The Binding Health Project: a survey advocating for individuals who chest bind!

[meganweinand]

Dear Susan's Place,

My name is Megan Weinand and I am an openly lesbian and cisgender woman, who is a first-year medical student at the Boston University School of Medicine. I have been reading the Susan's place wiki a lot to learn more about transgender health and topics to be a better informed, self-educating ally!

I am also involved with transgender medical research here in medical school, and I am part of a 4-student led-project that is joint public health and medical students, known as The Binding Health Project. We started this project last September when I started school because we all realized that there is no current medical research on the topic of Chest Binding (!), and on top of that, all four of us queer students have many friends who experienced serious medical events from binding, like broken ribs, stress fractures, coughing up blood, and more. We created a survey that we just released 3 days ago in order to learn more and advocate for the health of individuals who bind! Binding is often recognized as important for both transgender and non-trans* folk alike, and for many trans* folk it is cited as the first and most important step of the transition! Therefore we want to stress that we absolutely recognize how important binding is, and the results of our survey would not be to discourage those who bind to not do so, but rather to highlight the topic for health providers as something to be aware of, and to assess improved ways to up the safety (and comfort!) of those who bind. (I.e., were certain types of binders less associated with health problems? Is there a sweet spot, perhaps 10 hours/a day where binding doesn't cause painful physical health issues but is still associated with positive mental health impacts and mood?) Our long-term goal is not only to put the topic of Chest binding on the radar for health providers, and to inform/empower individuals who bind with previously unpublished information about the medical aspects of binding, but also to advocate for the coverage of top surgery (for those who desire it), by citing long-term effects of binding.

In order to help thank the community for this time in completing the survey (about 5-10 minutes maximum, only 20 questions mainly multiple choice!) we are donating 5$ for every 50 respondents to the In A Bind project, which donates new and gently used binders to binding folks in need. [p.s. we are currently almost at 400 respondents after just 72 hours, so hopefully we can make a sizable donation to their project!!] The more responses we have, the better "statistical power" we have, and the more leverage we will be able to have to advocate for our beloved community in the medical sphere and beyond! (Many people say that trans*/genderqueer/binding health is a "niche" issue - and we are out to prove that it IS NOT!

I apologize for the length of this message, but I wanted to be as open and detailed as possible about our project! We have a website, where you can take the survey here., a tumblr and Twitter (@BindingProject) where you can also learn more about us and the project. Lastly, if you have any questions about our project, please do not hesitate to email us at bubindingproject@gmail.com; we are so grateful to the community for their time in taking this survey, as well as re-tweeting/blogging/tumbling/posting/FB-ing/emailing this link to as many people as they know!  

Thank you again for your time, and please don't hesitate to contact us (myself-Megan, Alix, Kimberlynn and Ivy) with any questions you might have - we are so grateful for your time and support!
Lots of queer love!
-Megan Weinand
Boston Univ. Medical Student 2017 and openly lesbian & cisgender
megan.weinand@fulbrightmail.org

p.s. - below is a bit of a "blurb" about our project for those even more interested! Thanks again!!
-----------------
To our beloved community,
PLEASE SIGNAL BOOST.

The Binding Health Project seeks to expand and contribute new information on the physical and mental health effects of chest binding. Within the context of this study, binding refers to the process in which an individual compresses or binds the chest, often for extended periods of time. While this process provides the person with a number of benefits, the long term physical health effects of binding have not yet been studied. This survey is designed to gather information on these effects through questions that are both quantitative and qualitative in nature. It is intended for female-assigned-at-birth (FAAB) and intersex folks 18 years and over that have bound or currently bind their chests. It is the aim of the Binding Health Project to provide individuals, communities, and health care providers with information to promote the health of those who bind.

Our goal is to use the results from this survey to advocate for the health of persons who chest bind. We hope to build a knowledge base that currently does not exist for people who bind, their providers, and the communities that support them. Thank you so much for your time and participation in this survey!

Thank you for taking our survey and please feel free to distribute widely! We truly appreciate your time in helping us to better address the health topics that impact individuals who bind.

Click here to take our survey.

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EDIT: April 6th, 2014
Also, this topic got moved from the Medical board to this FTM board - I want to acknowledge that I don't have control over this move, and primarily would also like to point out just to be clear that this is actually not a "FTM" survey at all - while maybe people who bind identify as FTM, many *do not*, and so I want to make it clear that this topic was moved by an administrator and not myself. :-/ This survey is open to ANYONE who identifies as FAAB or intersex who chest binds or did so in the past (18+yo) - we have had many femme and women-identified cisgender women who have taken the survey and so I want to stress the inclusiveness of both our survey and this research.

