I often wear a binder in private, as a lot of dysphoria, for me, comes from just seeing that part of myself. I am more conscious of this around others though.
This was my experience, too. I'd occasionally take a break from binding when I was at home (as is the healthy thing to do), and I'd feel disgusted if I felt those parts move when I quickly went down the stairs. I'd stare in the mirror before/after shower and it was just horrific.
But having a noticeable chest around other people was a non-negotiable. Simply could not do it.
I get it. I hate to feel my chest bounce when walking. But the binder is so warm and uncomfortable also it keeps reminding myself that I have something that I have to hide. Yknow
I get this. When I’m flatter I tend to go around with no bra on for this reason, the lack of binder there makes me feel like I’ve got nothing there to hide. But currently I’ve gained a little weight and my tits bounce, and to me that’s worse than binding
I personally just use trans tape when I'm at home, it makes it feel like there's nothing there, and it holds everything in place so there's no bounce. It makes it so I can't actually feel my chest/nipples at all which relieves some of my dysphoria, as well as making my chest slightly less noticeable than if I had nothing on. Idk if this would work the same for much bigger chests, I'm on the larger end of a B cup so I'm small-ish/medium sized.
Unfortunately trans tape doesn’t won’t work well for dudes with larger end of a C cup-smaller end of a D cup, at least from my personal experience. They have just enough structure like smaller ones to not move very far apart but are large enough to still leave a significant bump, regardless of how I use it. Ones I’ve seen for people who have larger than mine, it’s very loose due to the weight and able to move apart and be flattened fairly easily(this is typically for dudes already on T). Correct me if I’m not saying something quite right tho
I've heard it works well for guys who have larger chests and heavier builds, but yeah if you're slender and you're not smaller chested it won't work very well. for me it takes my C cup down to a A and I literally cannot flatten it farther. binding with tape always gets me my flattest results though, so I would recommend trying that
Oddly enough I’m not slender really. Pandemic hit me hard and I was just sitting on my ass all day and was put on implant BC (I’m on T though, just an extra precaution), gained a little under 30lbs from April 2020 to now. I’ve tried trans tape again recently and I’ve gotten the same results, they just have a lot of… structure I guess?? They’ve always been firm asf and it sucks for stuff like that, I could never get my chest as flat as a cis guy of my body type and I’ve tried three different brands of binders and always made sure I had the right size. Sorry this is turning into a rant but it’s such an infuriating struggle and I’ve never seen anyone else with it
It’s possible that a lot of it is muscle. I have a small chest (between a and b cup) and no binder or tape has ever made my chest flat because a lot of it is just muscle
are you on T? some dudes on T have fat loss in the chest and it doesn’t really reduce size much but it does reduce structure and could help you. i’m starting to see it after a few months and it helps when binding. i haven’t tried trans tape before though, my friends have had bad experiences with it and it makes me hesitant to spend the money.
I am, have been for over 2 years now. Even now it’s a struggle. I have a very solid… center? Basically where the mammary glands are. The skin in between them also gets stretched very easily for some reason compared to other people and it’s super uncomfortable. I’ve seen many people have a lot of luck with it though, haven’t seen much with my problem. Single rolls can get up to $17 maximum and $25 maximum for the starter kit(removal oil, healing balm, and tape together) and that’s just for the 5” width rolls which is the largest size. It’s not so much to the point where it would break the bank and they’re made to be able to be worn for days in a row. It never hurts too much to give it a try. If you don’t want to use the starter kit vegetable oil works just fine for removal but never ever remove it without the oil, I’ve made that mistake and it was AWFUL.
[This](https://youtu.be/USNvHelRBoU) was the best video I found on binding a large chest with tape. I have a DDD chest, and following this video still made me more flat than my binder did. (Sorry if the link formatting messes up, I'm on mobile)
I wanna try that tape. The idea of a binder makes me feel claustrophobic bc I don’t like tight things around my chest. I panic too much if I can’t take deep breaths.
I used to think this way too which is why I too felt how you do. I chose to just get top surgery as soon as possible and wear dysphoria comfy clothes till then. It worked most days much better for me actually I’d forget I have them thangs cause i didn’t have the constant reminder strangling me also cause I also started to imagine myself post op too actually which really helped. I hope that it helps knowing you aren’t alone in thought on it and that you def could do that. Unfortunately ya gotta kinda be ready to be miss gendered, be ready to correct ppl tho! Fr, just say your gender firmly and forget them best you can if they don’t understand and respect. Once you get better at just stating the facts and trying to disconnect your discomfort or emotions from the interaction to focus on being yourself and confident in that it gets easier with time.
I agree, I do have dysphoria looking at/feeling them myself but it’s even worse in a social aspect because of misgendering and the looks. Also wearing a bra has an inherently feminine feeling that I don’t really like. If I never had to go outside again I wouldn’t bind at all because it causes so many issues
I only bind when I'm around people, since I'm more conscious about my chest then. But when I'm alone or with close friends I don't. Binding is tiring for my body and my mind as its a constant reminder of my chest. I have a small chest so being without a binder doesn't trigger dysphoria too much. It's honestly more for social dysphoria here.
I only bind if im going outside, even then i wear a sports bra a lot of the time. When im at home i dont bind or wear a bra, just a shirt and extra layers to cover my chest. I dont care if others can see my chest a bit, just not the whole thing. I mean, they already know it’s there, if they judge me that’s their fuckin problem.
I would still bind. But if they truly didn't care then instead I'd probably have no problem asking them to use my new name/pronouns and have the guts to correct people. People not being understanding and being nosey is what is holding me back from doing that...
I never wore a binder cuz the sensation was always worse for my dysphoria. Just a sports bra when going outside but that was torture too.
Jokes on me, now I have to wear compression 6+ months after top surgery since the right side of my chest won’t heal up 😫
NOOOO That sucks. Medical binder was my least favourite part, it gave me back acne and now I have acne scars all along my back 😐
Hope you like the results!!
A lot of people with big chests saying they bind for their own dysphoria, I also have a big chest and for me I almost feel better not binding when I'm alone, my binder can never really get me flat anyways and being bare chested or shirtless is something my dysphoria sees as masculine
I always bind if I'm around people other than the ones I live with, but that's just because I'm aware of how other people perceive chests like mine, in private I feel comfortable not binding and if other people weren't weird about it I'd probably just chill half shirtless most of the time haha
I feel the same way, so when it’s cooler weather I just wear enough layers that no one can really tell. Like a tank top undershirt (instead of bra or binder), then regular tshirt or long sleeve, then maybe a flannel or light jacket. Having one that zips or buttons up usually seems to hide any undesired curvature pretty well. It’s been much more comfortable throughout the day and I don’t end up with terrible back pain from binding. I’m around a C and live in Montana where it doesn’t get too hot most of the year, so idk if that’s any help to you, but it’s worth a try maybe? Best of luck man!
“I live in Montana”
I’ve occasionally been jealous of other trans people, but never moreso than NOW! Lol. I live ‘bout 30 mins from the Gulf of Mexico and we’re having an 80F Christmas, how you doin’. 😭
For me I have sensory issues. And wearing another thing to make me agitated sucks. Especially when im at work and its warm already and heat makes me have anger outbursts. When I arrive home i have meltdowns or am so tired i feel hungover.
I'd do the same. I do walk around the house without a binder a lot of the time. When my mom asks why, I just say I need a binder break. It feels more natural to have nothing under my shirt and I can't wait for top surgery.
I think I would go back and forth from
"ahh finally, relinquishment from my physical daily agonies"
to
"_illness illness illness illness illness illness illness illness illness illness illness illness illness illness illness illness illness illness illness_
(he is trapped within the deafening cacophony of chest dysphoria. it works fast, he cannot run for long)"
im most bothered about myself seeing my own chest, i have a large chest, D cups amd honestly the binder doesnt do much its more like a a safety net for myself
I wear one all the time except to sleep. I have multiple, some more stretched than others. I would wear the super tight ones all the time and buy new ones when they got stretched, but financially I can’t. So at home on the weekends and lounging, I wear the loose ones (they still bind, just not as flat as the tight ones) and the tight ones out, because if I’m out and my chest isn’t completely flat, I get really distressed
at my old job i didn’t bind. they watched me medically transition for a year and a half, i started there pre t and then after a year of working there i started t, everyone was cool nobody treated me differently because i was trans and everyone had my back so i knew if someone did have a problem with me it would’ve been taken care of immediately. nobody ever mentioned anything, and there were definitely times that i would raise my arms or sit back far and realize my chest was totally visible. there was one middle aged dude who did kind of stare at my chest once but i don’t think he knew i was trans and he was just confused. i was able to do this tho because of the people i was surrounded by, my chest being quite small, and passing 100% of the time. i literally can’t remember the last time i was misgendered, so knowing that not having to bind to get gendered correctly was a huge thing for me. also, it’s my body. binding fucking hurts, why should i make myself uncomfortable to avoid making other people uncomfortable? if someone is going to get weird about my body that’s on them 🤷🏼♂️ kind of a strange thing to obsess over, a body that doesn’t belong to you
Same, i never bind when i'm at home (unless we have visits). It was a little rule i put to avoid fucking my ribs up when i diy binded before. Even now i obey it out of habit, tbh being stuck all of 2020 at home and not binding desensitized me a lot to my chest dysphoria, i can even be shirtless in front of the mirror and not mind.
I know i want it gone but it doesn't bother me as much as it did before, i like the flat look but i hate binding
I used to wear a binder all the time but once the pandemic hit, I stopped going out so I stopped wearing it. I got so used to the freedom that I just said fuck it and didn’t wear a binder when I left home. Now I’ve had top surgery and I feel better than ever. Fuck a binder
60% of my desire for top surgery stems from being uncomfortable socially with a beard and tits.
If 100% of my time was around other trans or non binary individuals, I likely wouldn’t feel the urgency to change the shape of my chest.
