T-shirt weather and having to bind again

[Leo Lane]

Just felt like a brief grumble about how it's getting warm again. Having relatively small breasts, I don't have to bind in the winter, but there comes a time of year when a sweatshirt on top of a shirt on top of an undershirt on top of a bra is just too hot to wear and is going to excite comment as well. So out comes the binder...except that lately, my breasts have been sore for longer before my period, so the time when binding would hurt too much is longer. Nuisance city. Ah well, I'm OK at the moment, all bound up under an old grey T-shirt I've had since time immemorial.

[mistunderstood]

Summer is most of the time to hot for me to bind. I am on meds that make me over heat and then I am over weight to(all though I have lost 60 lbs.). Summer is a pain.

[AllieSF]

Interesting that we all have some types of problems as the seasons changes. I shave my legs and paint my toes during the winter. Warmer weather is shorts and flip flops season for me, thus no more smooth legs and pretty toes. We will survive.

PS: Come on guys, I hardly see any new threads for you men anymore. Keep them coming, I need to keep learning new things on both sides of the street. Thanks for posting, I just learned something new today.

[DanielMacBride]

I agree, binding in summer is a nightmare. Summer here comes with temperatures of up to 48 degrees C (118.4F for my American friends) for days at a time, and high humidity, so binding is just horrible. But I can't leave the house without a binder because I have these C cup sized lumps on my chest, and if I don't wear a binder, people NOTICE them and constantly call me "miss" or "ma'am" in spite of my highly visible and abundant facial hair and completely un-feminine voice. And that's seriously not worth the horrible dysphoria it kicks up :( So I tend to suffer a lot in summer with overheating and skin problems under the binder because of heat/sweat, but I can't go without it.

[Leanne2]

I feel sorry for you guys. How much does a double M cost? Could health insurance pay part of it? What country has 48 degree heat; India? Leanne

[DanielMacBride]

Joan: wearing a bra is a totally different thing to wearing a binder. A binder is more like a very tight vest made of more than one layer of powernet fabric that can chafe and cause serious skin rash in hot temperatures or humidity.

Leanne2: I can't speak for guys in other countries, but here in Australia, a chest reconstruction (it's not just a double mastectomy, they have to actually shape the chest as well) runs anywhere between $8,000-$12,000, and it is not covered on any health insurance so has to come out of our own pockets. The reason for this is that under Australian law, we cannot be legally recognised as male (and therefore can't change our gender marker on any documentation like birth certificate or drivers licence, or on our medical records) until we have been on testosterone for at least 2 years and have had 2 irreversible surgical procedures for gender reassignment. So because we are still listed as female on our medical records, the surgery is not considered medically necessary and we have to pay for it ourselves. Since I'm on a disability allowance, that means it will cost me about 2/3 of my annual income, which I can't afford. Also, I'm in Australia, we get 47-48C quite regularly in summer, so binding is not exactly fun in that heat.

[Leo Lane]

Interesting that we all have some types of problems as the seasons changes. I shave my legs and paint my toes during the winter. Warmer weather is shorts and flip flops season for me, thus no more smooth legs and pretty toes.

Never thought about that. Thanks for pointing out that summer can be hard for our trans sisters too. Fewer clothes = more problems for all transpeople, I guess.


But I can't leave the house without a binder because I have these C cup sized lumps on my chest, and if I don't wear a binder, people NOTICE them and constantly call me "miss" or "ma'am" in spite of my highly visible and abundant facial hair and completely un-feminine voice.

Damn, that sucks. In your photo you look 103% man. You'd think people'd just assume you had gynecomastia or something and not mention it.


I can't speak for guys in other countries, but here in Australia, a chest reconstruction (it's not just a double mastectomy, they have to actually shape the chest as well) runs anywhere between $8,000-$12,000, and it is not covered on any health insurance so has to come out of our own pockets. The reason for this is that under Australian law, we cannot be legally recognised as male (and therefore can't change our gender marker on any documentation like birth certificate or drivers licence, or on our medical records) until we have been on testosterone for at least 2 years and have had 2 irreversible surgical procedures for gender reassignment. So because we are still listed as female on our medical records, the surgery is not considered medically necessary and we have to pay for it ourselves. Since I'm on a disability allowance, that means it will cost me about 2/3 of my annual income, which I can't afford. Also, I'm in Australia, we get 47-48C quite regularly in summer, so binding is not exactly fun in that heat.

And all of that really sucks too. Sorry to hear, Daniel.

[DanielMacBride]

Damn, that sucks. In your photo you look 103% man. You'd think people'd just assume you had gynecomastia or something and not mention it.

Heh thanks, and yeah, you'd think they'd notice more than just my chest, wouldn't you? I know a bio guy who does have gynecomastia, and he actually gets the same thing even though he has a beard as well o.O

[Leo Lane]

I know a bio guy who does have gynecomastia, and he actually gets the same thing even though he has a beard as well o.O

Weird. People are bizarre.

[Felix]

Hi Leo and others who are suffering this summer I feel for ya really :-(

As for people who call bio males with beards and man boobs miss thats just out and out pejudice which ever colour ya wanna paint it as is it to trans guys who are clearly male also :-( ......Felix