@ThursdayWeld
I don't see the harm.
It's probably no tighter than a sports bra for running.
It does. The most often quoted survey comes from survey an organisation that supports binding carried out and found that 97% of all the respondents who bound their breasts reported at least one negative side effect of doing so.
Breast binding can and should be compared to other activities where an individual seeks to alleviate psychological pain by seeking physiological change.
As it frequently causes permanent damage to skin, muscles or bone, always causes physical discomfort with physical pain experienced by three quarters who bind, it can legitimately be compared to and arguably be categorised as self-harm.
Like other forms of self-harm, it is not an effective way to deal with the underlying emotional distress and any relief it provides can therefore only ever be temporary.
Celebrating it like this article in the Mail, glamourising it, is therefore wholly irresponsible and rightly compared to pro-ana material.
I should emphasise that although that survey showed that 97% experience at least one negative outcome, more than half of them experienced at least two negative outcomes. That's a serious cause for concern.
The authors surveyed only on the 28 negative outcomes most commonly reported in the medical literature and information provided by those who bind.
Here they are in full:
rib fractures, back pain, chest pain, rib or spine changes, bad posture, shoulder pain, shoulder joint ‘popping’, muscle wasting, numbness, headache, overheating, fatigue, weakness, lightheadedness or dizziness, cough, respiratory infections, shortness of breath, heartburn, abdominal pain, digestive issues, breast changes, breast tenderness, scarring, swelling, acne, itch, skin changes and skin infections.
Separately mentioned were spinal misalignment, fluid build-up in the lungs, collapsed lung, sores and permanent skin damage.
Can you point me to the research, ThursdayWeld that reports that wearing a sports bra while you're out running results in the same health problems?
FYI, several skin issues, which were experienced by over half of survey respondents, are associated with poorer outcomes if "chest reconstruction surgery" is pursued later. That's one of the reasons why the transmasculine community is so concerned about the safety of breast binding.
The survey also only asked adults about their experiences. In the developing child negative outcomes can be expected to be worse and occur more often.
That's because there are no safe binding methods. There are no clinical guidelines for binding safely. Commercial binders, which are perceived to be safer by the transmasculine community, are in reality associated with more negative outcomes, but even sports bras and minimisers are included in the list of binding methods leading to negative outcomes. This is not because sports bras are inherently unsafe, but because they are designed to be worn for shorter periods and not for the ten hour duration on seven-days-a-week most respondents chose to wear them.