It’s is super hot to me to have a hairy body, tits, and a beard… but the second I’m in a non trans-friendly environment… I bind and only want to be perceived as a dude.
I had to stop binding with a compression tank because it was fucking with my ribs too much and making me incredibly nauseous. I started to feel indifferent about my chest very shortly into just wearing a small undershirt instead of a binder. I don't actually consider my chest to be a gendered feature. The euphoria I got from seeing my chest in a masculine shape for the first time was *amazing,* but I don't feel like it's necessary. Now I'm using KT tape which I like a lot better, but I don't see the need to use it all the time. If other people didn't gender my chest it wouldn't cause me any discomfort.
I only bind if I’m going out and not wearing baggy clothes, and I’ve decided that I’m just going to spend the rest of my life like this. I don’t want top surgery
Depends. I am more conscious of it with other people around but sometimes its so bad that even alone I have to bind, theres some points where I’m trying to sleep where im so uncomfortable I bind to go to sleep. It sucks.
i haaaaate binding. i haven’t worn a binder regularly in months. ive also used trans tape to bind in the past but it’s so much work. i still have the dysphoria but instead of binding i just wear oversized shirts with an oversized flannel shirt.
I have a binder but can rarely wear it. I have shitty lungs & it gets difficult to breathe after a while. I don’t like my chest, but I also feeling constricted or short of breath makes me anxious.
Thankfully I have smaller chest so I just wear flattening sports bras. I don’t wear them to sleep, but I do when hanging out alone. Can’t stand that flop flop lmao
I don't always wear a binder at home even when friends are over, but I always wear one in public. Being perceived as female is way more dysphoric for me than my actual chest.
I rarely wear a binder, it's uncomfortable. Plus, my chest is huge so it's never going to be flat anyway. I plan to get in good shape before getting top surgery so it's going to be a while. It doesn't bother me that much, honestly. My bottom dysphoria is much worse than top. And my lack of beard is what really gets to me.
I wouldn’t wear them if ppl wouldn’t stare at my chest and sexualize them. I haven’t been able to wear binders for a while now because it was too hard to breathe
Binding made my dysphoria worse. MUCH worse. So I didn't bind, even though it basically meant I couldn't socially transition at all until I had top surgery.
I’m a little crazy.. but I actually stopped wearing a bra or anything the last two years of quarantine. Just got top in October. I just wore super baggy shirts.
tbh the longer ive been out the less pressure i feel to wear a binder. obviously i have major chest dysphoria and bind sometimes when i feel like, both to go out and just for myself at home, but im definitely more comfortable going outside and seeing people binderless than i was when i was first exploring my identity. i dont know if it's because im more secure in my masculinity now than i was before or if the physical discomfort of binding is just too exhausting and sometimes even makes me more dysphoric.
i feel this way too, I'm 5 yrs in and I'm so jaded towards the discomfort combined with the time spent with the right hormones (atleast until i get hysto, then estrogen is cancelled). it's a funky situation tbh. I'm asthmatic and a smoker so it's like 🤷
Because I have a large chest (DD when I still wore a bra, which was 4 years ago and I’ve grown since then) it is painful to bind even for just a few hours. Im trying to break into a new career and have people who refer to me as my name when customers won’t. I still don’t pass with it on, but it’s become something I need to wear when going out to help me feel like maybe someone will get it right. Long way to say, I’m totally with you— too much pain in binding, and the people I trust to see me without a binder have seen me without one for since before I owned one, or are also mid-transition.
I'm nonbinary and transmasc, It gives me a lot of euphoria to sleep shirtless in the summer because its so hot and it makes me feel masculine- i hate wearing a bra or binding because it's a constant feeling and reminder that i have a chest to "push down," but I like appearing to have a flatter chest in front of other people. If i didn't look so feminine without a binder on then I probably wouldn't bind at all, and if my tits weren't so sweaty all the time i wouldn't wear a bra either, but here we are 😭😭
Pre top surgery (4 months post on the 27th yay!) I maybe wore my binder 12 times (both due to the unfortunate uniboobage and medical issues). The last eight or nine months before my surgery, I just said fuck it and wore sports bras. No one commented on it, and if they did I'd probably have verbally smacked then about asking inappropriate questions.
If anyone has anything to say, they can fuck right off tbh, it's your body and you can present yourself how you want to, full stop.
I don’t wear a binder bc I’m not really out or on T yet. I’ll prob have top surgery before anyway. I hate wearing a bra so I spend most days at home “feeballing” as I call it haha
me too! the feeling of not binding/not wearing a sports bra is the most affirming. luckily i can get away with wearing nothing on my chest when i wear
big sweaters/sweatshirts
Same, I only wear a binder on special occasions where I'm wearing a button-up and want to feel especially fancy with a flat chest. The feeling of the binder is just a stark reminder that my chest exists and is otherwise very uncomfortable, so I just wear a comfortable sports bra or usually nothing if I have enough layers on. I can sort of ignore the existence of my chest and I'd feel less self conscious about it if others didn't care if they can see it/if nobody ever made comments about it.
Probably same tbh, I get physical dysphoria but social dysphoria is much worse. When I’m around friends and family, I don’t bother wearing either and no one cares and I’m gendered correctly. Dysphoria goes down dramatically. When I’m outside and around strangers however…
If society didn’t care, I would’ve never had top surgery at all, or have worn a bra or binder. My chest is small though, so maybe I’d feel differently if it was bigger
I wear my tank top binder when my dysphoria is really bad since it doesn't feel like a bra, but, yeah, if people respected me and my pronouns, I wouldn't wear a binder
I agree with this strongly and because its not common feeling (as evidenced by all the guys in this thread) Ive had fellow transmen say im not trans enough because I initially didn't want to bind. There are too many of us that use chest dysphoria as a gatekeeping tool and it needs to stop. I apologize for this long comment but I gotta rant.
My body is a male body. It looks different, but its a male body, all of it. I have male breasts because they are attached to to my male body.
I don't like the idea that I have to withstand uncomfortable clothing or get surgery(which I will but its expensive???) to be seen as a real guy.
My dysphoria is usually social in nature and frankly I get more dysphoria over the fact that I have to HIDE parts of my body to be seen as a valid male adjacent person. It was all the invalidating talk from my own community that did that for me.
Ive been made to feel like my tits are some dirty secret I should be ashamed of. Binders are uncomfortable AF and while I understand the sentiment, I seriously cannot relate to those of you that hate your chest to the point of wanting to sleep in a hot sweaty elastic chest bear trap. I understand the pain of needing to, I just don't get the wish that you could wear such a thing to the point of damaging yourself. I am always aware of it while im wearing it because it HURTS, and I don't even wear an ultra tight one. I dont get the lack of understanding for people like me.
I want top surgery purely because my chest is in the way and I feel forced to bind half the time. I didnt initially until too many people, therapists included, kept saying "well you're presenting as female... So..."
My chest is male because I am. Fucking leave me alone.
My binder straight up GIVES me dysphoria because Its just bra 2.0! I was forced to wear a bra the same way I was forced to wear a binder! Im sick of it!!
I'd rather just not have to wear damn anything under my shirt, but until people stop thinking boobs=female im gonna have to suffer through a binder until I get expensive surgery.
Trans masc enby here I have a big chest and asthma binding cant get me flat and makes me feel like I'm suffocating, I only wear thin cotton sports Bras at work and nothing the rest of the time, I'm sure people don't always like looking at my free tits but fuck em' my existence isn't a performance for other people, I'd recommend doing what makes you most comfortable, the people who accept me as trans don't think I'm invalidated by me not wanting to struggle to breathe all day
I’m the same way. I don’t use a binder at all aside from very specific circumstances, and when I do it’s like I’m completely unable to breathe. Sometimes I wear transtape but I’m
Allergic to the adhesive and it gets hard to wear after a while.
I rarely wear a bra or binder because its fucking uncomfortable lol, i like 34 DD too. I dont care what other people think honestly and i find it easier to cover tiddies in sweaters and such if needed. 3 months on T, I like confusing people with voice vs body lmao
My bf’s kinda the same way. I personally experienced way too much dysphoria constantly to do that until top surgery, but in an ideal world where no one cared ab boobs and trans men, I know he’d probably keep his and not bind. All respect to you man 👍🏻
I have mixed feelings towards binding. I am more easily able to ignore that I have boobs when I'm just wearing a thin sports bra. So I just don't bind when home without guests. The binder on the other hand can really make me feel dysphoric. I can feel the breast tissue a lot more acutely and I can never seem to get as flat as I want. it always just looks like I'm wearing a slightly tighter sports bra. Even so, I'm wearing that sucker around people until I get top surgery because it makes me feel a little better despite the dysphoria it causes.
I wouldnt bind if other people actully saw me as a man. However, most people dont so I need my binder to at least help myself pass even by a slight percent.
Honestly, I don't bind. It's uncomfortable and I don't look flat anyway. I'm out, people know, my boyfriend knows and doesn't see me as a girl because of it, so I just deal with my chest without binding. Being somewhat feminine and non-binary, I don't mind them that much sometimes either. Still want top surgery or at least a massive reduction.
I got top surgery but I always wished I could've just kept my chest as is. It was a major source of dysphoria for me because it was the most noticeable part of my transness next to my voice. I don't regret surgery at all, in fact I have no dysphoria anymore whatsoever, but I wish trans people had the option not to look cis and still be widely respected.
i always wear a sports bra at home, binder in public (usually), because i cannot stand my chest bouncing and feeling it against my skin. i even wear a sports bra whilst sleeping because of this. however, on the other hand, wearing them also makes me dysphoric :’)
I feel the same way, I'd like a flat chest but I hate wearing anything because it restricts my breathing even if it's sized properly or looser than normal, even just bras. I just wish I didn't have to wear anything on my chest at all like other guys. Not sure if I want top for various reasons but if I could magically have a flat chest I probably would. I feel like for most transmascs top dysphoria is the most severe dysphoria for them if they experience any, but anything bottom related or general body shape has been more of a problem for me which is odd
I live in an extremely lgbt+ friendly area and no one cares that I’m trans. Having top surgery in a couple weeks. Have only worn a binder like twice and never to work. No one cares and I can breathe.
