hey guys. so im going into my senior year, and i really want to make the most of my last year of being a "kid" and having this kind of opportunity, so i'm gonna be joining the boy's lacrosse team. ive already talked with the coach (he's very supportive) and im only a little worried about the other guys on the team, but my main problem is how to pass well while exercising. binding is out of the question, im not about to bruise/break a rib for the sake of passing, but it's still incredibly important to me.

i guess the direction im going in is compression sports bras. preferably something i could hide easily under a wifebeater/muscle tank. i have no idea where to start, and everything i've tried still makes my chesticles really apparent.

does anyone have any sort of bras or anything that has worked well for you when exercising? it's really important that i be able to hide this stuff because i'll be sharing a locker room too.

i really appreciate any input or advice!

-Isaac Ezra

Oh, hello! FtM lacrosse player here. 

I totally get your point, I was mulling over it this afternoon.

Honestly I was in the mood of "I prefer to get hurt rather than having to deal with those things" but then I realised that it would help the whole passing thing. For your reference, I would do without bras for life, so this is my starting point.

I was thinking first to use my regular contraptions, bras designed for ballet dancers that are skin coloured, with no underwire or padding, ultra-thin straps, minimum of cloth: less than that there is only body painting. I hoped to hide the whole thing beneath the chest protections the whole team use anyway (and isn't it warrior-like and gorgeous?  ).

However... yes, the whole passing thing. I considered using the things I used in martial arts, but they have rigid breast-shaped cups and there is too much Xena warrior princess in it, I always hated it dearly.

I want to figure out if a compression bra or a very strong sport bra, provided they are not too girly. Still looking/hoping for something skin coloured. Totally stay away from binding and also those bras one size smaller than yours, you need to breath really hard.

There's this option http://gc2b.myshopify.com/collections/gc2b-all-nude

I know you said no binders but these are the best on the market and I can wear mine for 10 hrs with no rib pain.
Or you could try the two sports bra method. Wear a sports bra which fits then wear one a size smaller back to front; then smooth it over with a compression shirt. Many guys don't have completely flat chests so you shouldn't get any looks. But I found this method uncomfortable compared to my GC2B binder.

It really depends on your chest size. If you're fairly small you'll probably be okay with a high impact sports bra or two sports bras, one backwards.

Also, Underworks does this sports bra that seems like sort of half sports bra half binder... or you could try a binder that's a size up - i do that for the gym, so my chest isn't bra-shaped, but also isn't tightly bound, but it doesn't keep me totally flat when moving about. You might get a but of monoboob going on, but i don't get the sort of definite boob-curve at the bottom that a sports bra still has.

i appreciate all the responses!

i actually have a gc2b binder right now, and i have no problems with it until it comes to exercise. thats the only thing that puts me over the limit. :/

as for the underworks sports bra thing, i actually bought that too but it it squeezes me so bad it hurts my ribs.

as of today ive figured out a method of minimal sports bra action (basically just cloth) and a wifebeater over that. doesnt do as much compression as id like, but it doesnt hurt nearly as much as working out with a binder.

still looking for more flattness, but ill guess ill have to wait for top surgery to be happy with that 😪

May I ask what the "backward bra" solution is? Never heard of it...

Quote from: Heita on August 04, 2016, 11:55:37 AM
May I ask what the "backward bra" solution is? Never heard of it...

thats when you take 2 sports bras, put one on forward, and one on backwards.

Frog Bra is good for compression. On days where it was not a good idea to bind, I wore 2 layered.

I'm now going to vent a little because I'm super angry and super fed up after something like two episodes of dysphoria in three days. So, apologies in advance, I'm not mad at anyone and I do not question anyone's way of dealing with boobs. That's me being me and going from exasperated to hurt because of the expectations of what a "standard transgender" should look like and do.

I hate binders. I hate sports bra. I hates anything that resembles a bra. It all makes me dysphoric. And given that is my health and skin that we are talking about, I'm totally done with the whole "you have to" thing. I don't want to wear something that is so cisfeminine, and I don't want to cover and hide my regular man chest that just happens to be a little bulging on top. I'm not wrong and my body is not wrong, and I also hate to play pretend: what if I go to sleep with someone? I want to be without clothes exactly the way I am with clothes, no surprises. In a perfect world I would be able to go braless and shirtless with no problem at all. I wish that I will change my appearance with sport and a healthy lifestyle, but what will be at the end is just exactly who I am. I am more than nauseous with all the trying to force myself to accept or like the reasoning behind compressing the chest. I'm man enough and my issues with moobs are NOT resolved by wearing something made for a WOMAN. And I hate binders because they negate the reality of my body: I'm here, I'm like that and I'm a GUY. And this is the last time in my life that I give myself the bad dysphoria I had left behind, all in the name of conforming with expectation.

Same here. I see no problems with my chest. It's not a 'women's' chest, it's mine, it's genderless. Just because i have some extra fat why does that make it less acceptable for me walk around shirtless than people with no fat. Of course women who have had to have had double masectomies still aren't aloud which makes zero sense.

I remember something a guy said at my local ftm meeting. His friend who had been on T for a good while but hadn't had top surgery yet decided to go shirtless on the beach. When somebody stopped to stare at him he said 'you've never seen a guy with t*ts before'  . Wish i could have the confidence to do that.