Susan's Place Transgender Resources

Okay, I need some help. I've tried binding with bandages and every time they, somehow, become undone and I end up going home from school in the middle of the day. It's the worst, you go from being all confident and BAM, you'd be f'ed if you looked someone in the eye and you just want to curl in upon yourself. Problem is, I'm 15, so what binding options do I have? Another problem, I think this is why bandages are always a mess for me, is one of my breasts in a C, the other an A cup. My mum knows I bind my breasts and ask her in the morning if I look presentable and she will say whether I'm uneven, etc. I'm not passing, but I'm trying my damndest.

Any suggestions of what I will be able to do?

If your mom knows you're binding, there's no reason you shouldn't be able to ask her to get you a proper binder: http://www.ftm.underworks.com/index.html (http://www.ftm.underworks.com/index.html)

Binding with Ace bandages is both rather ineffective (as you've noticed) and dangerous. If you must keep doing it, even on just a temporary basis, there are a few things you can do to make it better:

- Use the widest bandage you can possibly find. Six inch is ideal, four inch is tolerable, anything smaller is pretty much hopeless.

- Bind over a shirt. This is a good idea even when you do get a proper binder, since materials that bind well tend not to be nice for your skin. It's particularly nice when you're using the bandages, though, because they slide around less (thus are less likely to come undone) and don't cut into your skin. Just wear an A-shirt ("wifebeater") against your skin under the bandages.

- Use something other than the silly little clips that come with Ace bandages to hold it in place. The ideal would be something permanent like Velcro - some higher-quality bandages come with a strip of Velcro pre-attached to the end, which is ideal, but you could do the same thing yourself with Velcro from a sewing supply store. You just need the 'rough' part, which will stick securely to the bandage material wherever you need it. The alternative, if you can't get the supplies to do Velcro, would be large safety pins. Make sure to "weave" them through the bandage fabric several times before closing them, to reduce the stress on any one point and thus keep from tearing the fabric.

They're a bit expensive, but I'll have to definitely look into those binders. Thanks for the help :)

No problem! Over time, real binders actually end up being cheaper, because they don't need to be replaced nearly as often as bandages do.

Quote from: BoyDani on April 23, 2010, 06:57:39 PMThey're a bit expensive, but I'll have to definitely look into those binders.

Maybe you could see if your mother might buy you one. Tell her how much healthier and effective binders are. There's no lack of info on the dangers of using bandages to bind. Then you won't have to be leaving school as much. That would work with any mother. ;)

Also, the fact that you're 15 and your mother is so supportive gives me hope. I could only hope my mother was like that at your age, but people didn't know as much about ->-bleeped-<- like they do now.

What about one of those velcro back supports?

Quote from: Ryan on April 24, 2010, 08:55:05 PM
What about one of those velcro back supports?

heavy, sticky and lose the elasticity very quickly as well as breaking down easily. They last maybe 1 month at about $12 - $16USD each.