Gender Affirming Gear Distribution Resource
For trans, non-binary and questioning people
The Gender Affirming Gear Distribution Resource provides trans and non-binary people in the Eastern Townships with access to products that are vital to their physical and mental health, but are not widely available in the region.
Products available include binders, packers, boxers, breast forms, stand-to-pees and gaffs.
To try on and obtain any of these items, make an appointment with one of our staff members at services@transestrie.org, or swing by during one of our drop-in periods.
Items are available for a voluntary contribution that represents the price paid by TransEstrie for the products. We therefore encourage people who can afford it to help us pay for the products, but it is not mandatory. One of the reasons the resource was created was so that people with low income could get the products they need for free.
These products are for trans, non-binary and questioning people only. Therefore, we ask that you do not use this service if you are a cisgender person.
Gender Affirming Gear Guide (in french)
Want to learn more about gender-affirming items, how to care for them and how to use them safely? We’ve created a guide for you! If you pick up a gender-affirming item in person, we’ll give you a brochure with all the information you need.
As of now, this guide is only in French. Until we translate it, you can find some of the helpful info from the guide in the section below.
A binder is a compression garment that flattens the shape of the chest to create a flatter torso. The garment resembles a camisole or sports bra, and can either cover half the torso (half binder) or the entire torso (tank binder). This can help reduce gender dysphoria and bring a sense of euphoria and well-being.
AVAILABLE MODELS
We distribute Banana Prosthetics Melon Squeeze binders in sizes XS to XXXL. We also carry a variety of used binders in different models, sizes and colors.
Wearing a binder
The binder is worn under clothing, like a bra, so it isn’t very visible. However, depending on the cut of the top you’re wearing, part of the binder might show through the collar. If your top fits very snugly, you might see the outline of the binder through it.
Here’s one way to easily put on a binder :
- Take the binder,
- Fold binder in half,
- Enter arms and head into binder,
- Unfold the binder, making sure your chest is at a comfortable angle (i.e. not pulled down, for example).
Safety rules
Since this is a piece of compression clothing, certain safety rules must be followed to make sure you don’t injure yourself. Wearing a binder incorrectly can cause:
- Damage to internal organs, such as the lungs;
- Risk of cracking or breaking ribs;
- Restricted breathing;
- Damage to breast tissue; skin irritation.
To avoid these complications, there are a few precautions you should take:
- Don’t wear it for more than 8 hours at a time (take breaks during the day);
- Do not sleep with your binder;
- Don’t try to put on a wet binder (you’ll get twisted and stuck! Make sure your skin is dry!);
- Don’t wear the binder 7 days a week (take days off);
- Make sure you can breathe well (when you wear the binder, you should be able to fill your lungs without feeling that the binder is restricting you);
- Don’t do cardio while wearing a binder;
- Don’t wear a binder on the plane.
The important thing is to listen to your body! If the binder hurts or makes breathing too difficult, take it off.
Washing your binder
If you want to wash your binder in the washing machine, we recommend setting the wash cycle to the “delicate” option. Water can be either hot or cold, and you can use ordinary laundry detergent. Cold water is recommended to keep the binder in a good condition for as long as possible.
If you’re washing the binder by hand, use a little laundry detergent or liquid dish soap in hot or cold water. When rinsing your binder, make sure that all the soap comes out of the fabric and that the water that comes out is clear and bubble-free.
We recommend that you let the binder air-dry to keep it in good condition. Binder should be completely dry before being stored, to avoid any unpleasant smells. If the binder stretches out after wearing it a lot, you can put it in the tumble-dryer for fifteen minutes or so. But only do this a few times, otherwise it will lose its elasticity. It’s normal for the binder’s fibers to lose their elasticity with repeated wear, and no longer hold your chest as well. Then it’s time to get a new one.
A packer is a penile prosthesis, whether realistically shaped or not, that creates a bulge in the underwear, giving the impression that the wearer has a penis. This can help reduce gender dysphoria and bring a sense of euphoria and well-being.
AVAILABLE MODELS
We distribute Banana Prosthetics packers in many sizes, models and colours.
Wearing a packer
The packer can be tucked into tight-fitting underwear to keep it in place against the body.
For looser-fitting underwear, such as boxer briefs, you can buy a pouch, like a Joey Pouch, which attaches to the underwear with a safety pin. It’s also possible to make a homemade pouch simply by having a sock and a safety pin on hand. If you use a pouch attached with a safety pin, make sure you attach it with the needle pointing outwards, not towards the body, to avoid hurting yourself!
Alternatively, you can find underwear with a built-in pouch to hold the packer, and some even have an opening to let a stand-to-pee through. Boxer shorts designed for cis men with a “pouch pocket”, such as the Hooks brand can also secure the prosthesis in the crotch area and can be found in stores.