Thanks so much,
Megan

p.s. here is a link with a flyer too, if that helps spread the word better! http://bindinghealthproject.wordpress.com/spread-the-word/

[Adam (birkin)]

I responded. I think this is a pretty important topic.

[Nygeel]

Done.

But, I feel like maybe I had certain medical issues before binding that binding has increased problems with...which was one of the issues I had with a question. Like, did binding cause digestive issues...it didn't cause them, but my digestive issues have occasionally been made worse due to binding.

[Ayden]

Got 'er dun, as my grandmother says.

[meganweinand]

Wow, thank you to everyone who completed the survey! We can't thank you enough for your time and for also sending it to your friends!

Also, this topic got moved from the Medical board to this FTM board - I want to acknowledge that I don't have control over this move, and primarily would also like to point out just to be clear that this is actually not a "FTM" survey at all - while maybe people who bind identify as FTM, many *do not*, and so I want to make it clear that this topic was moved by an administrator and not myself. :-/ This survey is open to ANYONE who identifies as FAAB or intersex - we have had many femme and women-identified cisgender women who have taken the survey and so I want to stress the inclusiveness of both our survey and this research.

Thanks so much,
Megan

p.s. here is a link with a flyer too, if that helps spread the word better! http://bindinghealthproject.wordpress.com/spread-the-word/

[Bimmer Guy]

I completed the survery.  Thank you for doing this.  I would suggest checking out to see if these websites would be willing to allow you to post this survey.  How long do you expect this study will take to complete?  Will you post results here?

http://www.thetransitionalmale.com/

http://www.ftmguide.org/

http://www.lauras-playground.com/

[Alexthecat]

Did it and passed it along to my support group.

[meganweinand]

Hi there! Wow, thank you again to everyone who continues to fill out this survey! We plan to have the survey open for the maximum of a month (until May 2nd), however we also know that if the respondent numbers begin to plateau, that will also be a good time to stop. We will definitely post our results online, completely free, on our website, so that members of many different communities will be able to access all of the information we find. We are also hoping to submit a more formal paper to a medical journal, so that health providers and other medical personnel will take this issue seriously! However because those are unfortunately often "pay for publication" formats, that goes against our belief that this information needs to be free and of access, which is why we are pursuing both options - one to put it all up on our website, free of charge and for the world to see , and two in a medical setting/format so that providers get this issue on their radar!

As for those other websites - those look fantastic! We are not yet members of them - would it be a possibility that you might be willing to share with the communities you know of on these sites? We can also re-post what we have there as well! Thank you again for all of your help, time, and support! We can't thank the community enough for the awesome responses we are receiving!
-Megan

[Whynaut]

Thank you for doing this. As a person in the science field, I know how important and exciting it is to get new information out into the world.

[Ryan55]

completed, thanks for doing this, really appreciate it, I live an hour outside of Boston if you need anything else, I'm glad the medical community is taking this serious

[Adam (birkin)]

This survey is open to ANYONE who identifies as FAAB or intersex - we have had many femme and women-identified cisgender women who have taken the survey and so I want to stress the inclusiveness of both our survey and this research.

I am just curious - why not cisgender men (or people assigned male at birth)? A number of cis men use binders (like Underworks, especially) to control their gynecomastia, which can be as big as a small "female" breast or even larger. Some use unhealthier methods such as duct tape and ace bandages and I have read about tons of cis men who have actually really hurt themselves binding. I mean, I imagine most of your results will come from people who were born female or intersex, but there is definitely a population of cis men who make use of different chest binding techniques. More than most people would think, actually.

[AdamMLP]

I am just curious - why not cisgender men (or people assigned male at birth)? A number of cis men use binders (like Underworks, especially) to control their gynecomastia, which can be as big as a small "female" breast or even larger. Some use unhealthier methods such as duct tape and ace bandages and I have read about tons of cis men who have actually really hurt themselves binding. I mean, I imagine most of your results will come from people who were born female or intersex, but there is definitely a population of cis men who make use of different chest binding techniques. More than most people would think, actually.

I agree, most binders were originally designed for men with gynecomastia (or at least those produced in the western world) and trans men just jumped on them. There are also some trans women who bind in some form to allow them to remain as male in society until they're ready to come out.

