In todays society and education, we aren’t really told about what chest binding is, who does it or how to do it safely.
Chest binding is something that may be done for a variety of reasons, not just if you are transgender. It Is the process of tightly binding the breasts in order to create a much flatter looking chest. Commonly this is done to appear more generically ‘masculine’ but its important to recognise that this is not always the reason. I myself bind my chest because I want to present myself in a neutral and androgynous way. Its really important to bind your chest in a safe way though otherwise it could have a really detrimental effect on your physical health as well as mental health.
Not many people know that there are actually multiple different styles of binders. This is great because it means you can find the right style of chest binding for you. The main ones are:
1. Long shirt or T shirt style
2. Sports bra style
3. Middle length or ‘crop top’ style
4. Vest style
Making the decision to start binding your chest can often be a difficult one. Its important to access as much support as you possibly can given your personal circumstance. There are loads of great online communities and outlets to help with this too. If you’re thinking about chest binding then its a good idea to do some research into different brands as well as different methods. Be careful though! Theres some binder advice out there that isn’t safe or accurate. Be sure to double check your sources of information and cross reference with other places too. To help you out here are some really important things you must never do when binding your chest:
DO NOT:
1. USE ANY KIND OF TAPE TO BIND YOUR CHEST!!! This is a really dangerous practice for several reasons. Using tape on is very likely to dry out and damage your skin and can even rip and break your skin
when removing it. It’s also a really painful process. People are drawn to the idea of using tape because it can bind your chest very tightly BUT THIS IS NOT SAFE! If you bind your chest too tightly then this can have a range of effects on your physical health. It’s likely to bruise your ribcage and chest as well as making it difficult to breathe.
2. USE ACE OR ELASTIC BANDAGES!!! This another extremely dangerous practice. People are often drawn to this as its cheap but this is not worth the risk!! Using Ace bandages can break your ribs not to mention extreme damage and bruising. And it hurts - trust me ! Ace bandages are specifically designed to restrict movement so every time you take a breath they get tighter and tighter on your chest! If you want to make a DIY binder for budget reasons then there are several safe ways to do so. Look up several methods online but remember to double check your information before you take it as fact! A great way to make your own binder is using an old swimming costume :) .
3. WEAR YOUR BINDER FOR MORE THAN 6-8 HOURS. It is really important to give your body a break from wearing your binder so try not to wear it for too long during the day, especially when starting out.
4. MACHINE WASH YOUR BINDER! There are some binders that are safe to machine wash but I would still highly advise against it. This is just because its really likely to change the shape of it and then it can essentially become useless. Binders are expensive so you don’t want to take this risk. Instead, hand wash your binders :)
5. WORKOUT IN YOUR BINDER. Now I know that this is not ideal but it isn’t a great idea to exercise in your binder unless its specifically designed for workouts. This is for safety reasons. When exercising its really important you can breathe easily.
6. WEAR YOUR BINDER FOR DAYS WITHOUT WASHING. This is because it will smell and become uncomfortable. It can be difficult, especially if you just have one binder. Its not ideal to not be able to wear your binder most of the time but adhering to the advice is important. Remember though, it doesn’t take long to hand wash and dry your binder!
The great thing is there are some great binder donation programs out there to help people who can’t necessarily afford to buy their own binders.
If you can afford to buy one though that’s great! There are loads of great sites out there but some I would recommend are ‘Underworks’ and ‘GC2B’. A great article to tell you more about different brands and binder exchange/donation programs is the 5CC article ; ‘Binding 101’.
Bind safely!!!!