Pocket and support options are recommended if you plan to do sport or move around a lot. There’s no risk of your packer poking out through the leg of your underwear or pants!
Making the packer less sticky/oily
Depending on the material from which the packer is made – silicone, cyberskin or a mixture of the two – it may secrete an oily substance that makes the packer sticky or slippery. Left like this, the prosthesis quickly becomes dirty, as lint, hairs and other dirt adhere to it. Cyberskin oil can also stain underwear.
To prevent this from happening, you can powder your packer with cornstarch, just like you find in the kitchen. Simply cover it with a paint or make-up brush, then dust off the excess. The prosthesis will then have a soft, satiny texture. Powder specifically designed to cover prostheses can also be bought online.
Never use baby powder or any other product containing talcum powder! Research has linked talcum powder to ovarian cancer. Scented products can also promote the development of yeast and urinary tract infections. So nothing with talcum powder or perfume! Cornstarch is the best option.
After each wash, the prosthesis must be repowdered, as it will become oily and sticky again once run under water.
Washing your packer
The packer should be washed at the end of each day it has been worn, to prevent the development of bacteria and smells.
You can wash the prosthesis with warm water and a mild soap you use for your skin. One trick is to take the packer with you into the shower and clean it at the same time, as if it were a part of your body. Let it air-dry afterwards.
When the prosthesis is made of 100% silicone (sometimes called Platinium, category A or medical silicone), you can boil it for up to 5 minutes to sterilize it from time to time. Mixed-material packers and cyberskin packers must never be placed in boiling water! The prosthesis could melt and deform. You can always check the components on the product’s website.
Breastforms are used to give the appearance of breasts, or larger breasts. They can be made of different materials: silicone, gel, latex, foam or fabric. This can help reduce gender dysphoria and bring a sense of euphoria and well-being.
Wearing breastforms
Breast forms can be worn in many different ways, and we’ll look at the most commonly used. It’s up to you to find out what suits you best and makes you most comfortable, depending on the type of breast forms you have!
Breast forms of all materials can be worn in an ordinary, well-fitting bra, so that the forms stay in place against the body. The cup size of the bra will depend on the size of the prosthesis, but they must match.
For greater safety when wearing them, or to avoid the prosthesis touching your skin, it’s possible to buy bras on the Internet that have a pocket in each cup to better support the prosthesis. Alternatively, with a few scraps of fabric, some thread and a needle, you can make your own pockets in the bras you already own!
For silicone prostheses, you can buy adhesive in the form of glue or self-adhesive sheets on specialized prosthesis websites, enabling you to attach the prosthesis directly to the skin without a bra. We suggest checking the company’s website to see whether the adhesive works with the type of silicone in your prostheses, and to do an allergy test on a small section of your skin before applying it to the whole breast.
Storage and care for breastforms
How you store your breast forms will depend on the material they are made of.
Fabric or foam breast forms can easily be stored in a box or drawer without any special precautions, as long as they are thoroughly cleaned and completely dry. The safest way to keep them in good condition is to wash them by hand with a mild soap. When the water that runs off the prosthesis is clear and bubble-free when squeezed, it’s considered clean. Then simply wring it out gently and leave to air-dry on a flat surface.
Greater care must be taken with silicone, gel or latex prostheses, both for cleaning and maintenance. It’s possible to tear or pierce the prosthesis if you aren’t careful, making it unusable. Here are the main rules to take care of them:
- Breastforms should be cleaned after each wear. Silicone, gel and latex are non-porous materials that don’t let air through, which collects sweat.
- To clean: use lukewarm water and a mild, unscented soap. Gently rub your prostheses in your hands to soap them up, then rinse with cold water. Gently pat them with a towel to remove excess water, and let the rest air-dry. If you get a specialized cleaner with your prostheses, use that and follow the instructions on the bottle.
- Some prostheses are highly sensitive to perfumed or more chemical products, so we recommend that you do not wear a very fragrant deodorant or antiperspirant! The best option is a natural, fragrance-free antiperspirant (to reduce the sweating caused by wearing prostheses).
- If you plan to wear rings, put on your prostheses before you put on your jewelry! This removes the risk of tearing or piercing the prostheses with them. The only exception is for brooches and pins; it’s safer to pin them on your clothes before putting the breast forms on, so you don’t accidentally pierce them.
- Be careful when handling prostheses and when your nails are long or manicured. You can wear gloves as a precaution, or just be very gentle in your handling.
- Animals with claws can tear the envelope of a prosthesis. Avoid sticking Kitty to your chest when wearing your breast forms!
- Be careful when lying flat on the ground while wearing prostheses, so as not to accidentally poke them with a branch or sharp rock.
- When you’re not wearing them, store them in their box or bag for protection.
