feels true in the moment when people ask me for identifiers.

I told my grandma, “I want you to be understanding and supportive while I am navigating this for myself. It’s confusing and difficult, and I want to take my time to explore what is true for me, so I can do what is best for myself. And I want to know I have your love and support while I do that.” 

I always find that direct requests with things like this avoid a stressed parent wondering what to do. Often I just want to be told I’m still loved! Good luck with the conversation with your mother, and feel to steal and much or little of my words as you’d like.

-Kai

__________________________________________

well first off, you’re really lucky to have a mom who is (or could be) so understanding and supportive, so I think that’s a really good place to be starting from.

by her bringing it up previously, she’s already given you kind of an in. you could start off by saying something like, "mom? you know how you asked me the other day if I wanted to be a boy? well, I dont.” and then something like “but you were kind of heading in the right direction..” or “but i have been meaning to talk to you about my gender” and then lead into explaining that there are people who dont identify with their assigned gender but also dont identify with the other binary gender either. 

I say this all the time and I’ll say it again - arm yourself with resources! we have a friends and family section of links explaining nonbinary genders for cisgender people, and there are many others out there if you spend some time googling. if you could find one piece summarizing what genderqueer is that you think would be easily digestible that would be great, because you could print it off and give it to her during your conversation. otherwise you could write down some links, or send her links over facebook or something. 

keep in mind that coming out as nonbinary often isnt just one conversation. you’ll probably wind up having many conversations over the course of the next few months after that, in which you can discuss more specific aspects of your gender. so for the first conversation, just try to make your language as concise and easily understandable as possible so she can get her feet wet.

good luck!!

-newt

Binders4Teens

transclothesexchange:

Binders4Teens raises money to buy custom binders for teenage transmales ages 13-17. Donations can…

Alex (http://imheretocrushthepatriarchy.tumblr.com/) brought to our attention that there is a wonderful organization doing their best to help people ages 13-17 receive binders. If you are in need of  binder or just want to check it out, here’s the link to their facebook page!
-Jay