Visible- tpoc

This is a blog for the trans people of color community. Anyone on the trans spectrum is welcome! The purpose of visible-tpoc is to create a safe community for the tpoc community to share their experiences with each other. This is also an advice blog so if anyone has any questions then they can submit them to the inbox.

[transgenderteensurvivalguide]

what are some (android) apps that let you log in your periods that are gender neutral? like it doesnt say that its only for women and use words like women/female everywhere in the app

Lee says:

Our Periods and related things has a Period tracking apps link!

[cwote]

People may not understand your vision, your journey, your life. But that’s okay. It’s not for them. Whatever you do, do it for yourself and your own happiness, okay? 

[cwote]

There’s a difference between challenging yourself and overwhelming yourself. It’s okay to go at your own pace, okay?

[cwote]

Take the time to love yourself, okay? :))

[aidenskywalker]

Progress: This is the smallest I have ever been in my life.

[transpective-deactivated2020071]

Where’s the best place to get a Binder ?

It’s really all about what works best for you personally! Here are a couple places that are pretty popular amongst individuals who wear binders! 

Gc2b

Underworks  (I personally had a binder from underworks) 

Bareskin Binder (FLAVNT)

& if anyone knows of any other companies feel free to respond with them & I’ll add them to the list! 

[anxiety-boyfriend-deactivated20]

melancholic with a bit of a fragile ego. 

[eleven months on testosterone]

[positivepatton]

Important Things to Remember:

-Nonbinary people can be unaligned

-Unaligned nbs are valid

-Nbs who have no gender are valid

-Nbs who have a gender that’s completely separate from male and female are valid

-Unaligned nbs who have a fluid or changing gender are valid

-Nbs who have genders made up of partially male and/or female but don’t feel “aligned” a certain way are valid

-Unaligned nbs are an important part of the nonbinary community

-Unaligned nbs can wear whatever they want and use whatever names and pronouns they want, even he or she pronouns and “male” or “female” names

-If you’re an unaligned nonbinary person, you are not an “outsider,” or a “misfit,” or “weird,” or “difficult,” or “faking.” You are real, this is your community, this is where you belong, you fit in here, we love you.

[cold-conversations]

Some art I did last year whilst struggling with the wait for top surgery

https://www.youtube.com/user/ashwiththetash/videos

[the-martian-chronicles]

Body shaming trans* men who have bottom surgery

Dear Trans* boys and men of Tumblr,

Please educate yourself about bottom surgery before making disparaging, hurtful, and fucked up comments about it like it’s nothing. The surgery results you see on Tumblr and anywhere else on the internet belong to someone and that someone had the guts to post their shit so the rest of us know what is possible. How else do we make progress if no one shares there results? Body shaming someone’s bottom surgery results is body shaming period. It makes no difference if it comes from a trans* person or not.

[gaywrites]

In memory of Celine Walker and Tonya Harvey, two trans women killed last week

Celine Walker, 36, was found shot to death in a Jacksonville hotel room.

Last week, Tonya Harvey, 35, and Celine Walker, 36, became the third and fourth transgender women to be murdered this year. 

Tonya was from New York and Celine was from Florida. Both women were misgendered in early reports of their death. 

GLAAD updated its list of transgender people killed this year on Thursday, adding Harvey along with other known trans deaths from 2018: 42-year-old Christa Leigh Steele-Knudslien, who was killed on Jan. 5 in Massachusetts, and Viccky Gutierrez, who was killed on Jan. 10 in Los Angeles, CA.

At least 26 transgender people were killed in the United States in 2017, and almost all of the victims were trans women of color, according to GLAAD.

Rest in peace and power, ladies. You deserved better than this. We will say your names. We will not forget. 

[questingqueer]

Let’s hear some positivity for trans people who work in retail, fast food, and other jobs with frequent interactions with the public who often get misgendered at work.

I know it can be disheartening to face that every day, but it’s really strong to continue on. Make sure to take care of yourself!

[afabpositibot-blog]

@ all the trans boys who got misgendered today: you look super handsome today!

@ all the trans girls who got misgendered today: you look super gorgeous today!

@ all the nonbinary folks who got misgendered today: you look super awesome today!

please, please dont let anyone tell you otherwise

[nonbinarypastels]

it’s okay to have multiple names.

if you go by one name IRL and another online, that’s okay.

if you have multiple genders and have a name for each, that’s okay.

if you use your birth name in some situations and your chosen name in others, that’s okay.

it’s okay to have multiple names!

[safenonbinary]

You are not betraying anyone by wanting to change your name, never. Your parents might be attached to it for some reasons, but in the end, you are the one dealing with it everyday and you should absolutely be able to change it if that is what feels best to you.