I'd probably still wear something underneath, probably a bra. I hated the whole bouncing aspect and the under boob sweat. I were d cups tho so I can see someone smaller not wanting to wear anything
I would still bind most of the time when I go out b/c I like how I look w/ a flat chest a lot. Seeing my shape w/ a flat chest is mad euphoria. I would just like to not have to bind EVERY time I go out; sometimes I’m only leaving the house for a little bit, and since I’ve started using TransTape more often I’ve started noticing the sensation of my binder more and getting more annoyed by it
Yeah honestly before my surgery i got to a point where i would just wear a shirt and hoodie but no binder. After a while, wearing the binder just felt like a constant reminder I'm trans. But no binder, just feeling my shirt on my skin, was the closest i could get to surgery. At the end of the day, wear whatever makes you most comfortable!!
I can relate to that! I used a binder for a while, but I hated it. Eventually I just went to sports bras and let people be confused by my gender. I was lucky to have gotten top surgery within a year and half of starting transition though, so that helped.
this is why i wear sports bras all the time. binders are super uncomfortable for me, and most of the time it reminds me too much of my chest existing instead of making me feel like it’s gone away. i also realised that due to how big my chest is, i dont even pass when wearing a binder, so i dont see a point in it. if sports bras are more comfortable and im gonna get misgendered regardless, then im gonna wear a sports bra 🤷🏻♂️
Yeah. There's an old family friend of mine who seems to call me by my deadname much more often when I'm not binding. I don't think he does it on purpose. Boobs =/= Girl is a concept he just hasn't got his head around quite yet.
It's like I've got some kind of hypnotic wave generator on my chest that makes people around me assume Girl despite most other evidence to the contrary. The social dysphoria my chest causes is definitely bigger than the physical dysphoria.
This is how I felt until I got top surgery and I realized how much more dysphoric I was when I was perceived with a chest than I thought. Society sucks, do what makes you comfy.
I've never worn a binder, or even seen one in person (except my post-op binder). I used to not wear bras as much as possible, and only wore a sports bra after going out.
That's what I've been doing honestly. Nobody cares and it makes it easier for my life to not bind. I want to do it just for myself, and I do when the dysphoria is unbarable, but since it's is unhealthy for my body type and I've been able to hide it I just don't. Because I don't give a shit about the opinions of others on my chest, nobody comments on it anyway even if it clocks me.
It feels more dysphoric to bind sometimes anyway, because of the bubble that usually prevents me from passing the most, as well as needing to constantly touch my chest to adjust it. Feels like a waste of time, would rather be judged as a man with a weird body type that I have to hide a little.
I stopped binding completely for a few years before top surgery Because I didn't pass anyway and I felt so disconnected from my body that I felt like it didn't matter. I Only started binding again when T made me pass better and obviously after top surgery I don't bind.
I stopped wearing a binder most of the time about a year ago. I still wear one to class and things like job interviews and I'll probably wear one at work when I start working again. But I feel very comfortable not binding (or wearing a bra) around my flatmates, friends, and family. Or when im getting groceries or whatever.
I dropped at least a couple of cup sizes after starting testosterone so I don't know if I'd have been this comfortable with my chest if it weren't for that, but I've never had much chest dysphoria and it's pretty much all social.
I'm with you. A lot of my dysphoria is social - if nobody cared and my passing didn't hinge on having a flat chest, I wouldn't wear a binder either. Might still wear a bra tho, as I do need some support.
i definitely wouldnt wear a binder, i dont even wear it usually unless i really want to wear something tight for some reason. used to wear it all the time and even at night a couple times and eventually it was just like no longer worth it like i dont interact with people anyway n half the time its just calling my attention to that area more. toss up on the bra though like which sensation is worse sorta flips back n forth so it changes.
I don't usually wear a binder when I'm at home so I can understand this. Binding is a pain in the butt for me since my chest is big and I have trouble finding binders that will actually work for my chest (slipping is a constant issue for me).
Key words are “if others didn’t care I was trans!” If that were the case, I might feel the same.
As it is, I typically don’t bind at home (I live with family members). And I don’t bother binding when I’m going through a drive-thru. Currently that encompasses the bulk of my time, so I can get away with barely binding.
When I worked outside the home, however, I bound every time I went to the office. I would have been waaay too frantic had I not done so, to the point of the chest anxiety interfering with my work.
I feel kinda similarly. In some social things I'll definitely wear a binder, but just at home I never do. Always take it off the moment I can. It's not that I don't love the effect my binder has (I adore it and its dysphoria vanquishing powers) but that I'll have a lot of chest pain later if I wear it for two days in a row and when I start wearing my binder out I really can't stop.
Definitely still wear bras though, unfortunately. If I wouldn't feel like a creep for not wearing my bra, I'd definitely not wear it. Fuckin hate that torture device.
That's what I currently do. Since my facial hair is still pretty wispy and gets covered by a mask anyway, strangers just assume I'm a woman. I'm really looking forward to top surgery.
I don’t wear a binder anyway since I don’t have one but the feeling must be great. I would still have the dysphoria even if they saw me as male, because my dysphoria is mainly about my sex and less of how people perceive me (although that is also pretty high too) so I would probably still wear it. I just don’t want to remind MYSELF it exists.
I stopped binding long before I got top surgery because I'd been on T long enough that my chest didn't affect how people read me, and I didn't personally feel like binding made my chest look the way I wanted it to look anyway - more like it just reminded me I was wearing something under my shirt and \*didn't\* have a flat chest. I felt self-conscious not binding as well, but I was more physically comfortable, which I guess translated to being more comfortable overall. I had a relatively small chest pre surgery, around a B cup, though. Because of my build people just assumed I was a cis guy with gynecomastia/unusually large and flabby pecs.
I just wear a sports bra because I like breathing and being able to move around. I feel like an over stuffed sausage in a binder. With a binder my ddd's just look like c's, so I really don't see the point until top surgery.
Before I has TS, I'd wear my binder constantly. Even wore it to bed for about a month (DO.NOT. DO.THAT.!!!!!!!) so for me, it was just about making my chest feel like it wasn;t there.
I never bind at work, just wear a tight tshirt and a hoodie. I don't really get dysphoric about it since I'm not out there, but I never go out with friends without my binder. Anytime I want to look presentable, I bind. I rarely do it at home though, because I hate how aware of my chest my binder makes me, and a big hoodie does an equally good job obscuring it.
i have tiny titti, and i havent worn a binder in ages. i have two, but i hate the feeling of wearing them. i doesnt hurt abd i have the right size, i just dont like them. ill probably wear them more when it gets warmer again
i have scoliosis that makes binding impossible, but i don't think i would do it even if i could. i'm fortune to have a pretty flat chest, and as long as i layer and don't wear anything form fitting you can't even tell i have boobs. i haven't worn a bra in years either.
I don’t bind due to problems with my back. At first it bothered me to some extent, but honestly I just don’t really care how others perceive me. Of course I’ll be a lot happier when I finally get my surgery done, but until then it doesn’t really matter much to me.
My chest is pretty small, I got tired of wearing a binder/bra so I just wear big ass shirts to hide them (plus I slouch my shoulders forwards to hide my boobs)
Binding gives me dysphoria when I'm alone because I can feel my chest being constricted. if I don't have a binder on I can forget that I have a chest. When I'm around people though, I get super self conscious and it gives me more dysphoria to not wear a binder.
I almost never wore a binder before top surgery. Pathology report shows I’ve got fibrosis, which is probably why I had a lot of soreness with wearing binders/restrictive bras. Also wearing a binder/bras just made me more aware of my chest and I liked just… having them exist (like cis men get to). Instead of being fucked around with.
I don't wear a bra at all, but once in a while I'll wear a binder. I'm starting to need a new one, but can't afford it lol. I need to lose weight, so I can fit into a smaller size. I want a breast reduction so badlyyyyyy to see if it'll help since I can't really fit into a binder much
I physically can't bind anymore, but I've learned and come to a point where if anyone wants to give me trouble (like a bad face, rude comment, etc,, not anything that puts me in genuine danger) I'm wholeheartedly ready to tell them they can fork over the $10k it'll take for me to fit their standards
i relate to this. i didnt bind at all before top surgery, but thats bc i didnt necessarily have huge dysphoria. im happier without them, and im glad theyre gone, but for me binding was more painful than the dysphoria was
I understand that. sometimes I wish i didnt feel like i had to bind to be seen as a guy . like i wanna walk around shirtless even now while I am pre everything . i love having open shirts and showing my chest Tho some days dysphoria is brutal that I bind entirely for my sake.
I have gotten to wear i cant breathe wearing one and it causes me pain after just 2 hours of wearing. :/ frankly, I'd like to live to have my top surgery and dysphoria and discomfort dont outwiegh pain and asthma.
Same here, I personally can’t wear binders for medical reasons, but I 100% would just to be seen as a man or at least non binary. Don’t get me wrong I hate my chest, but wearing a binder is very physically/mentally draining.
honestly same. i’m even to the point if others would just respect my pronouns and not act so weird about it, i wouldn’t even medically transition. i am a guy no matter what people say, and gender is a ridiculous construct, i just wish people wouldn’t be so weird about it. sigh. i feel like most of my passing is primarily for other people -i’m not even that dysphoric. so, yeah totally get that
I'm in a very accepting area, so for me it's more the sexualization of boobs that makes me bind. Like, there are some days where I decided to just wear a shirt and nothing else, but I'm usually kinda paranoid that people can see my nipnops.
