GenderLife Forum: The Information Exchange

I've searched for a thread on this, I'm almost certain that Madi posted at one point in time about the products she used but even looking over her posts I can't find it.

I've reached the stage in development (well, a little past really) where I must start to dress differently to hide my boobs. I've been dressing in layers, which has been working for a while but now I really have to wear something that will actually flatten things out rather than obscure. I'm not yet to the point where I need to wear a bra, and I'm a little afraid that a sports bra would show through my clothes... I might just need to change the kind of clothes I wear.

I've been wearing the spanx body smoothing cami, which does an ok job but I don't necessarily need something to flatten my belly (which is actually far too skinny already to pass as a boy), I just need to flatten my boobs!

Are sports bras the best answer? Are there any specific products anyone would recommend? What has worked for you before you were full time?

Thanks!

Hi Cassie,

good question! I started wearing tight sport tops and that worked for me for a long period. But bear in mind that the more your breasts grow tight tops are not gonna be very comfortable and you have to start planning a coming out.
I wonder what other people did...!

(good luck!)

Leanne

I thought i would want to hide mine when they started growing but then i was kinda like watever and i have little mosquito bites ha ha and i hope they continue to grow after being on hormones for 6 months now.

I've been using a lot of the UnderAmor heat gear. I buy the compression tops very tight, probably a size tighter than I would buy if I weren't using them for binding. The ones I like best are the Women's Heat Gear Sleeveless T's. They have a v-neck, and are sleeveless, as the name implies. They don't show under clothes like a sports bra would because there are no straps, and the v-neck lets me get away with wearing a dress shirt or a polo without it looking like I'm wearing an undershirt.

They've worked well for me. FYI, I'm probably a full A cup now.

The FTMs I've known used a big roll of bandage and went around with it. But it did hurt them and after a couple of hours they had to remove it (or take a pain killer).

For something smaller, there is the Frog Bra. White bra under white clothes, always, of course. And if you wear light cotton stuff then the bra will be visible, so you have to wear opaque tops.

http://www.titlenine.com/jump.jsp?itemType=PRODUCT&itemID=2166

If they are still small, then just roomy T-shirts will do.

This is the very reason I'll never understand taking hormones before transitioning. Silly wabbits; boobs is for girls!

Or at least before not giving a crap about what people think.

But that's a lot easier when you're younger and if you get fired all it means is having to look for another job.

I am transitioning. When I do go full time (which it looks like you equate to transitioning), which will be the moment my facial hair is done enough that I don't feel the need to put on an inch thick layer of foundation, I would like to have boobs, I'd like to have some fat redistribution, etc. When I go full time I won't wear breast forms, I won't wear a wig, and I won't wear a ton of makeup. I'm not planning on years, I'm talking 6-12 months.

One could flip your comment around Vexing, and it would still have an element of truth: "This is the very reason I'll never understand not taking hormones before transitioning. Silly wabbits; girls have boobs!"

Anyway, thanks for the responses, folks!!

Until recently I've been doing multiple layers of roomy tees, but since I'm getting comments that's clearly not working. Of course I could go the I-don't-give-a-damn approach, and outside of work I have been, but it has gotten to the point where that's not fair to some of the people in my life, such as my kids.

Yes, that's what I meant. And as someone who has responsibility for a family, you're not in a position to just lose your job because you didn't care what people think.

For those of us who did things younger that works fine, though. It can be hard to understand that it doesn't apply to everybody.

Now, if your development is too much for loose T shirts, and can't wear any form of bras or bandages, I remembered there is such a thing as "gynecomastia vest" used by the FTMs who don't have much and hate bras and control tops. A quick search found this:

http://www.underworks.com/

A compression sleeveless shirt for $30 doesn't sound too bad, and looks light enough to wear in summer.

Pretty much. I guess that I consider the 'transition' being stepping out of presenting as a male and presenting as a female.