[vijara]

trans people do not have to medically transition to be valid in their gender identities

lots of people cannot medically transition at this point in their lives

lots of people don’t want to medically transition 

trans people who don’t transition are still 100% valid in their gender identities 

[transgenderadvicegroup-deactiva]

Binding without your parents finding out

A while ago, someone private messaged us and asked for some info on how to bind without  his parents finding out. I answered the question privately, but I saved the answer, because I think it’s good for other people to see it. Here are some ways to get a binder without your parents knowing, bind without a binder, and combat chest dysphoria.

To get a binder without your parents knowing, you will need a prepaid gift card and a place to send it that they won’t find it, like a friend’s house. A prepaid gift card is like a debit card. You can buy them at most grocery stores and put as much money as you want on it. (I’d put $40-$50 on it to make sure it can cover tax.) Visa and American Express are both the kinds of gift cards you want. Then you go to the website you want and order the binder using the gift card. Make sure your friend knows a package for you will be coming! And make sure that you measure well, so you don’t have to return the binder because it’s the wrong size.  

Here is a link with more detail on how to buy a binder without your parents knowing. Make sure that once you get it, you hide it from your parents and don’t ever leave it laying around. If you want to be extra cautious, don’t even wear it around them; only wear it when you’re out of the house. You know your parents  best, so you know how they’ll react if they find out you went “behind their backs” to buy a binder. Be safe!

More info about binders.

However, depending on your chest size, you may be able to bind without a binder. Most of these methods won’t get you as flat as a professional binder will, but it’s a cheaper and safer way if you’re not out. You can also bind like this until you get the money for a safe professional binder.

One method that I’ve been hearing about quite a bit is KT Tape binding. Now note, KT Tape is not like any other kind of tape, and it’s not like ace bandages. (Both bad for you!) KT is a special sports tape that’s meant to be worn for long periods of time, and is sometimes even waterproof. A pack of 20 strips is about $10-$15, depending on where you go. I like KT binding because it’s not as constricting as a regular binder, and because you can leave it on for days at a time (you can’t do that with a regular binder). The only thing that might be bad about this for you is that a) you can’t reuse the tape. One pack will probably last you a month or two, depending on how big your chest is, and how many strips you need to use to cover it, but it’s not like a binder that you can reuse for years until you grow out of it. And b) you can’t take it off really quickly. You kind of have to peel it slowly and sometimes use warm water. So if your plan was to bind only at school, and not at home, KT won’t work for you. However, it is a cheaper, and perhaps less suspicious, alternative to binders, if you can ration it and can afford to buy more. You can also wear a bra over it, just to sneak it out of the house, then take it off once you are at school. In fact, I’ve heard of some trans guys putting a sports bra over their KT for a few hours to help it stay in place.

Sports Bra Binding is another method, which should work no matter what size your chest is. For that one, you’ll just need two sports bras that fit you normally, and you’re gonna put one on normally, and another on backwards. You can also adjust the elastic strip so it covers the biggest part of your chest, thus flattening it more. Here’s a handy dandy picture guide to sports bra binding. So obviously this one is helpful because it’s using things you probably already have, and if your parents see you wearing a sports bra, they probably aren’t going to care that much. The con is that it might be kind of tight around your neck, since you’re using one bra backwards. Make sure they are both the right size, though. You can hurt yourself by binding with small ones.

Compression sports bras are also an option. They’re tighter than normal sports bras, and really flatten your chest out. You only have to wear one of them, and you can get them from sports companies or Underworks, the binding company I linked up above. The main pro of this is that sports bras, even compression ones, are marketed towards women, so it probably won’t be too hard to convince your parents to let you get one. You could say “Oh I don’t like when my chest bounces when I run, and my friends suggested this brand.” or something. A con is that it won’t get you as flat as a binder, but it could come pretty close.

Cami tank top binding is the last alternative binding strategy I can think of. This one only works if you have a reaaaally small chest. I tried it, and it did flatten my chest a bit, but only enough so that my boobs looked smaller, not like they were completely gone. The gist of it is you get one of those cami tank tops with the built-in bras and the adjustable straps. You put it on backwards and adjust the straps so they come all the way up to the top and make the bra part tight. Then you fold the bottom part of the tank top over your chest till it looks flat and even. But like I said, this will only work if you have a really small chest, so don’t be discouraged if this particular method doesn’t work for you.

Oh, and of course, combining one of these methods with simply layering clothes to hide or distract from your chest also works.

Here is a video with a guy explaining how he binds without a binder.

Here is our tag about alternative binding strategies.

Here is the most reputable/inexpensive binding company. (My binder is from them and it’s pretty comfortable and flattening!)

The main thing to remember is that this is temporary. Even if you can’t bind now, one day you’ll be able to, and one day you won’t have to. Please just bind in the safest way that you can. I know that sometimes dysphoria can be really bad, but you also don’t want to get hurt if your parents find out that you have a binder/are binding. Stay safe, and happy binding.