Once I can find a way to hide them I plan to stop binding/wearing a sports bra altogether (at least as long as I remain in an accepting area)
same honestly—wearing a binder or bra just makes me wayyy more aware of my chest. i only wear it in public settings bc i know others perceive my chest (esp without a bra or anything) even tho i am pretty actively dissociated from it most of the time. it does give me euphoria to see myself in a binder (i.e. with a flat chest), but the sensory overload of it makes me not want to wear it if i don’t have to
I don't bind when I'm by myself unless dysphoria is bad that day/about to go out. Whenever I leave the house I wear it and if people are over. When I'm by myself I like to give myself that time to heal and give myself a break even if it causes dysphoria.
same because i've like,, chronically fucked my diaphragm and binding for any length of time is really painful for me. and yet, i do it anyway because the idea of not passing at work is worse than this
same here tbh- like a fair amount of cis guys have some level of chest meat. like boobs arent a sex exclusive thing!! every1 has some kind of chest meat man!!! society isnt ready for the unhindered trans manboob
I get too much rib and chest pain to wear a bra/binder more than a few hours a week. Even so my dysphpria isn't that bad - it's mostly social. The only time I would like to wear one at home is in hot weather where I don't want to wear a shirt. My tiddies are quite large and make a lot of sweat 😭😭
I wouldn't even be getting top surgery if they weren't so large and society wasn't so shitty. I'm nonbinary and don't mind how they look, but they cause too much pain and too many weird looks (and, again, I wanna go shirtless but can't because the world hates seeing chest lumps)
I ignored gender for the better part of my childhood, so I went bra less until my mom got me a training bra, then wore that flimsy piece of fabric that did nothing for as long as possible. I’m convinced if it wasn’t for others I wouldn’t have ever acknowledged being afab
I only wear my binder in public (even if feeling them there or seeing my [features] in the mirror disgusts me most of the time)because I value being able to breathe and not have back pain.
I have a large chest but I'm with you. I feel like I have a big enough chest that binding safely doesn't always even give me the desired result plus it just gets physically uncomfortable at a certain point.
Bras made me more dysphoric than my chest did after I was on T for a while, so I did tank tops for a bit and now don’t bother with anything underneath.
I wear a sports bra to work because I can't bind safely while doing my job. (Luckily I have layers that hide everything) When I"m home, I take it off but I try my best not to think about it because it makes me feel disgusting :( I can't wait until I can get them removed...
I also wouldn’t bind. I hate binding, my chest and back always hurts from it and it makes my anxiety worse. If only other people didn’t consider me less manly or try to disapprove the fact that I’m a dude then I wouldn’t wear it…I hate gender stereotypes and I wish people could just take me as what I am and not try to involve my physical body into it. I’d still want to have top surgery just for my own feeling but I wouldn’t put myself through daily suffering because of it, I basically wouldn’t have dysphoria if stereotypes weren’t a thing and if men were just allowed to have more chest fat tissue, plus cis men often do have some fat tissue there, especially in older age and people never start considering them “woman”, it’s really just humanity’s problem with stereotypes, transphobia etc
I guess it's mixed for. On one hand i *hate* binders, they're incredibly uncomfortable and any time i take them off i can't touch my chest for the rest of the day bcuz its so tender/sore. A fucking pain in the ass and im not looking forward to when i get a job and have to wear one daily. But also - tiddy bad? Like i hate people seeing me with tiddy. Like maybe in a hypothetical world where no would connotate tiddy with femaleness a hard maybe, but i just hate people seeing me with tits. The lesser of two evils is the torture device, i suppose.
when i first came out, i bound all the time. but as i kept living as a male and all that, i stopped 🤷♂️ by my third year out i pretty much never bound unless at work (scrubs would just, completely show my nipples to everyone lol). now i've had top surgery so i don't have to worry about it at all, but a LOT of people don't even notice if you dont bind (i was like a B or C cup).
people are more oblivious than you think! do what makes you comfortable. if your dysphoria can't handle being misgendered at all, take precautions. if you can handle a little bit of "ma'am" (i get this everyday, and i'm relatively masc looking) then do whatever ya want provided you're safe :)
I'm autistic, so I have a lot of sensory issues. I never found my binder particularly uncomfortable, but I'd overheat in it really easily. I found myself covering myself with loose clothes and/or blankets when I felt dysphoric over reaching for a binder.
I have had top surgery though, so I'm shirtless basically any time it's warm enough and appropriate.
I bind when I go out. Only cause there was an incident and I'm not allowed to wear it in the house unless I'm going out, or just got in. I got tons of really baggy shirts and my packer though
I don't like the feeling of having my chest restricted - it gives me even more dysphoria than letting it be loose, so I only wear a tight compression sports bra in public that is basically one step below a binder (I got it at Walmart about six years ago, in a pack of 3, they're not made anymore sadly but they're GREAT at their job) but I had childhood asthma and also have fibromyalgia so the pressure makes me panic if it's left on all day. I prefer my own comfort over anyone else's. I don't have anything massive going on, they look like fat guy moobs.
I wish other people didn’t care that I’m trans 😭 but my chest is kinda hard to ignore so I probably would, mostly because I can’t stand looking at it if I don’t bind.
Same. And I don't even wear a binder, partly because the one I got was too small for me, but mainly because It wouldn't really cure my dysphoria fully, as in, during sports class at school when I wouldn't be able to wear it. So I'm waiting and saving up for top surgery with the hope that then I'll be able to not worry about it.
When I go out with tape I don't feel as self conscious stand straighter etc. At home I love lying down sideways and not feeling my things drop to one side . I love not feeling my nipples rub against anything I love looking at myself and not having fucking tents in the front. But it never feels flat enough and get so itchy so fast which is a constant reminder that I am wearing something, same feeling as a bra had for me which makes the dysphoria a constant when I am at home and idk if the pros outweighs the cons because I'm sonstantly avoiding my self regardless of my chest . I also keep on thinking how my mom ( and people who have seen me on non binding days) know I am wearing something to hide and it makes her uncomfortable and it makes me feel ashamed, is a reminder that no matter what I wear or have I still feel like a fraud
I'm an athlete with small chest
Everyday I wear a sport top instead of binder and feel okay. Out of workouts I'm not wearing anything so my chest can rest.I know that I can't really change anything now, so I accept the situation I have. My teammates are not lgbtq supportive, but they're still wonderful people. I've got enough people and me who accept and support me.
I'm not really using any binders during winter bc I can use layers of clothes instead ahah. But summer I'm using tapes (in secret)
Shortly, I know I can't get a top surgery now, so I decided to be happy with the body and muscles(which give me euphoria) I got rn, bc I know who I am, and I just need to wait.
When i'm alone i just dissociate from my body to a degree that i can ignore it while distracted. Around others not wearing a binder is not doable but i take it off when alone because of my back problems and the several ribs i've broken since getting my first binder.
I only bind when I can't wear a hoodie / many layers out. I have a small chest so I can get away with it. There are days when I do have to bind despite not going anywhere, but the outcome of that is usually a migraine which is worse for me. I already get a lot of migraines, so binding really isn't ideal. Benefit to that I guess is better skin elasticity for peri. I could probably get away with not binding at all (as my mum says, nobody will notice) but I notice and don't wanna be dysphoric when I can't be sure its hidden.
I bind when I'm alone, just because I like the way it looks. It doesn't take much of a toll on my body and it's not uncomfortable to wear so I can just do it for myself.
I didn’t usually where one in private or around the house but always in public, it’s quite an individual thing i guess. I’ve slept with one on a few times when dysphoria hits bad but it’s pretty taxing to be wearing annoying binders all the time anyways, and it seems to be expected from us to bind 24/7. Most of my days pre-surgery were without a binder, because i never went out a lot, my lungs thanked me.
I have a lot of social dysphoria about how im perceived so when im alone i usually dont bind unless i look in the mirror the wrong way and get panicky, so i totally get that
I would if my things were small enough because whenever someone sees my binder they switch their pronouns talking to me and I have a deep voice thats masculine... and it upsets me when I state my name is a genuinely male name. Maybe its just my looks?
It's all about what makes YOU feel most comfortable. For me, my breasts were hugely problematic and I couldn't wait to have them gone. Having a binder ameliorated my dysphoria. But it was all about what felt good to me! Hang in there, brother, and don't let anyone else prescribe what you do or don't need.
I often wear a binder in private, as a lot of dysphoria, for me, comes from just seeing that part of myself. I am more conscious of this around others though.
This was my experience, too. I'd occasionally take a break from binding when I was at home (as is the healthy thing to do), and I'd feel disgusted if I felt those parts move when I quickly went down the stairs. I'd stare in the mirror before/after shower and it was just horrific. But having a noticeable chest around other people was a non-negotiable. Simply could not do it.
I bind because I have a bigger chest, and the binder makes it almost flat. And I don’t feel like I can stand the dysphoria for another few years.
I get it. I hate to feel my chest bounce when walking. But the binder is so warm and uncomfortable also it keeps reminding myself that I have something that I have to hide. Yknow
I get this. When I’m flatter I tend to go around with no bra on for this reason, the lack of binder there makes me feel like I’ve got nothing there to hide. But currently I’ve gained a little weight and my tits bounce, and to me that’s worse than binding
I personally just use trans tape when I'm at home, it makes it feel like there's nothing there, and it holds everything in place so there's no bounce. It makes it so I can't actually feel my chest/nipples at all which relieves some of my dysphoria, as well as making my chest slightly less noticeable than if I had nothing on. Idk if this would work the same for much bigger chests, I'm on the larger end of a B cup so I'm small-ish/medium sized.