I guess if that's what it takes to make you feel comfortable. Boobs are cool and all, but if you're not flashing them at people, I don't see any problem with padding - no-one is going to see them. Nothing wrong with wigs either; some people have no choice - especially the older ones.
Wearing the right clothing does a lot for your body shape. For example, I wear a lot of tops that tie up under the bust and flare at the waist. This gives the illusion that I have a nice bust and wider hips.


I guess it depends how masculine you look and how much confidence you have. But hey, you chose to grow boobs and now you're having problems concealing them. I'm simply pointing out that this wouldn't be a problem if you'd done things the other way around.
Hindsight is 20/20, eh?

You could grow a pot belly and call them man-boobs; then, again, when you do begin living full-time, you will have an awful lot of backtracking to do.

What I am really getting at is that once on hormones, there will come a point where you may not be able to effectively pass as male (if all goes well! ) Needing a bra, or needing to bind your boobs, means that you are approaching that point.

Now is the time to lay the groundwork for full-time.

I'll bet your facial shape and your skin are changing, and I would be very surprised if you don't make the gossip list at work soon, if you haven't already.

I have been taking hormones for five months, and concealing my breast development became an issue fairly quickly (as well as dealing with the increased sensitivity that growth has brought on—I am moving differently, if only out of self-defense). There are clearly some basic strategies for concealment that have been touched on here that are fairly simple and effective. Obviously, breast development is not the only problem. Just this week I found myself in the hospital for two days, starting out in the ER, where I was asked by four different staff members what meds I was taking (they just seem to love asking the same questions over and over again!). Explaining the Finasteride was easy (BPH) but they all assumed I had hypertension when I mentioned the Spiro. The first time I let it go, but then the next time, I thought that might not be so smart (and that did come back at me later), so when asked again, I said I took Spiro to reduce my testosterone levels, which suprisingly, ended the questions. The last person to ask me was the anesthesiologist, right before I was going into the OR. He referred to my chart and said, "so you have hypertension?" I said, "no, that's a mistake" and so he queried why I took it and I repeated my now standard answer. But he pressed further, "so, do you have prostate cancer"?. I simply said, "no". There was a pregnant pause, and then he moved on.

I am trying to figure this out as I go. I guess this hospital experience is a little taste of what's to come, and my getting more comfortable with outing myself. I am far from stepping out and presenting full time as a female, but the emotional and physical well-being I have experienced since starting HRT has been pronounced. Were I to decide not to transition, I feel fairly certain that I would continue the HRT. I could not imagine taking all the the other necesssary transition steps, and only then starting hormones (it would be kind of like waking up, stepping out of bed, and immediately running a 5K race).

BTW, to spare you all the boring medical details but not to leave you hanging, my hospital stay turned out fine:).

Why would you NOT tell them your transsexual, I cannot imagine someone in a hospital would care and it would be better for a doctor to tell them exactly what is going on before getting any treatment...

I think if you're in a hospital, you're condition is serious enough that you need to disclose all your medications, but you only need to disclose that you are trans if you want to. If they are smart, they'll figure it out soon enough.

There are bigots in hospitals, and some of them are doctors. I was thrown out of an endo's office once for explaining that I was trans. I wasn't politely asked to find another doc, I wasn't given a referral to another provider, I was thrown out and all evidence that I was ever there was shredded.

It gets more and more difficult the longer you live full-time, it seems. Yes, it can be stupid not telling, but sometimes you feel you don't have to unless you must.

Past experiences do that to you, too, when you've had to tell and you could notice the change in the way people treat you.

But, most definitely, in anything related to liver, vascular health, anesthesia, surgeries and diabetes, disclosing is necessary to minimize the risks.

Although I suspect it can get to the point where you don't mind the extra risk, once you are a post-op of many years.

Back to the concealing question on breast development. I was fortunate enough to work in executive offices so I wore sports coats and loose shirts underneath (oxford button down). I also wore a tie which even most exec's in Florida shun. I had to be careful in my choice of bra's though because if they were adjustable with the slide on the back that would show through some coats depending on the thickness and the lining.