Do! 👀 NOT!! 👀 Double!! 👀 Bind!!!
Double!! 👀 Bind!!👀 If!! 👀Needed!!👀For!!👀Flat!!👀Chest!!!
um or don’t because it’s unhealthy and can mess up ur body a similar way as an ace bandage?
Guys please dont double bind!! I know it sucks to not have a flat chest, trust me im a triple D and im not a big dude..im rather small. I. Know. It. Sucks. But. Please! DONT! DOUBLE! BIND! It can heavily damage your body! Its way too risky and not worth it… believe me its not!
Hey fam, double binding now severely impacts your ability to have a healthy enough body for top surgery (if you want it), exercise, or even basic respiration in the future. So, even though not being flat right now sucks (I hear you. I’m with you. I’m sorry.) right now will not last forever, and right now is not worth all of the things double binding will make you not be able to enjoy or even experience.
There are so many awesome things about you that deserve more room to breathe and flourish than double binding will allow.
Your validity is not determined by how flat you are.
Your worth is not measured in the circumference of your chest.
You deserve to breathe. You deserve belly laughs, and the ability for your lungs to expand enough to sing really bad karaoke or blow out birthday candles or take your dog for a walk. You deserve oxygen, and unbroken ribs, and unpunctured lungs. You deserve to live like the bad ass you are, and you can’t if you can’t breathe (I know this from experience!).
By double binding you are restricting the glory of who you are and all you can be to this idea that validity, joy, and worth are only for guys with flat chests. It’s a lie. You don’t need a flat chest to be valid. You don’t need a flat chest to own your truth and be true to it. The idea is a lie. You don’t deserve its consequences (physical and emotional). The truth of your validity and awesomeness is so much better, so please bind safely and keep breathing into the bad ass that is you.
No flat chest is worth a flatline.
Thanks, @transboysunited <3
Sorry for the spam guys, but really, I’m reblogging these because no one talks about double binding and the first reblog really shocked me. The only reason I am mentioning this is because I’VE done it, and it’s not ok.
Thankfully, I stopped double binding before breaking any ribs, despite doing it for a quite a long time, but I know that double binding has damaged me INSIDE.
I used to double bind almost daily because of dysphoria and it got to the point, I really did need to have a break. I couldn’t bind at all and thankfully, at this time I was going through mental health issues so I didn’t leave my house in need of having to wear my binder, but I was in pain; my back, my chest, my ribs, everything hurt. I remember for about 2 weeks I stayed in bed but I remember even lying down would kill me. I’ve never been to a doctor about it, but I have eventually healed.
However, even now, my back, chest and ribs can still hurt if I bind for about 1-2 hours. My body really can’t take it any more and there will also be times that even without binding, it will play up.
Just because you’re not using an ace bandage, or tape, does NOT mean that double binding with a chest binder, a small sports bra, a small binder or a mixture of both is safe and won’t harm you, because it’s far from safe.
Bind safely, one binder is enough and remember that chests are not 100% flat.
You really need to listen if you are doing this because I know that if I saw a message like this sooner, I probably would have stopped.
-Caleb
Note from a biologist and EMT
Your rib cage isn’t really a system of bones the way any other bone is. Its not anchored to other bones through joint systems. Its connected by a series of elastic cartilage segments or fused to your sternum or spine.
This elasticity is great for your lungs because it means your ribs can expand so you can take deeper breaths, but it also means your ribs are extremely vulnerable to warping under continual pressure.
Over binding, especially when you’re still growing (so from puberty typically until your mid 20s), will permanently deform your ribs and back. I assure you binding safely now will not only insure you can have top surgery, but will save you from chronic, often dehabilitating and life threatening injury.
For any of my binding nb peeps. Keep yourselves safe.
How to put on (and escape) your binder!!
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!
Support the Gender Identity Bill! from Egale Canada Human Rights Trust
As you may or may not know, transgender people in Canada are still do not benefit from basic human rights. We are not legally protected from discrimination in housing, employment, education, or health care, nor is trans-related violence recognized as a hate crime.
Advocates have been trying to get Bill C-279 passed in parliament for almost 3 years now, which would amend the Canada Human Rights Act to include gender identity as a prohibited ground for discrimination. But despite support, we are still sitting at a stand-still.
If you live in Canada, please visit trans.egale.ca to learn more, contact your senator and urge them to take action about this important human rights issue.
Get an FTM on the cover of Men's Health
Transman Aydian Dowling is about to get on the cover of Men’s Health magazine if he can stay at number one - please vote for him everyday!
http://ultimateguy.menshealth.com/entry/347/
Don’t / Pass
A photography series outlining the trivial nature of gender expression and perceptions for ftm transgender individuals in a western cisnormative environment
TRANS/INTERSEX/GENDERQUEER RESOURCES
AUSTRALIAN/NEW ZEALAND BINDER PROGRAM
IN A BIND(BINDER EXCHANGE)
A FAQ FOR PARENTS OF NON-BINARY CHILDREN
BIG BROTHERS NEW/USED BINDER PROGRAM(18+)
POINT 5CC TSHIRT COMPANY(FREE BINDER WITH THE PURCHASE OF ANY OF THEIR SHIRTS)
TIPS ON TREATING POST-OP SCARRING
HUGE RESOURCE LIST OF FASHION, PROSTHETICS, GAFFS, PACKERS, ETC.
AFAB tips for handling shark week (tw: menstruation, dysphoria, blood)
I recently found a recommendation for trans guys to use O.B. tampons because of the small size and discrete packaging. As I am currently in the middle of shark week and just ran out of blood absorbers, I just picked up a package of these and 10/10 would recommend. they’re really cheap (I paid about $8 for a pack of 40 in Canada), come in different absorbancies, and they are TINY
40 super tampons in this little box!
3 super tampons in this little bag!
It should be noted that the reason they are so small is that they do not come with an applicator (a plastic or cardboard plunger mechanism) meaning that they have to be inserted using your fingers. I know many AFABs are too dysphoric to use tampons, but as someone who is AFAB and lives as male a lot of the time (presenting as masculine/using male restrooms) I find using tampons has been the easiest and most convenient way to deal with bleeding for a week straight, and if you can come to enough peace with your body to manage it I think it could greatly improve your monthly experience.
Disposing of sanitary wrappers in the mens room, being able to open them without making a lot of noise, and even just carrying them around without people seeing them or knowing what they are, have always presented challenges. I think these tampons solve those problems.They are about the size of a hard candy with a small clear plastic wrapper that is easy to stick back in your pocket and no messy applicator to dispose of, and they don’t really look “like a tampon” so if you have some in your pocket or something and you drop them people won’t be like “that’s a tampon” they’ll be like “that is.. a small white thing in a plastic wrapper idk could be a tissue could be a weird candy”
Idk just found this helpful so I thought I’d share
-Newt