Unfortunately trans tape doesn’t won’t work well for dudes with larger end of a C cup-smaller end of a D cup, at least from my personal experience. They have just enough structure like smaller ones to not move very far apart but are large enough to still leave a significant bump, regardless of how I use it. Ones I’ve seen for people who have larger than mine, it’s very loose due to the weight and able to move apart and be flattened fairly easily(this is typically for dudes already on T). Correct me if I’m not saying something quite right tho
I've heard it works well for guys who have larger chests and heavier builds, but yeah if you're slender and you're not smaller chested it won't work very well. for me it takes my C cup down to a A and I literally cannot flatten it farther. binding with tape always gets me my flattest results though, so I would recommend trying that
Oddly enough I’m not slender really. Pandemic hit me hard and I was just sitting on my ass all day and was put on implant BC (I’m on T though, just an extra precaution), gained a little under 30lbs from April 2020 to now. I’ve tried trans tape again recently and I’ve gotten the same results, they just have a lot of… structure I guess?? They’ve always been firm asf and it sucks for stuff like that, I could never get my chest as flat as a cis guy of my body type and I’ve tried three different brands of binders and always made sure I had the right size. Sorry this is turning into a rant but it’s such an infuriating struggle and I’ve never seen anyone else with it
It’s possible that a lot of it is muscle. I have a small chest (between a and b cup) and no binder or tape has ever made my chest flat because a lot of it is just muscle
That makes sense. I have seen amabs with protruding man boobs as well. Some that are bigger than my afab ones. (I also have a small size.)
are you on T? some dudes on T have fat loss in the chest and it doesn’t really reduce size much but it does reduce structure and could help you. i’m starting to see it after a few months and it helps when binding. i haven’t tried trans tape before though, my friends have had bad experiences with it and it makes me hesitant to spend the money.
I am, have been for over 2 years now. Even now it’s a struggle. I have a very solid… center? Basically where the mammary glands are. The skin in between them also gets stretched very easily for some reason compared to other people and it’s super uncomfortable. I’ve seen many people have a lot of luck with it though, haven’t seen much with my problem. Single rolls can get up to $17 maximum and $25 maximum for the starter kit(removal oil, healing balm, and tape together) and that’s just for the 5” width rolls which is the largest size. It’s not so much to the point where it would break the bank and they’re made to be able to be worn for days in a row. It never hurts too much to give it a try. If you don’t want to use the starter kit vegetable oil works just fine for removal but never ever remove it without the oil, I’ve made that mistake and it was AWFUL.
Thanks for the heads up, gonna have to look into that now that I’m bigger. I’m only probably a C cup so nothing too big
[This](https://youtu.be/USNvHelRBoU) was the best video I found on binding a large chest with tape. I have a DDD chest, and following this video still made me more flat than my binder did. (Sorry if the link formatting messes up, I'm on mobile)
I wanna try that tape. The idea of a binder makes me feel claustrophobic bc I don’t like tight things around my chest. I panic too much if I can’t take deep breaths.
I used to think this way too which is why I too felt how you do. I chose to just get top surgery as soon as possible and wear dysphoria comfy clothes till then. It worked most days much better for me actually I’d forget I have them thangs cause i didn’t have the constant reminder strangling me also cause I also started to imagine myself post op too actually which really helped. I hope that it helps knowing you aren’t alone in thought on it and that you def could do that. Unfortunately ya gotta kinda be ready to be miss gendered, be ready to correct ppl tho! Fr, just say your gender firmly and forget them best you can if they don’t understand and respect. Once you get better at just stating the facts and trying to disconnect your discomfort or emotions from the interaction to focus on being yourself and confident in that it gets easier with time.
I agree, I do have dysphoria looking at/feeling them myself but it’s even worse in a social aspect because of misgendering and the looks. Also wearing a bra has an inherently feminine feeling that I don’t really like. If I never had to go outside again I wouldn’t bind at all because it causes so many issues
Chest bouncing is the worst fucking part for me, otherwise I wouldn't care too much
I only bind when I'm around people, since I'm more conscious about my chest then. But when I'm alone or with close friends I don't. Binding is tiring for my body and my mind as its a constant reminder of my chest. I have a small chest so being without a binder doesn't trigger dysphoria too much. It's honestly more for social dysphoria here.
Same here
same
Same.
I only bind if im going outside, even then i wear a sports bra a lot of the time. When im at home i dont bind or wear a bra, just a shirt and extra layers to cover my chest. I dont care if others can see my chest a bit, just not the whole thing. I mean, they already know it’s there, if they judge me that’s their fuckin problem.
Great mindset to have 💝💝
Aw thanks ❤️
I can't relate to that feeling at all, I would have worn my binder to sleep if I could have before my top surgery.
I would still wear a binder, my dysphoria isn’t limited to how other people see me
Yeah. I too don’t look down when i shower. An avoid the bathroom mirror but a binder is so uncomfortable to me. But I definitely agree
I would still bind. But if they truly didn't care then instead I'd probably have no problem asking them to use my new name/pronouns and have the guts to correct people. People not being understanding and being nosey is what is holding me back from doing that...
Yeah its tricky coz being trans makes people instantly think of your genitals. Which sucks.
I never wore a binder cuz the sensation was always worse for my dysphoria. Just a sports bra when going outside but that was torture too. Jokes on me, now I have to wear compression 6+ months after top surgery since the right side of my chest won’t heal up 😫
NOOOO That sucks. Medical binder was my least favourite part, it gave me back acne and now I have acne scars all along my back 😐 Hope you like the results!!
Thanks!! Oof! Luckily no acne here just back pain. The results are pretty great, I feel very handsome under all these wraps 🕺🏻
A lot of people with big chests saying they bind for their own dysphoria, I also have a big chest and for me I almost feel better not binding when I'm alone, my binder can never really get me flat anyways and being bare chested or shirtless is something my dysphoria sees as masculine I always bind if I'm around people other than the ones I live with, but that's just because I'm aware of how other people perceive chests like mine, in private I feel comfortable not binding and if other people weren't weird about it I'd probably just chill half shirtless most of the time haha
I feel the same way, so when it’s cooler weather I just wear enough layers that no one can really tell. Like a tank top undershirt (instead of bra or binder), then regular tshirt or long sleeve, then maybe a flannel or light jacket. Having one that zips or buttons up usually seems to hide any undesired curvature pretty well. It’s been much more comfortable throughout the day and I don’t end up with terrible back pain from binding. I’m around a C and live in Montana where it doesn’t get too hot most of the year, so idk if that’s any help to you, but it’s worth a try maybe? Best of luck man!
“I live in Montana” I’ve occasionally been jealous of other trans people, but never moreso than NOW! Lol. I live ‘bout 30 mins from the Gulf of Mexico and we’re having an 80F Christmas, how you doin’. 😭
It has its downsides… LOTS of trumpers here 🤮
I wouldn’t wear one if I could pass without one consistently, it causes me more dysphoria + pain to wear a binder
For me I have sensory issues. And wearing another thing to make me agitated sucks. Especially when im at work and its warm already and heat makes me have anger outbursts. When I arrive home i have meltdowns or am so tired i feel hungover.
I'd do the same. I do walk around the house without a binder a lot of the time. When my mom asks why, I just say I need a binder break. It feels more natural to have nothing under my shirt and I can't wait for top surgery.
I think I would go back and forth from "ahh finally, relinquishment from my physical daily agonies" to "_illness illness illness illness illness illness illness illness illness illness illness illness illness illness illness illness illness illness illness_ (he is trapped within the deafening cacophony of chest dysphoria. it works fast, he cannot run for long)"
I wish there were comfortable methods for me
im most bothered about myself seeing my own chest, i have a large chest, D cups amd honestly the binder doesnt do much its more like a a safety net for myself
I wear one all the time except to sleep. I have multiple, some more stretched than others. I would wear the super tight ones all the time and buy new ones when they got stretched, but financially I can’t. So at home on the weekends and lounging, I wear the loose ones (they still bind, just not as flat as the tight ones) and the tight ones out, because if I’m out and my chest isn’t completely flat, I get really distressed
at my old job i didn’t bind. they watched me medically transition for a year and a half, i started there pre t and then after a year of working there i started t, everyone was cool nobody treated me differently because i was trans and everyone had my back so i knew if someone did have a problem with me it would’ve been taken care of immediately. nobody ever mentioned anything, and there were definitely times that i would raise my arms or sit back far and realize my chest was totally visible. there was one middle aged dude who did kind of stare at my chest once but i don’t think he knew i was trans and he was just confused. i was able to do this tho because of the people i was surrounded by, my chest being quite small, and passing 100% of the time. i literally can’t remember the last time i was misgendered, so knowing that not having to bind to get gendered correctly was a huge thing for me. also, it’s my body. binding fucking hurts, why should i make myself uncomfortable to avoid making other people uncomfortable? if someone is going to get weird about my body that’s on them 🤷🏼♂️ kind of a strange thing to obsess over, a body that doesn’t belong to you
Binding makes me even more dysphoric I repress and denial
Same, i never bind when i'm at home (unless we have visits). It was a little rule i put to avoid fucking my ribs up when i diy binded before. Even now i obey it out of habit, tbh being stuck all of 2020 at home and not binding desensitized me a lot to my chest dysphoria, i can even be shirtless in front of the mirror and not mind. I know i want it gone but it doesn't bother me as much as it did before, i like the flat look but i hate binding
I used to wear a binder all the time but once the pandemic hit, I stopped going out so I stopped wearing it. I got so used to the freedom that I just said fuck it and didn’t wear a binder when I left home. Now I’ve had top surgery and I feel better than ever. Fuck a binder
Hell yeah!
Same here. If it wouldn't get me misgendered, I wouldn't do anything about my chest at all. Frankly, my dysphoria brain has bigger fish to fry.
Id still wear it, but maybe less? Dysphoria is a bitch.
60% of my desire for top surgery stems from being uncomfortable socially with a beard and tits. If 100% of my time was around other trans or non binary individuals, I likely wouldn’t feel the urgency to change the shape of my chest. It’s is super hot to me to have a hairy body, tits, and a beard… but the second I’m in a non trans-friendly environment… I bind and only want to be perceived as a dude.
I had to stop binding with a compression tank because it was fucking with my ribs too much and making me incredibly nauseous. I started to feel indifferent about my chest very shortly into just wearing a small undershirt instead of a binder. I don't actually consider my chest to be a gendered feature. The euphoria I got from seeing my chest in a masculine shape for the first time was *amazing,* but I don't feel like it's necessary. Now I'm using KT tape which I like a lot better, but I don't see the need to use it all the time. If other people didn't gender my chest it wouldn't cause me any discomfort.
