a-bayani: boyprincessdiaries: ...

a-bayani:

boyprincessdiaries:

saschaeatsteeth:

Sooo I don’t mean to shit on anyone & whatever binder works safely for you is great but….

I’ve seen a bunch of people reblogging that “$10 custom binder” link and I just want to make sure people know (especially the people reblogging who have never used a binder before, or the people ordering one for the first time because they’re so cheap):

Good binders (breathable, safer, fitting binders) usually don’t really work like that. Those binders are that cheap because they’re basically just a strip of cotton with velcro. If that works for you, that’s great, because binders are pretty expensive, but I’m wondering how well a band of plain cotton would work. My first home-made binder was exactly like that. It got me flat but I couldn’t breathe & it made my shape look….noticably awkward under clothing. Binders are usually synthetic because they have to hit this weird point of “stretching a tiny bit to let you breathe but just barely because they’re supposed to be compressing” so often the front part is made differently so it can compress while still allowing you to breathe.

Like I understand that people are broke & everyone does what they can but I’d be worried about a binder made out of a strip of cotton not fitting right, not binding well, or even being harmful

This has been a Debbie Downer post

[TW: dysphoria, potentially permanent injuries resulting from binding]

THIS. Please, please be careful with binding everyone. I (potentially permanently) fucked up my ribs from not being careful enough with binding. Do what you have to to survive and avoid dysphoria, but know that it is dangerous to bind more than an 8 hour stretch with even the best quality binder, that ace bandages should never ever be used to bind for more than an hour or so tops (they’re specifically designed to restrict movement, so the more you breathe the tighter they get), and be extremely wary of low-quality binders.

Don’t let what happened to me happen to you. I’m literally unable to bind at all ever anymore without massive amounts of pain to the point where I can’t breathe. Maybe this will eventually go away, but it’s been like this for over a year now so I somewhat doubt it. I struggle with dysphoria every single day now because I wasn’t careful enough while binding. Please consider the potential risks before binding with low quality material and be careful not too bind for too long all at once. Again, do what you have to do to survive and cope with dysphoria (I would never judge or presume to tell other people what to do with their own bodies), but just be aware of the risks.

Important Things

(i don’t use binders/was totally not thinking abt this when i saw the link & i’m sure a lot of the other folks that signal boosted were unaware of this too! just be careful y’all)