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Any point to a relatively loose binder?
I've been looking into binding but all the descriptions make it sound like they feel at least as tight as a snug bra, and I can only wear bras that are a size too big in the band or I get nauseous. I can manage tightish stretchy shirts and they squish things down a bit, would a relatively loose binder (eg a size or two too big) be any more effective than a tight shirt or just a waste of money?
On the plus side my dysphoria is relatively mild and only intermittent (I'm genderfluid), so if I can't ever look totally flat I'll be ok. But it's worth a shot :)




I wore a loose crappy binder and it was the best option for me at the time.
Before surgery, my chest was not only disproportionately large for my frame (meaning most binders didn't fit me at all--anything that fit in the chest was far too big in the shoulders), I also had a very bad case of fibroids that made it far too painful to bind the normal way.
But buying bras was an incredibly unpleasant experience for me--because my chest was so big, I had to go to underwire, and they were SO FUCKING EXPENSIVE. Sports bras just plain didn't COME in my size!
So when a friend was getting rid of a used stretched-out old binder, I yoinked it and wore it instead till I got my surgery. It didn't flatten me much, but at least it gave me an option besides heinously expensive bras that I loathed everything about design-wise. And it didn't hurt, which was a nice bonus.
That's really useful, thank you!
No prob! It's not something I've seen come up much in binding discussions--I can only imagine guys other than me have chests of iron!
My feeling is that even sports bras are bras and therefore aren't trying to make your chest masculine-shaped, if that makes sense. So a loose binder might still be better than a sports bra.
But it's been a while since I've had to bind, so others can probably say more reliable things than me. :)
Oops I wasn't very clear edits post I'm comparing a binder to a bra in terms of how nauseous it would make me feel. I'm comparing it to a tight shirt in terms of how effective it would be at making me flat chested.
Oh okay! Well, binders squash you higher up, and sports bras squash you around the solar plexus area. So if it's the solar plexus squashing that makes you nauseous, you'd probably get on better with a binder - they rarely have bands around the solar plexus. But if it's your chest being squeezed generally that causes nausea, a binder would probably be just as bad.
Ah, thank you! I'm not sure I've been squished super hard that high but suspect it would still make me feel bad. Oh well, good to know!
Loose binders tend to give me a really bad case of monoboob. Do not recommend. :(
Ahh. Thanks!