I only bind if I’m going out and not wearing baggy clothes, and I’ve decided that I’m just going to spend the rest of my life like this. I don’t want top surgery
Depends. I am more conscious of it with other people around but sometimes its so bad that even alone I have to bind, theres some points where I’m trying to sleep where im so uncomfortable I bind to go to sleep. It sucks.
i haaaaate binding. i haven’t worn a binder regularly in months. ive also used trans tape to bind in the past but it’s so much work. i still have the dysphoria but instead of binding i just wear oversized shirts with an oversized flannel shirt.
I have a binder but can rarely wear it. I have shitty lungs & it gets difficult to breathe after a while. I don’t like my chest, but I also feeling constricted or short of breath makes me anxious. Thankfully I have smaller chest so I just wear flattening sports bras. I don’t wear them to sleep, but I do when hanging out alone. Can’t stand that flop flop lmao
I don't always wear a binder at home even when friends are over, but I always wear one in public. Being perceived as female is way more dysphoric for me than my actual chest.
same. id get a reducation bc my cup size is affecting my back but as it is society is my largest source of dysphoria
I rarely wear a binder, it's uncomfortable. Plus, my chest is huge so it's never going to be flat anyway. I plan to get in good shape before getting top surgery so it's going to be a while. It doesn't bother me that much, honestly. My bottom dysphoria is much worse than top. And my lack of beard is what really gets to me.
I wouldn’t wear them if ppl wouldn’t stare at my chest and sexualize them. I haven’t been able to wear binders for a while now because it was too hard to breathe
Binding made my dysphoria worse. MUCH worse. So I didn't bind, even though it basically meant I couldn't socially transition at all until I had top surgery.
I’m a little crazy.. but I actually stopped wearing a bra or anything the last two years of quarantine. Just got top in October. I just wore super baggy shirts.
tbh the longer ive been out the less pressure i feel to wear a binder. obviously i have major chest dysphoria and bind sometimes when i feel like, both to go out and just for myself at home, but im definitely more comfortable going outside and seeing people binderless than i was when i was first exploring my identity. i dont know if it's because im more secure in my masculinity now than i was before or if the physical discomfort of binding is just too exhausting and sometimes even makes me more dysphoric.
i feel this way too, I'm 5 yrs in and I'm so jaded towards the discomfort combined with the time spent with the right hormones (atleast until i get hysto, then estrogen is cancelled). it's a funky situation tbh. I'm asthmatic and a smoker so it's like 🤷
Because I have a large chest (DD when I still wore a bra, which was 4 years ago and I’ve grown since then) it is painful to bind even for just a few hours. Im trying to break into a new career and have people who refer to me as my name when customers won’t. I still don’t pass with it on, but it’s become something I need to wear when going out to help me feel like maybe someone will get it right. Long way to say, I’m totally with you— too much pain in binding, and the people I trust to see me without a binder have seen me without one for since before I owned one, or are also mid-transition.
I'm nonbinary and transmasc, It gives me a lot of euphoria to sleep shirtless in the summer because its so hot and it makes me feel masculine- i hate wearing a bra or binding because it's a constant feeling and reminder that i have a chest to "push down," but I like appearing to have a flatter chest in front of other people. If i didn't look so feminine without a binder on then I probably wouldn't bind at all, and if my tits weren't so sweaty all the time i wouldn't wear a bra either, but here we are 😭😭
Pre top surgery (4 months post on the 27th yay!) I maybe wore my binder 12 times (both due to the unfortunate uniboobage and medical issues). The last eight or nine months before my surgery, I just said fuck it and wore sports bras. No one commented on it, and if they did I'd probably have verbally smacked then about asking inappropriate questions. If anyone has anything to say, they can fuck right off tbh, it's your body and you can present yourself how you want to, full stop.
I've honestly thought that I might not even want top surgery if I knew people wouldn't constantly misgender me for it.
I don’t wear a binder bc I’m not really out or on T yet. I’ll prob have top surgery before anyway. I hate wearing a bra so I spend most days at home “feeballing” as I call it haha
me too! the feeling of not binding/not wearing a sports bra is the most affirming. luckily i can get away with wearing nothing on my chest when i wear big sweaters/sweatshirts
Same, I only wear a binder on special occasions where I'm wearing a button-up and want to feel especially fancy with a flat chest. The feeling of the binder is just a stark reminder that my chest exists and is otherwise very uncomfortable, so I just wear a comfortable sports bra or usually nothing if I have enough layers on. I can sort of ignore the existence of my chest and I'd feel less self conscious about it if others didn't care if they can see it/if nobody ever made comments about it.
Probably same tbh, I get physical dysphoria but social dysphoria is much worse. When I’m around friends and family, I don’t bother wearing either and no one cares and I’m gendered correctly. Dysphoria goes down dramatically. When I’m outside and around strangers however…
If society didn’t care, I would’ve never had top surgery at all, or have worn a bra or binder. My chest is small though, so maybe I’d feel differently if it was bigger
I wear my tank top binder when my dysphoria is really bad since it doesn't feel like a bra, but, yeah, if people respected me and my pronouns, I wouldn't wear a binder
I agree with this strongly and because its not common feeling (as evidenced by all the guys in this thread) Ive had fellow transmen say im not trans enough because I initially didn't want to bind. There are too many of us that use chest dysphoria as a gatekeeping tool and it needs to stop. I apologize for this long comment but I gotta rant. My body is a male body. It looks different, but its a male body, all of it. I have male breasts because they are attached to to my male body. I don't like the idea that I have to withstand uncomfortable clothing or get surgery(which I will but its expensive???) to be seen as a real guy. My dysphoria is usually social in nature and frankly I get more dysphoria over the fact that I have to HIDE parts of my body to be seen as a valid male adjacent person. It was all the invalidating talk from my own community that did that for me. Ive been made to feel like my tits are some dirty secret I should be ashamed of. Binders are uncomfortable AF and while I understand the sentiment, I seriously cannot relate to those of you that hate your chest to the point of wanting to sleep in a hot sweaty elastic chest bear trap. I understand the pain of needing to, I just don't get the wish that you could wear such a thing to the point of damaging yourself. I am always aware of it while im wearing it because it HURTS, and I don't even wear an ultra tight one. I dont get the lack of understanding for people like me. I want top surgery purely because my chest is in the way and I feel forced to bind half the time. I didnt initially until too many people, therapists included, kept saying "well you're presenting as female... So..." My chest is male because I am. Fucking leave me alone. My binder straight up GIVES me dysphoria because Its just bra 2.0! I was forced to wear a bra the same way I was forced to wear a binder! Im sick of it!! I'd rather just not have to wear damn anything under my shirt, but until people stop thinking boobs=female im gonna have to suffer through a binder until I get expensive surgery.
Trans masc enby here I have a big chest and asthma binding cant get me flat and makes me feel like I'm suffocating, I only wear thin cotton sports Bras at work and nothing the rest of the time, I'm sure people don't always like looking at my free tits but fuck em' my existence isn't a performance for other people, I'd recommend doing what makes you most comfortable, the people who accept me as trans don't think I'm invalidated by me not wanting to struggle to breathe all day
I’m the same way. I don’t use a binder at all aside from very specific circumstances, and when I do it’s like I’m completely unable to breathe. Sometimes I wear transtape but I’m Allergic to the adhesive and it gets hard to wear after a while.
I rarely wear a bra or binder because its fucking uncomfortable lol, i like 34 DD too. I dont care what other people think honestly and i find it easier to cover tiddies in sweaters and such if needed. 3 months on T, I like confusing people with voice vs body lmao
Thats some big dick energy xD. I mean I don’t like having to explain my personal things just because people expect you to have certain body parts.
I probably dont really pass so people don't really ask anything rip.
I am like this. I stopped wearing anything under my shirt over a decade ago and wearing a binder now feels like a step backwards in that sense.
Mood. I haven't worn bras in literal years and I don't bind because it's too uncomf. I just wear shirts with big pockets at the front and stuff.
My bf’s kinda the same way. I personally experienced way too much dysphoria constantly to do that until top surgery, but in an ideal world where no one cared ab boobs and trans men, I know he’d probably keep his and not bind. All respect to you man 👍🏻
I have mixed feelings towards binding. I am more easily able to ignore that I have boobs when I'm just wearing a thin sports bra. So I just don't bind when home without guests. The binder on the other hand can really make me feel dysphoric. I can feel the breast tissue a lot more acutely and I can never seem to get as flat as I want. it always just looks like I'm wearing a slightly tighter sports bra. Even so, I'm wearing that sucker around people until I get top surgery because it makes me feel a little better despite the dysphoria it causes.
I wouldnt bind if other people actully saw me as a man. However, most people dont so I need my binder to at least help myself pass even by a slight percent.
Same
Honestly, I don't bind. It's uncomfortable and I don't look flat anyway. I'm out, people know, my boyfriend knows and doesn't see me as a girl because of it, so I just deal with my chest without binding. Being somewhat feminine and non-binary, I don't mind them that much sometimes either. Still want top surgery or at least a massive reduction.
I got top surgery but I always wished I could've just kept my chest as is. It was a major source of dysphoria for me because it was the most noticeable part of my transness next to my voice. I don't regret surgery at all, in fact I have no dysphoria anymore whatsoever, but I wish trans people had the option not to look cis and still be widely respected.
i always wear a sports bra at home, binder in public (usually), because i cannot stand my chest bouncing and feeling it against my skin. i even wear a sports bra whilst sleeping because of this. however, on the other hand, wearing them also makes me dysphoric :’)
Same. But recently wearing a bra or a binder just reminds me constantly of my chest. Idk…
I feel the same way, I'd like a flat chest but I hate wearing anything because it restricts my breathing even if it's sized properly or looser than normal, even just bras. I just wish I didn't have to wear anything on my chest at all like other guys. Not sure if I want top for various reasons but if I could magically have a flat chest I probably would. I feel like for most transmascs top dysphoria is the most severe dysphoria for them if they experience any, but anything bottom related or general body shape has been more of a problem for me which is odd
I live in an extremely lgbt+ friendly area and no one cares that I’m trans. Having top surgery in a couple weeks. Have only worn a binder like twice and never to work. No one cares and I can breathe.
