safe binding 101 (ish)
as written by someone who can’t fucking write (sorry)
so the thing about binders is that, well, first you need to take a look at the human ribcage. its job is to protect your heart and lungs and also it needs to be able to expand and contract. it's basically held together by a lot of muscles and also some cartilage. when you wear a binder, it compresses Everything. your ribs, your lungs, your chest. this can cause Problems over time, primarily muscular, but also nerve damage and sometimes, if you fuck up, it can permanently warp your ribs
unsafe binding (duct tape, ace bandages, etc) are Extremely dangerous because they don't allow your chest to expand at all and thus cause a higher risk of Major Issues. (duct tape also is real bad for your skin and likes to do fun stuff like cause rashes and also tear off strips of skin)
unsafe binder companies include anything on amazon or ebay and also anything that calls itself a lesbian tomboy binder. DO NOT. these binders use elastic all the way around the ribcage and provide the same Bad Compression as ace bandages
safe binding is really more like safer binding. the only 100% safe way to flatten your chest is to not compress it at all (which of course defeats the point. hence, illusions*) and yes, this does sound like a safer sex lecture. moving on
some options for safe binding are: underworks (the old classic. expensive international shipping) gc2b (modern day basic default. has an international storefront for cheaper shipping costs elsewhere) spectrum outfitters (like gc2b but based in the uk) shapeshifters (custom binders on both a sizing level and a cool prints level. currently on hiatus due to covid backlog. us based and tiny) outplay (compression tops for swimming. us based)
anyways, now that we've explained why you should wear an Actual Binder, here are some rules that basically boil down to LISTEN TO YOUR BODY DAMMIT. IF IT HURTS, TAKE IT OFF
don’t ever sleep in a binder, take breaks as often as you can (even if it’s just popping into the bathroom for 5 minutes), listen to your body, don’t exercise in a binder, don’t swim in your daily wear binder (use one that’s a size too big as the water adds extra compression to your lungs) listen to your body, no really, if it hurts, take it off. no I don’t care if you still have band practice after school. if it hurts, take it off (and carry a sports bra in your bag so you have something else to put on
*re illusions: layering clothing, wearing stuff that fits a certain way, the entire thing with this neato bit of styling, wearing patterns that distract from your chest
ps. how to tell if a binder fits: while wearing a loose fitting t shirt and nothing else, take a deep breath in (all the way in) and all the way out. feel how it feels in your lungs and stomach and ribs. put on your binder. take a deep breath in (all the way in) and all the way out. feel how it feels in your lungs and stomach and ribs. it should feel about the same in your lungs and stomach and different in your ribs. if it hurts, or you can't take a deep breath as much as you could while not wearing the binder, it's too tight
