Binding

Binding, more specifically chest binding or breast binding, is the practice of reducing how visible breasts are by compressing them closer to the torso than they would be otherwise. Other methods to reduce the appearance of breasts include wearing thick, loose clothing and layering a lot.

Motivations

All people have some breast tissue, and any person may bind their chest. There are several groups of people who may be more likely than others to do so with many potential reasons, including:

• Transgender men and AFAB nonbinary people who have breasts like many other people who were assigned female at birth. They may have gender dysphoria relating to their breasts and/or they may feel that their breasts prevent them from passing as male. Some people in this category get top surgery (a bilateral mastectomy) to remove their breasts permanently so they no longer have to bind, though they may need to bind for a little while after surgery to prevent swelling.
• Cisgender men with gynecomastia, a condition in which a person assigned male at birth develops prominent breasts without taking synthetic hormones. Like transgender men, these men might bind because they are embarrassed or dysphoric about their breasts, and they might seek medical intervention to remove prominent breasts.
• Transgender women and AMAB nonbinary people people who are developing breasts but who do not yet want these to be visible, often because they are not yet out to some or all of the people around them.
• Cisgender women who are experimenting with gender presentation or dressing as drag kings, and who may want a more masculine appearance temporarily.

Methods

There are several ways to bind one's chest, which vary in safety and effect.

Chest binders are available from various companies around the world, and are specifically designed to compress the chest evenly. These are often considered the safest way to bind as they are designed for that purpose, unlike some other methods. However, they can restrict breathing and damage breast tissue or skin elasticity if they are worn for too long.

Sports bras and compression bras are available from many clothing outlets aimed at women; they do not necessarily give a completely flat appearance (not that binders do either), but they can still make breasts appear smaller and they can be safer to wear for long periods of time or during vigorous activity.

Bandages or strips of cloth can be used for binding, and they are a common way to depict binding in films and comics. However, bandages are designed to become tighter with time and they do not provide even pressure around the chest or stretch enough to allow breathing, so binding with bandages can be damaging.

Tape can be used to pull the breasts towards the armpits as well as downwards, which can create a flat area around the sternum. This can be useful if a person needs to wear a low-cut top without a binder showing. However, this constricts the ribs and can damage the skin (especially if duct tape or another tape not intended for skin is used).