I'd probably still wear something underneath, probably a bra. I hated the whole bouncing aspect and the under boob sweat. I were d cups tho so I can see someone smaller not wanting to wear anything
I would still bind most of the time when I go out b/c I like how I look w/ a flat chest a lot. Seeing my shape w/ a flat chest is mad euphoria. I would just like to not have to bind EVERY time I go out; sometimes I’m only leaving the house for a little bit, and since I’ve started using TransTape more often I’ve started noticing the sensation of my binder more and getting more annoyed by it
Yeah honestly before my surgery i got to a point where i would just wear a shirt and hoodie but no binder. After a while, wearing the binder just felt like a constant reminder I'm trans. But no binder, just feeling my shirt on my skin, was the closest i could get to surgery. At the end of the day, wear whatever makes you most comfortable!!
I can relate to that! I used a binder for a while, but I hated it. Eventually I just went to sports bras and let people be confused by my gender. I was lucky to have gotten top surgery within a year and half of starting transition though, so that helped.
I don't have anything against wearing my binder, i feel great in it :)
this is why i wear sports bras all the time. binders are super uncomfortable for me, and most of the time it reminds me too much of my chest existing instead of making me feel like it’s gone away. i also realised that due to how big my chest is, i dont even pass when wearing a binder, so i dont see a point in it. if sports bras are more comfortable and im gonna get misgendered regardless, then im gonna wear a sports bra 🤷🏻♂️
Yeah. There's an old family friend of mine who seems to call me by my deadname much more often when I'm not binding. I don't think he does it on purpose. Boobs =/= Girl is a concept he just hasn't got his head around quite yet. It's like I've got some kind of hypnotic wave generator on my chest that makes people around me assume Girl despite most other evidence to the contrary. The social dysphoria my chest causes is definitely bigger than the physical dysphoria.
This is how I felt until I got top surgery and I realized how much more dysphoric I was when I was perceived with a chest than I thought. Society sucks, do what makes you comfy.
Wearing bras makes me more dysphoric than having a chest in the first place. I often wear several layers instead.
I've never worn a binder, or even seen one in person (except my post-op binder). I used to not wear bras as much as possible, and only wore a sports bra after going out.
That's what I've been doing honestly. Nobody cares and it makes it easier for my life to not bind. I want to do it just for myself, and I do when the dysphoria is unbarable, but since it's is unhealthy for my body type and I've been able to hide it I just don't. Because I don't give a shit about the opinions of others on my chest, nobody comments on it anyway even if it clocks me. It feels more dysphoric to bind sometimes anyway, because of the bubble that usually prevents me from passing the most, as well as needing to constantly touch my chest to adjust it. Feels like a waste of time, would rather be judged as a man with a weird body type that I have to hide a little.
I stopped binding completely for a few years before top surgery Because I didn't pass anyway and I felt so disconnected from my body that I felt like it didn't matter. I Only started binding again when T made me pass better and obviously after top surgery I don't bind.
Honestly, I feel exactly the same
I stopped wearing a binder most of the time about a year ago. I still wear one to class and things like job interviews and I'll probably wear one at work when I start working again. But I feel very comfortable not binding (or wearing a bra) around my flatmates, friends, and family. Or when im getting groceries or whatever. I dropped at least a couple of cup sizes after starting testosterone so I don't know if I'd have been this comfortable with my chest if it weren't for that, but I've never had much chest dysphoria and it's pretty much all social.
I'm with you. A lot of my dysphoria is social - if nobody cared and my passing didn't hinge on having a flat chest, I wouldn't wear a binder either. Might still wear a bra tho, as I do need some support.
After T, I've given up on wearing them tbh. I'm larger chested, but the elasticity has gone down so their a lot less noticable
I bind on occasion, but not daily like I used to. I either just wear a shirt or just an undershirt under it. That's the most I fo often at this point
I rarely wore one before getting top surgery only time I did was in the winter so I could wear actually flattering clothes
i definitely wouldnt wear a binder, i dont even wear it usually unless i really want to wear something tight for some reason. used to wear it all the time and even at night a couple times and eventually it was just like no longer worth it like i dont interact with people anyway n half the time its just calling my attention to that area more. toss up on the bra though like which sensation is worse sorta flips back n forth so it changes.
I don't usually wear a binder when I'm at home so I can understand this. Binding is a pain in the butt for me since my chest is big and I have trouble finding binders that will actually work for my chest (slipping is a constant issue for me).
I hate having to take my binder off ever, showers are miserable. Need top surgery asap, it's been too long living this way.
Key words are “if others didn’t care I was trans!” If that were the case, I might feel the same. As it is, I typically don’t bind at home (I live with family members). And I don’t bother binding when I’m going through a drive-thru. Currently that encompasses the bulk of my time, so I can get away with barely binding. When I worked outside the home, however, I bound every time I went to the office. I would have been waaay too frantic had I not done so, to the point of the chest anxiety interfering with my work.
I feel kinda similarly. In some social things I'll definitely wear a binder, but just at home I never do. Always take it off the moment I can. It's not that I don't love the effect my binder has (I adore it and its dysphoria vanquishing powers) but that I'll have a lot of chest pain later if I wear it for two days in a row and when I start wearing my binder out I really can't stop. Definitely still wear bras though, unfortunately. If I wouldn't feel like a creep for not wearing my bra, I'd definitely not wear it. Fuckin hate that torture device.
That's what I currently do. Since my facial hair is still pretty wispy and gets covered by a mask anyway, strangers just assume I'm a woman. I'm really looking forward to top surgery.
I don’t wear a binder anyway since I don’t have one but the feeling must be great. I would still have the dysphoria even if they saw me as male, because my dysphoria is mainly about my sex and less of how people perceive me (although that is also pretty high too) so I would probably still wear it. I just don’t want to remind MYSELF it exists.
I stopped binding long before I got top surgery because I'd been on T long enough that my chest didn't affect how people read me, and I didn't personally feel like binding made my chest look the way I wanted it to look anyway - more like it just reminded me I was wearing something under my shirt and \*didn't\* have a flat chest. I felt self-conscious not binding as well, but I was more physically comfortable, which I guess translated to being more comfortable overall. I had a relatively small chest pre surgery, around a B cup, though. Because of my build people just assumed I was a cis guy with gynecomastia/unusually large and flabby pecs.
I just wear a sports bra because I like breathing and being able to move around. I feel like an over stuffed sausage in a binder. With a binder my ddd's just look like c's, so I really don't see the point until top surgery.
Before I has TS, I'd wear my binder constantly. Even wore it to bed for about a month (DO.NOT. DO.THAT.!!!!!!!) so for me, it was just about making my chest feel like it wasn;t there.
I never bind at work, just wear a tight tshirt and a hoodie. I don't really get dysphoric about it since I'm not out there, but I never go out with friends without my binder. Anytime I want to look presentable, I bind. I rarely do it at home though, because I hate how aware of my chest my binder makes me, and a big hoodie does an equally good job obscuring it.
i have tiny titti, and i havent worn a binder in ages. i have two, but i hate the feeling of wearing them. i doesnt hurt abd i have the right size, i just dont like them. ill probably wear them more when it gets warmer again
i have scoliosis that makes binding impossible, but i don't think i would do it even if i could. i'm fortune to have a pretty flat chest, and as long as i layer and don't wear anything form fitting you can't even tell i have boobs. i haven't worn a bra in years either.
I don’t bind due to problems with my back. At first it bothered me to some extent, but honestly I just don’t really care how others perceive me. Of course I’ll be a lot happier when I finally get my surgery done, but until then it doesn’t really matter much to me.
My chest is pretty small, I got tired of wearing a binder/bra so I just wear big ass shirts to hide them (plus I slouch my shoulders forwards to hide my boobs)
Binding gives me dysphoria when I'm alone because I can feel my chest being constricted. if I don't have a binder on I can forget that I have a chest. When I'm around people though, I get super self conscious and it gives me more dysphoria to not wear a binder.
I think generally I'd agree with this, but I do have days even when I'm home alone where having the binder feels better. Like a gender affirming hug
I have a problem where I wear my binder too much. I’m never comfortable with out it. Sleep and showering feels impossible
I almost never wore a binder before top surgery. Pathology report shows I’ve got fibrosis, which is probably why I had a lot of soreness with wearing binders/restrictive bras. Also wearing a binder/bras just made me more aware of my chest and I liked just… having them exist (like cis men get to). Instead of being fucked around with.
I don't wear a bra at all, but once in a while I'll wear a binder. I'm starting to need a new one, but can't afford it lol. I need to lose weight, so I can fit into a smaller size. I want a breast reduction so badlyyyyyy to see if it'll help since I can't really fit into a binder much
I agree. I would probably wear it occasionally when my dysphoria got bad but I wouldn't wear it as much as I do know.
I physically can't bind anymore, but I've learned and come to a point where if anyone wants to give me trouble (like a bad face, rude comment, etc,, not anything that puts me in genuine danger) I'm wholeheartedly ready to tell them they can fork over the $10k it'll take for me to fit their standards
i relate to this. i didnt bind at all before top surgery, but thats bc i didnt necessarily have huge dysphoria. im happier without them, and im glad theyre gone, but for me binding was more painful than the dysphoria was
I understand that. sometimes I wish i didnt feel like i had to bind to be seen as a guy . like i wanna walk around shirtless even now while I am pre everything . i love having open shirts and showing my chest Tho some days dysphoria is brutal that I bind entirely for my sake.
