LGBTQ organizations help New Brunswickers access free chest binders

When Kailer Boyne helps people try on chest binders, he can see the gender dysphoria fade from their faces, if only for a few minutes.

It's rewarding for Boyne, who's been binding himself for about a decade. An intern for Chroma N.B., a non-profit in Saint John supporting LGBTQ people, Boyne runs the organization's free chest binder program, helping people properly measure themselves and sharing infographics on how to bind safely. 

Chest binders are compression garments designed to flatten the chest, creating a more masculine shape and appearance. They're hard to come by in New Brunswick, and ordering a binder online can cost between $50 and $80. 

That's why Chroma N.B., working with QT Fatties, a group for plus-sized queer people in New Brunswick, are helping people get their hands on binders at no cost.

The binders come from gc2b, a trans-owned company based in the United States, that provides the binders for free as long as the non-profits cover shipping costs. 

It's a program that Boyne, who grew up in St. George, a small town in southwestern N.B., wishes had been around when he was young.

At 14, he tried to buy his first chest binder. It was a knockoff from an online site, and he says it was unsafe and didn't fit.

"I had a breakdown when it came in the mail, because I really was hyping myself up to think that this was going to be helpful and good for me," Boyne said.

He said people, especially teenagers, often use unsafe, DIY chest-binding methods. Binders aren't meant to be uncomfortable or cut into the skin and cause breathing difficulties.

Unsafe DIY methods include binding with materials such as duct tape, masking tape, plastic wrap and elastic bandage wraps, according to Boyne. 

He also pointed out that binders should not be worn while exercising, and it's also unsafe to bind constantly or while sleeping.

While Boyne said it's hard to explain gender dysphoria for people who haven't experienced it themselves, he described it as feeling uncomfortable in your physical body because it doesn't match your gender identity.

Gender dysphoria isn't limited to a specific gender identity, like trans or non-binary, Boyne said.

Chroma N.B.'s board chair, Alex Ash, says many different people can experience gender dysphoria, and chest binders allow them to feel more comfortable with their bodies. 

For those who are trans and non-binary, though, Ash said gender dysphoria can be dangerous. There's a higher risk of suicide among those communities, they said.

"You really just wake up and you're like, 'I am so uncomfortable, I don't think I can go outside', or, you know, feeling fine for a bit, and then halfway through the day you're like, 'I just want to curl up in a ball,'" they said. 

Since it began providing people with binders, Chroma N.B. has received a wealth of feedback.

Ash and Boyne both say people are thankful they can replace their old binders, thankful they can get one that fits because they gained weight during the pandemic, thankful they can finally feel comfortable in their skin, and thankful they can give binders to their family members.

Among the feedback, though, is a running theme: people are thankful for the program because, even though a binder costs less than $100, many can't afford binders on their own. 

Ash said that's a common barrier for people who need chest binders. People are also afraid of outing themselves to their families or the people they live with. 

"There's quite a lot of statistics that have come out since the pandemic of just the increase in folks feeling unsafe because they have to live at home," Ash said.

Chroma N.B., which also offers in-person assistance for legal name-change transitions, also has a library of chest binders in several different sizes, so people can try them on and make sure they fit before ordering. 

Aaron Beaumont, founder of Fredericton's QT Fatties, wrote their thesis on the intersection of trans and fat identities. 

A 2021 graduate of St. Thomas University, Beaumont said the QT Fatties collective has more than 40 members. In the almost two years since they started the group, Beaumont has been helping people find chest binders in larger sizes. 

Before connecting with Chroma N.B., Beaumont would use donations and fundraising to buy gender-affirming items for people in their community.

Now that QT Fatties and Chroma N.B. have teamed up to provide binders to more people across New Brunswick, Beaumont's group is responsible for helping people get sizes XL to 5X, though Beaumont said there are people who need sizes larger than that.

"But regardless, having plus-size options is really important because as queer and trans fat people, we do have to face barriers to clothing and gender affirming items," they said.