There’s something I found out that I think is important for trans men, trans mascs, and anyone who’s considering or is regularly binding to know. You know those binder safety guidelines? There is no science backing them whatsoever. They are essentially arbitrary, best guesses of what constitutes as safe use. The actual length of use and how long of breaks need to be taken, etc could actually require shorter durations of use and longer breaks.
When people have bad experiences with binding and speak out against their use, it’s often just dismissed as they weren’t following the safety protocols. However, we have no evidence that religiously following these protocols will guarantee someone will not experience a serious binder injury or permanent damage. I think we need to start noting that these aren’t safety guidelines and you’ll be safe when following them. These are guesses at how someone may reduce the risk of harm from regular binding.
I’m saying this as a trans man. I’m not someone with an agenda who’s using dishonest scare tactics. It’s important people are aware of the risks to make a truly informed decision on various aspects of transition. Especially when you consider how few people actually moderately follow these guidelines let alone religiously follow them.
Summer is here and that means hanging out in the sun! There is no better binder on the market for hot summer days lounging around a pool/watering hole. We specifically designed our binders for comfort and fun in the sun • Bareskin Binders are back this weekend at flavnt.com— Saturday June 2 at noon (12 p.m.) CST. Mark your calendars, set an alarm and stash some cash, because they’re here!!!
• We’re sorry that they took a little while, but we had some expansion and improvements to make. Our binders are now available in 5 colors and in sizes XXS - XXL and we’ve switched up our inner lining material to something we like a little better than what we were using before.
If you’re in the habit of reading descriptions of old books—and why wouldn’t you be?—you’ve likely come across something described as bound in period style or in a sympathetic binding. This typically means the book was rebound relatively recently, but rebound in a style consistent with the time period of the book’s original publication.
And shortly after the Meditationsarrived, we received the first printed Greek edition of Aristotle (it was a very good summer), which underscored just how well done this period-style binding was. Although the books were likely bound about 400 years apart—the Aristotle around 1500 and the Meditations around 1900—the styles are strikingly similar. The combination of borders built up from different tools, surrounding a central diaper pattern, was a familiar style when both were published. The Aristotle binding is almost certainly German, so it’s no surprise that the binding of the Meditations, which was printed in Augsburg in 1468, emulates a 15th-century German style.
Of all the similarities, what most caught our eyes was a particular tool used to decorate the boards. While obviously similar, small differences distinguish them. The Aristotle version, for example, has four tiny dots following Maria, while the Meditations version has no dots; a double border surrounds the Aristotle tool—thick on the outside, thin on the inside—while the Meditations tool has a single border; the Aristotle tool measures over 3 cm from end to end, while the Meditations tool measures just under 3 cm. The sheer volume of such tiny differences among tools is staggering. The Einbanddatenbank, a database of 15th- and 16th-century finishing tools used on German bindings, records more than 600 versions of the Mariatool.
How do we know the Meditations binding isn’t original? There are a number of clues, the general as-new appearance being a big one, but subtler evidence is there. The spine edges of wooden boards were commonly beveled in the late 15th century, but they aren’t here. Spines were seldom decorated at this time, yet the binder of the Meditations couldn’t help but to add some restrained decoration. Could these features be found on bindings from the late 15th century? Sure. But the accumulated weight of the evidence favors something done later in period style.
Make no mistake, the Meditations binder was good. Even the endpapers are period-appropriate leaves removed from an old book. This binding was absolutely the product of a skilled craftsperson with a thorough understanding of period styles—and perhaps the product of a binder with the skill and patience to make their own finishing tools.
Binding is a method to restrict or restrain an individual entity on a metaphysical level, often to prevent them from hurting themselves, you, or others. This is a more defensive form of protection magic as opposed to an offensive approach. I would recommend using this in a dire or dangerous magical situation. This does not harm the being, but it is affecting their will. As always, It is vital to be spiritually and psychically protected before, during, and after preforming this.
