As a transgender person who is AFAB, I wear a binder every single day to reduce the appearance of my chest. As I began to question my gender, many people in the discourse community said to try binding if able to get my hands on one. I did my research and found that binders can be dangerous if worn incorrectly but many people take the risk because of the euphoria it causes. So I decided to take the risk and buy a binder, and when it came, I fell in love with the way it made my body look. I was finally feeling euphoria in my own body and finally feeling almost 100% confident in my body. I wore it everyday for a few months until my parents figured out I was binding and took it away. They took it away because if worn incorrectly it can be harmful to your health. But for it to relive some of my dysphoria, to me it was worth the risk even after all of the research I did. As an alternative I wore really tight sports bras to flatten my chest for months until a friend gave me an old one of theirs. Till eventually, my parents gave my binders back before I left for college.
Binding has helped me figure out who I am. It helps me be a better version of myself. It has helped me confirm that I was not a girl and was a man who didn't know it yet. Binding has given me the ability to transition smoothly. Because of my larger chest a binder helps reduce the size, giving me a more masculine figure. Binders however are not necessary to be transgender. They are not always accessible to people who need/want them nor do all people in the trans community want to even wear a binder. Binders do not make you trans, nor do trans people need to wear a binder. Again, binders are not necessary to be trans. My binder is just one of my connections to the trans community.
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