[Bimmer Guy]

Hi there! Wow, thank you again to everyone who continues to fill out this survey! We plan to have the survey open for the maximum of a month (until May 2nd), however we also know that if the respondent numbers begin to plateau, that will also be a good time to stop. We will definitely post our results online, completely free, on our website, so that members of many different communities will be able to access all of the information we find. We are also hoping to submit a more formal paper to a medical journal, so that health providers and other medical personnel will take this issue seriously! However because those are unfortunately often "pay for publication" formats, that goes against our belief that this information needs to be free and of access, which is why we are pursuing both options - one to put it all up on our website, free of charge and for the world to see , and two in a medical setting/format so that providers get this issue on their radar!

As for those other websites - those look fantastic! We are not yet members of them - would it be a possibility that you might be willing to share with the communities you know of on these sites? We can also re-post what we have there as well! Thank you again for all of your help, time, and support! We can't thank the community enough for the awesome responses we are receiving!
-Megan

Hi, Megan.

I don't have a connection with anyone at Hudson's Guide or The Transitional Male.  Since these are not forums, you would have to talk with the owner about posting this on their site.  I am thinking since you only have a month, it probably won't be worth your time.

Here is a link to the FTM forum on Laura's Playground:

http://www.lauras-playground.com/forums/index.php?showforum=17

I don't know if you simply became a member here and then posted this survey, or if you asked the owner if this was permitted (since it is still here and they just moved it, obviously if you didn't talk with them, they are ok with it).

Whatever you did here you can do at Laura's.  I don't feel comfortable posting your survey.  I am a member there, but have only posted a handful of times.  I think they would be more responsive to the researcher, herself. 

Please give us a head's up on this thread after the data gets posted to your free site.  Thanks.

[SX0877]

I did not realize how binding had taken up my life until I read your survey questions.
I started binding when I was 12, and mostly 24/7 until last summer when I had top surgery.
It was surprisingly easy to forget how much I had struggled with my chest and all the binding stuff.
I forgot that binding used to be such a big deal that I would give up everything including health for a flat chest. I knew it was not healthy and probably dangerous, but I had to do it. I was lucky enough that it did not leave me any permanent damage, but others might not be as lucky.
Thank you for starting this project.

[ZombieDog]

I think this is a great idea.

[Nygeel]

Hi, Megan.

I don't have a connection with anyone at Hudson's Guide or The Transitional Male.  Since these are not forums, you would have to talk with the owner about posting this on their site.  I am thinking since you only have a month, it probably won't be worth your time.

Here is a link to the FTM forum on Laura's Playground:

http://www.lauras-playground.com/forums/index.php?showforum=17

I don't know if you simply became a member here and then posted this survey, or if you asked the owner if this was permitted (since it is still here and they just moved it, obviously if you didn't talk with them, they are ok with it).

Whatever you did here you can do at Laura's.  I don't feel comfortable posting your survey.  I am a member there, but have only posted a handful of times.  I think they would be more responsive to the researcher, herself. 

Please give us a head's up on this thread after the data gets posted to your free site.  Thanks.

There's a lot of things you can't do at Laura's.

If posting at Laura's, contact an admin or mod first and get there permission. In pretty sure they have rules about posting links.

[aleon515]

I contacted Megan off list, I feel she seems legit. Perhaps the reason she isn't contacting cismen is she isn't really interested in their needs as it sounds like this is a person who is LGBT. Hard to believe but I have met quite a few (though perhaps way way in the minority) of LGB people who really do embrace the T. There are also LGB people who date or have dated or are partners with transguys and feel like family.

BTW, I agree with Nygeel re: laura's. Like the people but I found it pretty annoying to have every single last flippin' post read first and it slows down the traffic a LOT. I think it's better to wait for complaints as 99% of the people here behave themselves most of the time (haha with little quirks here and there).

--Jay

[Alexthecat]

I contacted Megan off list, I feel she seems legit. Perhaps the reason she isn't contacting cismen is she isn't really interested in their needs as it sounds like this is a person who is LGBT. Hard to believe but I have met quite a few (though perhaps way way in the minority) of LGB people who really do embrace the T. There are also LGB people who date or have dated or are partners with transguys and feel like family.

BTW, I agree with Nygeel re: laura's. Like the people but I found it pretty annoying to have every single last flippin' post read first and it slows down the traffic a LOT. I think it's better to wait for complaints as 99% of the people here behave themselves most of the time (haha with little quirks here and there).

--Jay

I hear ya, plus you can't post nipple pics or even stomach pics.

[aleon515]

I hear ya, plus you can't post nipple pics or even stomach pics.

Wow! Well on the plus side they have a LOT bigger community of parents and SOs. If I find a SO, I always refer them there.

--Jay

[Polo]

Tried filling out the survey twice, couldn't get past the first page :/  Hopefully it's my internet but I thought I should mention it.  I think it's great that this project is being organized.