To Pack Or Not To Pack

[Manyfaces]

I just got my packy in the mail yesterday (the non-functional kind) from Mango, nearly six weeks (!) after I ordered it.  I wore it around last evening, and I like the way it feels and looks, and yet I'm not sure I'll want to wear it all day, everywhere.  What I'm wondering is, for those of you who haven't had any bottom surgery, how do you feel about packing?  Do you do it all the time, or sometimes?  How important do you think it is as a visual identifier (even on a subtle level; i.e., is it something people really notice, even subconsiously)?  Or is it something you do only for yourself, for how it feels?  Binding my breasts feels more critical to me, because it's much more easily noticeable to other people.  Your thoughts and opinions and practices appreciated, and if there are options I haven't thought of, suggestions are welcome.  Input from the girls is welcome too.  Do you look at guys' crotches?  Does it matter?

Rob

[jonjon]

I pack everywhere i go!!! But i have to admit, it was exciting and all at first, but the Mango Pack and Pee is more annoying than anything nowadays. I have my heart set on saving up for one of those silicone prosthesis from the link Bev gave.

But it is important to me to have something there. I do it mainly for me, but also just in case anyone does happen to look in 'that' region because i get very conscious of it.

[Dennis]

I don't usually bother packing. I will occasionally if I'm wearing jeans that might show. Otherwise it's more of a bother than anything. My GF says she doesn't notice whether I am or not, so it strikes me that if she isn't looking there hard enough to notice, nobody else is.

Dennis

[J.T.]

I have not found the need to do so yet... and besides the jeans I wear already "show" something.  Never realized they were enhanced before.

[Nick]

I pack because it boosts my confidence that I'm passing. I know [most] guys dont go around checking out other dude's crotches, but incase somebody suspects I'm trans (duno how they would  ) they'd see the bulge and pass me off as a normal guy. If I don't pack I feel anxious, like somebody's  gonna notice. Plus it feels right being there.

Nick

[Nero]

Not to Pack.
I chose 'Packing is silly.'
Let me rephrase that - it's silly to me.
I understand some guys do it to feel more complete or comfortable, and that's the only reason to do it IMO.
For yourself. For your own comfort.
It'd only be a passing issue if you wore jeans so tight they look painted on. Most guys don't wear tight pants, and you really can't see anything unless he's hard.
I would never do it, because I don't want anyone seeing (or groping) anything that isn't all me.
I don't want anything in my pants that isn't my own flesh.

[guymade]

i pack all the time. Since I've been packing for so long, i think it  would feel 'weird' if i didn't pack. I remember when i first started i would only do so occasionally, then i just started packing all the time  since it felt right and natural to me. Do i think others notice it, i doubt it, i don't know too many people that go looking at guys crotches- so for me, its purely for my own comfort level. 

[Hazumu]

I pack because it boosts my confidence that I'm passing. I know [most] guys dont go around checking out other dude's crotches, but incase somebody suspects I'm trans (duno how they would  ) they'd see the bulge and pass me off as a normal guy. If I don't pack I feel anxious, like somebody's  gonna notice. Plus it feels right being there.

Nick

It's definitely kinesthetic.  The same thing happens to pre-op MtFs when they start tucking -- that kinesthetic body-awareness change.

My two cents from the opposite lane of Trans Highway 

Karen

[Manyfaces]

Thanks, everyone, for your input.  I think for me it will be just an occasional, sometimes kind of thing, when I feel like it.

[Buffy]

You guys are incredible, I admire you so much.

Guymade gave me the low down on what packing is (I hadn't a clue I am so sad to say), He even posted me some links, which was way cool of him.

Buffy

[Nero]

You guys are incredible, I admire you so much.

Guymade gave me the low down on what packing is (I hadn't a clue I am so sad to say), He even posted me some links, which was way cool of him.

Buffy

Yeah, at first I was leery to open this thread. Thought we were talkin somethin else.

[Manyfaces]

Yeah, at first I was leery to open this thread. Thought we were talkin somethin else.

LOL.  Now that would be a whole other kind of discussion.   

[myles]

I pack at night  (when my kids are asleep or out, every night) or if I go out to a club or special event (long story).  For me it just feels more "right" and natural.  Unfortunately/fortunately I have just arrived in Southeast Asia where I will be doing voulnteer work for the next year with my sons so it's safe to say I'll be a lot more cautios in this area and probabaly won't leave the house packing until I see what the area is like.  I think its a total personal thing and as i'm learning from the board we are definitely a group of individuals and its great that no matter what our thoughts are we can voice them and feel ok about it.
So whatever you decide good luck and heck you could always change your mind later.
Myles (still around just not as much)

[Elizabeth]

I think both men and women notice more than they admit. A lot more than they admit.

Love always,
Elizabeth

[Nero]

I think both men and women notice more than they admit. A lot more than they admit.

Love always,
Elizabeth

That's one reason I'd never do it. Better that they don't see anything in my pants than to be thinking I'm hung like a horse. I don't think it's a make it or break it passing issue, though. Tight pants aren't my thing, so if they are looking, they'll just assume I'm not very well-endowed.
Giving the illusion that I have something I don't would make me feel fake. Like I'm trying to be something I'm not. I'm a man without the frank and beans, and that's just that.

[techieboy]

I pack occasionally. For me it's just a personal choice to pack because when I don't pack I feel like a part of me is missing. When I do pack I feel like it makes me a whole heck of a lot more confident and comfortable in my skin. If I'm going to go  out somewhere then I'll definitely pack because I choose to present as male when I'm out in public.

[anibioman]

i pack some times only really when i am in new york city or home because im not out in my home town.

[Papillon]

I pack on occassion and not to help me pass (I don't) but just because it feels "complete" to have something there.  After a bit of trial and error, I am using the smallest packer I can find, and that feels just perfect. 

[Cowboi]

Is it just me or is anyone else curious who the people were who actually answered that if you don't pack you aren't a man?

[emil]

i didnt answer at all because i really didnt like having to choose between "if you dont pack you arent a man" and "i only pack when i go out". i pack everywhere unless i'm completely by myself. i dont think anyone who doesn't isnt a man though, and i dont think anyone else truly thinks that here. it was probably just for the lack of a "i pack all the time" option Oo