Brief Binding History:
The people of Ancient Greece practiced or preformed binding rituals through their own method called Katadesmos. The enactment of this was carving or inscribing a spell or curse onto a tone tablet. Do whatever you wish or need to do, but please be careful or cautious with yourself and this information (Especially if you lack experience in Binding.)
Common Binding Methods:
A Binding related incantation, prayer, song, or chant. You can make one for yourself, or find one, and use it in thoughts when needing to be discreet.
Knot or braiding spells set with intention and activated through tightening the knots. Using intention towards the individual is a very key aspect of this. You can choose specific twine of varying strengths, even using their hair or a barbed wire is effective.
Visualization with intent whilst wrapping a poppet, jar, candle, or other vessel of representation of said entity with string or wax to seal the spell and confine their movement. You can also do this using a lid.
Inscribing, Drawing, Carving, or Tracing Binding Wards, Sigils, or Runes with intent onto a candle or scroll, proceed to wrap the item afterward. Dripping wax or scribbling on a Taglock of target.
Casting a Spell-jar or Bottle with something representing them, scroll with your intention. As aforementioned, seal lid and place in a shady spot. This is their vessel, so use something to constrain them.
Very attractive pic of her big bound tits looking like they are about to be hoisted up and possibly lifting her from the ground. Not really sure if that happened but one can daydream…..
Thank you for sharing this great pic with us. I love the 3 tier binding you did and being able to get them nice and tight so that even the veins begin to bulge. love the coloring your beginning to get as well. Very nice.
Here stand my books, line upon line They reach the roof, and row by row, They speak of faded tastes of mine, And things I did, but do not, know.
~ Andrew Lang
This morocco binding rainbow comprises 11 of the 12 ‘Coloured’ Fairy Books, e.g. blue, red, yellow, green and so on, published between 1889 and 1910 by Scottish author Andrew Lang (1844-1912) and his wife Leonora (1851-1933).
They were collected by Alexander Turnbull, who had each volume rebound in the rich colour of each title fairy. Only the Violet Fairy Book (1901) is lacking for reasons unknown.
Rather than see them discarded, Turnbull requested his binders affix the original gold-blocked covers to the front pastedown (and the original spine strip to the rear pastedown) in each book as shown here in the Brown Fairy Book (1904) and in this previous Turnbull Rare Books post:
Use this binding spell on a person if they are causing you harm (psychical or mental harm)
Needed:
A square piece of paper
A black candle
A black pen
Write the name of the person who you are binding on the paper. While visualizing them, draw a witches knot over their name. Fold the paper three times and seal it with the black wax. As the wax drips, say:
“To be protected from you
this magick charm I will do
With these words I bind thee
For you to leave me be
To be protected from your harm
I now seal this charm”
Focus on the person and visualize them as clearly as you can while the wax dries and the candle burns. Keep the paper in a safe place, and if the person starts to bother you again get it out and charge it again.
If you ever wish to release them from your bind, burn the paper.
t*rfs also like to twist the fact that there’s little long-term medical research into transitioning (for both trans women and trans men) in order to abuse and frighten trans men into detransitioning (which, btw, often leads to the suicidal depression that dysphoria causes and transitioning alleviates!)
like that popular post about how binding even with a good binder will fuck you up for life and make it impossible to have top surgery later on? written by a crypto-t*rf who thinks trans men are lesbians
the number of replies/tags that say something like “i’ve been terrified to bind and/or thought i’d completely fucked up my chance of getting top surgery because of that post” is horrific tbh and if you cis people actually gave a single shit about trans people you’d stop circulating shit like that
So wait. What’s the truth? Will binding fuck up your chances of getting top surgery?
no, it won’t. here’s an email from my GP, who’s been working in the Fenway Health system (which focuses on LGBT healthcare and research) for over a decade:
transcription:
Binders worn too tight or for too many hours in a day can certainly cause some chronic rib/chest pain; they may even cause some scarlike thickening of the tissue under the skin - usually at the margins where the breast folds down against the chest wall in general. This can be uncomfortable, too. But none of this translates into making top surgery a problem. Not at all.
