Hello, today we are answering the first question in the Dear JSTOR series - where you can ask us, via mail or message by starting your query with “Dear JSTOR”, anything about anything! Research, advice, the color blue, and we’ll try to help.
A user wrote in asking “is it true that there is only one study in existence on the effects of binding your chest (for trans men)?” Short answer: yes. Longer answer: there is other research on the effects of chest binding, however, there is only one that studied its affects on transgender men.
This study is the only one to address the effects of chest binding on trans men, however, it cites other studies that have examined the effects of binding for lactation suppression and gynaecomastia. For many trans men, “chest binding is considered a necessary rather than elective daily activity due to associated mental and emotional health benefits.”
The study participants were asked about how chest binding affected their mental health and “self-reported mental health effects were almost universally positive, with qualitative data indicating decreases in suicidality, anxiety and dysphoria and increased self-esteem, confidence and ability to go out safely in public.”
The study also found that trans men who chest bind universally reported at least one health side effect, which also seemed to correlate to the number of days and hours per day the binding was worn, and for how many years the person had been chest binding. Potential physical side effects can include: numbness, lightheadedness, fatigue and weakness, as well as skin sensitivities and issues. Those with less physical side effects seemed to bind for less time or used less intense methods (i.e., layered sports bras vs. commercial binders). The mental side effects of increased well-being and sense of self, however, need to be taken into consideration by doctors when discussing any potential negative side effects.
So now one of you should do another study!
Also, if you have questions about transgender healthcare, please visit the UCSF Center of Excellence for Transgender Health: http://transhealth.ucsf.edu/
ok please note i had no idea what i was doing for any of this and theres probably a much better way to construct a base BUT this is what…. ended up happening
the vague shape of it is getting there … . .
needs more bands
MORE BANDS
becoming a flat onion
the top is removed so i can get inside of it
… and then a band of cardboard is placed on the inside to support it ( its standing !! )
the bands are cut on the places where they jut out and then overlapped and taped, so the shape is smoother but its STILL an onion
so i cut the whole damn thing in half and added a big band of cardboard in the middle to lengthen it out. the Orb is being born
its rounded out a little bit more on the sides and then the mouth is cut out
FABRIC
F A B R I C ( this is the point in the game where my gluegun stopped working, and so everything from this point on is glued by me heating the sticks over a candle flame. nice
the seams on the fabric are cut and glued into place ( and hand stitched in a lotta places and a lot of em look, Really bad in the back h hah HA ) and the teeth ( fleece, cardboard to keep em flat, and a little bit of stuffing ) are thrown in the mouth
tongue cuttin
handstitched the seams on the tongue, got the base for it ready and the eyes cut out
the EYES ( cardboard with white on one side, black on the other, and a little thin strip of black going along the edge ) ( also the pupils arent glued down yet hey )
EYES
TONGUE
THERE THEY ARE
tulle time, so much goddamn tulle
SO much of it just everywhere on the back its a mess, the back looks like an awful grape but it doesnt matter its the BACK
heres the Looking Hole ( theres black mesh netting over the top ) - the little pink eye details are also in
and then here it is, this Mess ( tights and boots both are probably gonna change but Oh Well ) i dont know what the tongue was doing so crooked in these shots but its TOO LATE
