Chest Binding 101 – Featured From TransGuys.com

What is Chest Binding?

Chest Binding is a way for many Trans Men to curb dysphoria, and is a fairly common step in FTM Transitioning. “Binding” refers to flattening breast tissue to create a male-appearing chest using a variety of materials and methods.

While Binding with common household items is an inexpensive route, it can also be unsafe. Chest Binding 101 is your guide to how to bind safely, where to get a binder, how to choose a binder that best suits you, and how to put on your binder.

How To Bind Your Chest “Safely” ?

The first step in learning how to bind safely is finding out what’s not safe to do.

• Don’t EVER use Ace Bandages or Duct Tape:
  • They aren’t meant for binding.
  • Don’t move with your body.
  • Can cause physical harm.
  • They can seriously restrict your breathing, cause fluid build-up in your lungs, and other serious injuries, such as broken bones.
  • There have been numerous cases of Trans Men who’ve acquired permanent scars and other injuries from using Ace Bandages and/or Duct Tape.

DON’T DO IT!

Essentially there are two types of binders: Short Ones & Long Ones.

The short ones end right at your waist, usually referred to as “Mid Length”. The downside is that if you carry some extra weight, short binders tend to roll up. The long ones can be pulled down past your waist by several inches, however, its inevitable that it will still roll up. To reduce the chances of this, wear a belt. Choosing between a short and long binder has more to do with your body type, specifically your abdomen, and not your chest size.

How To Put On A Chest Binder:

It might seem silly, but your probably going to need some help figuring out how to put on your new binder, particularly if you purchased one of the longer styles.

1. Put your binder inside out and upside down
2. Step into your binder and pull the bottom of it up, ideally to yoour belt line. The binder should be inside out and upside down still.
3. Use the sleeves as handles to pull the top of the binder (the end closer to your feet) up to yur shoulders
4. Put your arms through the sleeve holes and adjust your chest to your needs. You may need to pull the bottom of the binder from underneath itself if you don’t want it folded under. For others, leaving it folded under may help prevent the binder from rolling up.

Don’t be disappointed if you look in the mirror and it looks like you have one big boob in the middle of your chest. Reach in from the neck hole, and push your chesticles down and out. You’re basically pushing your nipples towards your armpit to achieve the flattest looking chest possible.

Binding Tips:

• VERY IMPORTANT: When binding you should not by any means feel as though you can’t breath or like your going to pass out from a lack of oxygen.
• Binders aren’t the most comfortable things in the world. To make binding more comfortable and to reduce the possibility of the binder moving around a bit, some guys wear a light shirt underneath.
• Depending on the size of your chest, you may want to layer clothing on top of your binder to get optimal chest flattening. You’ll fund that some of the shirts will require more layers than others.
• You can swim in your binder. Just wear a sleeeveless or sleeved T-Shirt over it. Don’t worry if your binder seems less effective after a swim, this isnt permanent. Simply wash it and it will go back to normal.
• Your chest will look bigger than it really is when you look down. Check in the mirror for a more accurate side view.