None of the surgeons I’ve sent patients to have ever remarked about this and nothing in standard practice or the general literature suggests or supports that conclusion.
Oh my god thank you
I’ve been refraining from wearing my binder because I saw that post and NOW I SHALL GET 2 MORE THANK YOU
Dear friends who are unable to bind due to medical reasons,
Wow, your identity is super valid, even if you can’t express how you truly feel on the outside- and don’t let anyone tell you anything else!
You’re not any less trans* just because you choose not to bind due to it- it’s a decision for your health, which is super important!
Stay safe out there, pals! From a disabled enby to another trans* friend, I know your limitations do not define who you are. I wish you a thousand great things, and you deserve nothing less.
Chamomile Flower / Rose {pink or red} (Any plant representing love.)
Incense to strengthen the spell. (I use Dragon’s Blood but any kind associated with love will do.)
Instructions:
Light your candle and incense.
Write “You are bound to me & I am bound to you. Just as the moon is bound to the sun & as the sun is bound to the moon.” on the back of the picture. Place picture face up.
Say the following as you place gemstones around the face(s) in the picture; “It is love I bind, so (name)thinks of me day & night. In the moonlight & the sunlight. Walk, walk, stumble - suffocating with love for me. As the Sun/Moon* chases the Sun/Moon* in the sky, so does (name) chase me.” *Sun = Masculine / Moon = Feminine ~ If you are feminine, the Sun will chase the Moon and vice versa if the other person is feminine. Use your best judgment*
Say the following as you burn the plants; “You are bound to me & I am bound to you. Just as the Moon is bound to the Sun & as the Sun is bound to the Moon.”
Once steps 3 & 4 are complete repeat the phrases in order as such; “It is love I bind, so (name)thinks of me day & night. In the moonlight & the sunlight. Walk, walk, stumble - suffocating with love for me. As the Sun/Moon* chases the Sun/Moon* in the sky, so does (name) chase me. You are bound to me & I am bound to you. Just as the Moon is bound to the Sun & as the Sun is bound to the Moon.This is as I will & so shall it be.”
r/ftm about damage from binding, all posted within the past year.
Binding is not safe. I was only on testosterone for 3 months and was relatively unscathed, but I was binding for a year and a half, 6-8 hours a day (what is considered “safe binding practice”). and that also may not sound like a lot of time, but I cannot wear bras anymore, over 2 years after I stopped binding. not even wireless, soft bralettes because if i wear one my ribs hurt and i have shooting pains when I breathe.
“This digital drafting tutorial guides you to create a custom chest binder based on your own measurements. The easy to follow tutorial includes instructions for how to create a crop top length binder with several style and finishing options. The two binder styles addressed in the tutorial are most similar in fit to Underworks and GC2B binders. An add-on for full length binders will become available in the future.”
It’s taken him over a year to design this tutorial, and it’s really thoughtfully written. The tutorial requires some knowledge of sewing stretch knits, but I think it’s doable if you have never drafted before. It’s on sale for the month of April for $10 usd, and then will go up to $15.
There just are straight up not that many DIY binder tutorials in the world, and a lot of them are badly constructed. I’m Insta-friends with Noah, and I’ve watched his process as he created this binder AND had other people test-sew it so it could be the best it could be! Definitely worth your money! :D
Reposting this one because it’s gonna be another miserably hot day. I drew this 3 years ago (almost) to the day. To anyone who binds, you are in my thoughts. It’s one of the most uncomfortable things I’ve done. It’s incredibly awful in the summer. Be safe. Stay hydrated. If it’s possible, try a sports bra or go without compressing your chest. Wear cotton and linen. Choose a mid-length binder over the full-length ones. Some suggest baby powder under the binder. For folks with friends who bind, invite them to your air conditioned houses/apartments. Maybe offer them rides in your air conditioned cars if they bike or take public transportation. I never wanted to go anywhere during the summer when I was binding because I knew the trek would be sweaty and awful.