A gaff is a compressive undergarment that safely gives the crotch a flatter appearance. The term “tucking” is also used to refer to bringing the penis and testicles back between the buttocks to camouflage them through clothing. The testicles can also be pushed into their inguinal canal to hide them. Wearing a gaff can help reduce gender dysphoria and bring a sense of euphoria and well-being.
AVAILABLE MODELS
We have two kinds of gaffs available: compression gaffs, made of mesh, and soft gaffs, made of bamboo. Our main gaff supplier is Montreal-based company Origami Customs.
Size chart
Wearing a gaff
The gaff is worn under everyday clothes, in the same way as ordinary underwear. Two techniques are often used. The first is simply to gently pull the penis and testicles towards the buttocks, i.e. backwards, and then pull up the gaff in place to hold it all together. The second way is to gently push the testicles into their inguinal canal (it’s in these canals that the testicles rise when they’re cold) and place them inside the body. It isn’t very dangerous, and practice makes perfect! The penis is then brought towards the buttocks, supporting the entrances to the inguinal canals, and the gaff is pulled up. All that’s left is to get dressed as usual.
Safety rules
As long as the size is right, there’s no danger to your health. It’s important to listen to your body and its limits, and to take bathroom breaks during the day to lower the gaff to your thighs. Getting used to wearing this item gradually is also recommended, so start with a few hours at a time per day and work up to a full day. We recommend not wearing gaffs to sleep.
Irritation of the skin can sometimes occur, due to the humidity and rubbing of the fabric, so it’s important to pay attention to the way your body feels, in order to adapt the size of the gaff and the tucking technique. It shouldn’t be a painful experience.
Wearing a gaff can temporarily reduce fertility, as keeping the testicles close to the body increases their temperature, which reduces sperm count. If you want to use your sperm to conceive a baby, you should therefore take a break from gaffs for the duration of the trials.
Laver son gaff
If you wish to wash your gaff in the washing machine, we recommend setting the wash cycle to the “delicate” option. The water should be cold, and ordinary laundry detergent can be used.
If you’re washing the gaff by hand, use a little laundry detergent or liquid dish soap in hot or cold water. When rinsing your gaff, make sure there’s no soap left in the fabric and that the water that comes out is clear and bubble-free.
Do not tumble-dry to avoid damaging the elasticity of the fabric. Air-drying is the recommended option: either hang the garment or place it flat on a smooth surface.
A stand-to-pee is a urinary prostheses – often, but not always, phallic in shape – with a hollow center and a hole at the end to enable urinating while standing up. A person can then empty their bladder at the urinal, outside or in a toilet bowl while standing up, without having to worry about finding an individual toilet. This action can help reduce gender dysphoria and toilet anxiety in public places, and bring a sense of euphoria and well-being.
AVAILABLE MODELS
We distribute stand-to-pees by Banana Prosthetics, in many sizes, models and colours.
Learning to use your stand-to-pee
Urinating while standing up is a skill that needs to be developed! When it’s a brand-new experience, it takes practice before you become confident and comfortable.
The first step is to practice mastering the stand-to-pee in the shower. This will help you learn how to place the cup properly under the urethra and how to control your urine flow to avoid an overflow. Once you’re in the shower, a little mishap is quickly cleaned up!
Once you’re more comfortable with your prostheses, you can try them out at home. It’s a good idea to first try it on without wearing pants, and to put a towel on the floor in case of an accident. After that, you can start adding layers of clothing and, eventually, try it out in public bathrooms.
For the first few times away from home, we recommend that you have a spare pair of pants, underwear and socks in case of accidents! (Yes, it can run down your leg and get your socks wet!)
Cleaning a stand-to-pee
Stand-to-pees are made of silicone with a hollow center, from the scrotum into the phallus. The entire prostheses should be cleaned with mild soap and warm water after each day’s use, whether or not you’ve urinated inside. You can leave the stand-to-pee to air-dry afterwards, but check the next day that the inside of the shaft is dry. If it remains damp, there’s a risk of mold and odours developing. Run a finger over the inside wall and if you notice that it’s not dry, you can roll up a sheet of paper towel and gently wipe the inside with a rotating motion (see diagram below).
When stand-to-pees are made of medical silicone (sometimes called Platinium or grade A), it’s possible to sterilize it by boiling it for a few minutes (no more than 5 minutes) from time to time.
Storing your stand-to-pee
You should store the stand-to-pee in a cool place away from direct sunlight, as it could melt. Try to position it so that the phallus points upwards, so that water flows towards the cup rather than staying inside if the prostheses is freshly cleaned. Also, you shouldn’t put it in direct contact with another silicone-based product; they’ll react together and may fuse. A simple solution if you need to store several prostheses in the same place is to slip them into socks. A good use for lonely socks!