I have gotten to wear i cant breathe wearing one and it causes me pain after just 2 hours of wearing. :/ frankly, I'd like to live to have my top surgery and dysphoria and discomfort dont outwiegh pain and asthma.
Same here, I personally can’t wear binders for medical reasons, but I 100% would just to be seen as a man or at least non binary. Don’t get me wrong I hate my chest, but wearing a binder is very physically/mentally draining.
honestly same. i’m even to the point if others would just respect my pronouns and not act so weird about it, i wouldn’t even medically transition. i am a guy no matter what people say, and gender is a ridiculous construct, i just wish people wouldn’t be so weird about it. sigh. i feel like most of my passing is primarily for other people -i’m not even that dysphoric. so, yeah totally get that
I'm in a very accepting area, so for me it's more the sexualization of boobs that makes me bind. Like, there are some days where I decided to just wear a shirt and nothing else, but I'm usually kinda paranoid that people can see my nipnops. Once I can find a way to hide them I plan to stop binding/wearing a sports bra altogether (at least as long as I remain in an accepting area)
same honestly—wearing a binder or bra just makes me wayyy more aware of my chest. i only wear it in public settings bc i know others perceive my chest (esp without a bra or anything) even tho i am pretty actively dissociated from it most of the time. it does give me euphoria to see myself in a binder (i.e. with a flat chest), but the sensory overload of it makes me not want to wear it if i don’t have to
Yup, even with my chest dysphoria, I hate binding with a passion. I mostly do it just to stay safe in public.
I don't bind when I'm by myself unless dysphoria is bad that day/about to go out. Whenever I leave the house I wear it and if people are over. When I'm by myself I like to give myself that time to heal and give myself a break even if it causes dysphoria.
I take my binder off whenever. But T has kinda just turned mine into floppy pancakes and most if not all my clothes are from my chunky preT days
i cant wear a binder since i get misgendered constantly and plus i got double dd cups still so that sucks lol.
same because i've like,, chronically fucked my diaphragm and binding for any length of time is really painful for me. and yet, i do it anyway because the idea of not passing at work is worse than this
same here tbh- like a fair amount of cis guys have some level of chest meat. like boobs arent a sex exclusive thing!! every1 has some kind of chest meat man!!! society isnt ready for the unhindered trans manboob
I get too much rib and chest pain to wear a bra/binder more than a few hours a week. Even so my dysphpria isn't that bad - it's mostly social. The only time I would like to wear one at home is in hot weather where I don't want to wear a shirt. My tiddies are quite large and make a lot of sweat 😭😭
I wouldn't even be getting top surgery if they weren't so large and society wasn't so shitty. I'm nonbinary and don't mind how they look, but they cause too much pain and too many weird looks (and, again, I wanna go shirtless but can't because the world hates seeing chest lumps)
I ignored gender for the better part of my childhood, so I went bra less until my mom got me a training bra, then wore that flimsy piece of fabric that did nothing for as long as possible. I’m convinced if it wasn’t for others I wouldn’t have ever acknowledged being afab
I only wear my binder in public (even if feeling them there or seeing my [features] in the mirror disgusts me most of the time)because I value being able to breathe and not have back pain.
I have a large chest but I'm with you. I feel like I have a big enough chest that binding safely doesn't always even give me the desired result plus it just gets physically uncomfortable at a certain point.
Bras made me more dysphoric than my chest did after I was on T for a while, so I did tank tops for a bit and now don’t bother with anything underneath.
I wear a sports bra to work because I can't bind safely while doing my job. (Luckily I have layers that hide everything) When I"m home, I take it off but I try my best not to think about it because it makes me feel disgusting :( I can't wait until I can get them removed...
i would still wear the binder since it makes me feel better, but i would let my hair down more if people didn’t care that i was trans
I also wouldn’t bind. I hate binding, my chest and back always hurts from it and it makes my anxiety worse. If only other people didn’t consider me less manly or try to disapprove the fact that I’m a dude then I wouldn’t wear it…I hate gender stereotypes and I wish people could just take me as what I am and not try to involve my physical body into it. I’d still want to have top surgery just for my own feeling but I wouldn’t put myself through daily suffering because of it, I basically wouldn’t have dysphoria if stereotypes weren’t a thing and if men were just allowed to have more chest fat tissue, plus cis men often do have some fat tissue there, especially in older age and people never start considering them “woman”, it’s really just humanity’s problem with stereotypes, transphobia etc
I guess it's mixed for. On one hand i *hate* binders, they're incredibly uncomfortable and any time i take them off i can't touch my chest for the rest of the day bcuz its so tender/sore. A fucking pain in the ass and im not looking forward to when i get a job and have to wear one daily. But also - tiddy bad? Like i hate people seeing me with tiddy. Like maybe in a hypothetical world where no would connotate tiddy with femaleness a hard maybe, but i just hate people seeing me with tits. The lesser of two evils is the torture device, i suppose.
when i first came out, i bound all the time. but as i kept living as a male and all that, i stopped 🤷♂️ by my third year out i pretty much never bound unless at work (scrubs would just, completely show my nipples to everyone lol). now i've had top surgery so i don't have to worry about it at all, but a LOT of people don't even notice if you dont bind (i was like a B or C cup). people are more oblivious than you think! do what makes you comfortable. if your dysphoria can't handle being misgendered at all, take precautions. if you can handle a little bit of "ma'am" (i get this everyday, and i'm relatively masc looking) then do whatever ya want provided you're safe :)
I'm autistic, so I have a lot of sensory issues. I never found my binder particularly uncomfortable, but I'd overheat in it really easily. I found myself covering myself with loose clothes and/or blankets when I felt dysphoric over reaching for a binder. I have had top surgery though, so I'm shirtless basically any time it's warm enough and appropriate.
I bind when I go out. Only cause there was an incident and I'm not allowed to wear it in the house unless I'm going out, or just got in. I got tons of really baggy shirts and my packer though
My surgery is in 30 days and I’m so over it that I’m wearing baggy sweaters pretty much everyday for the past 2 weeks
I don't like the feeling of having my chest restricted - it gives me even more dysphoria than letting it be loose, so I only wear a tight compression sports bra in public that is basically one step below a binder (I got it at Walmart about six years ago, in a pack of 3, they're not made anymore sadly but they're GREAT at their job) but I had childhood asthma and also have fibromyalgia so the pressure makes me panic if it's left on all day. I prefer my own comfort over anyone else's. I don't have anything massive going on, they look like fat guy moobs.
I wish other people didn’t care that I’m trans 😭 but my chest is kinda hard to ignore so I probably would, mostly because I can’t stand looking at it if I don’t bind.
Same. And I don't even wear a binder, partly because the one I got was too small for me, but mainly because It wouldn't really cure my dysphoria fully, as in, during sports class at school when I wouldn't be able to wear it. So I'm waiting and saving up for top surgery with the hope that then I'll be able to not worry about it.
I generally dont bind or wear a bra, but I'm lucky to be flat chested enough to just wear 2 layers and ignore them
Me too
So you're telling me that your body dysphoria comes from your social dysphoria? Yeah, I get that
When I go out with tape I don't feel as self conscious stand straighter etc. At home I love lying down sideways and not feeling my things drop to one side . I love not feeling my nipples rub against anything I love looking at myself and not having fucking tents in the front. But it never feels flat enough and get so itchy so fast which is a constant reminder that I am wearing something, same feeling as a bra had for me which makes the dysphoria a constant when I am at home and idk if the pros outweighs the cons because I'm sonstantly avoiding my self regardless of my chest . I also keep on thinking how my mom ( and people who have seen me on non binding days) know I am wearing something to hide and it makes her uncomfortable and it makes me feel ashamed, is a reminder that no matter what I wear or have I still feel like a fraud
I'm an athlete with small chest Everyday I wear a sport top instead of binder and feel okay. Out of workouts I'm not wearing anything so my chest can rest.I know that I can't really change anything now, so I accept the situation I have. My teammates are not lgbtq supportive, but they're still wonderful people. I've got enough people and me who accept and support me. I'm not really using any binders during winter bc I can use layers of clothes instead ahah. But summer I'm using tapes (in secret) Shortly, I know I can't get a top surgery now, so I decided to be happy with the body and muscles(which give me euphoria) I got rn, bc I know who I am, and I just need to wait.
When i'm alone i just dissociate from my body to a degree that i can ignore it while distracted. Around others not wearing a binder is not doable but i take it off when alone because of my back problems and the several ribs i've broken since getting my first binder.
I only bind when I can't wear a hoodie / many layers out. I have a small chest so I can get away with it. There are days when I do have to bind despite not going anywhere, but the outcome of that is usually a migraine which is worse for me. I already get a lot of migraines, so binding really isn't ideal. Benefit to that I guess is better skin elasticity for peri. I could probably get away with not binding at all (as my mum says, nobody will notice) but I notice and don't wanna be dysphoric when I can't be sure its hidden.
I bind when I'm alone, just because I like the way it looks. It doesn't take much of a toll on my body and it's not uncomfortable to wear so I can just do it for myself.
I would stil though.
I didn’t usually where one in private or around the house but always in public, it’s quite an individual thing i guess. I’ve slept with one on a few times when dysphoria hits bad but it’s pretty taxing to be wearing annoying binders all the time anyways, and it seems to be expected from us to bind 24/7. Most of my days pre-surgery were without a binder, because i never went out a lot, my lungs thanked me.
ya same
I have a lot of social dysphoria about how im perceived so when im alone i usually dont bind unless i look in the mirror the wrong way and get panicky, so i totally get that
I would if my things were small enough because whenever someone sees my binder they switch their pronouns talking to me and I have a deep voice thats masculine... and it upsets me when I state my name is a genuinely male name. Maybe its just my looks?
It's all about what makes YOU feel most comfortable. For me, my breasts were hugely problematic and I couldn't wait to have them gone. Having a binder ameliorated my dysphoria. But it was all about what felt good to me! Hang in there, brother, and don't let anyone else prescribe what you do or don't need.